Minty Cocoa Fudge Sandwich Cookies

Servings 40 sandwich cookies (approx.)

Ingredients

For the cookies:

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups salted butter softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup vegetable or other oil
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
Sugar

For the filling:

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 10 ounce package mint flavor semi sweet chocolate pieces see note
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate coarsely chopped

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
Add the 1 1/2 cups sugar and the oil. Beat until well mixed.
Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until combined.
Add flour mixture. Beat until combined.
Cover and chill about 1 hour or until dough is firm enough to handle.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Place sugar in a small bowl and dip the bottom of a glass into the sugar, then flatten each cookie, dipping the glass in sugar each time.
Bake in the preheated oven for 7-9 minutes or just until firm.
Let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
For filling: In a small sauce pan, combine sweetened condensed milk, mint chocolate pieces and unsweetened chocolate.
Cook and stir over medium heat until smooth. Allow to cool for 30 minutes to an hour or until mostly cool but still soft enough to spread. I err on the side of less cool so that it's easy to fill the cookies.
While the filling is cooling, match up tops and bottoms for each sandwich.
Spoon a generous teaspoon (I used almost 2 teaspoons) of filling onto the center of the flat side of one half of the sandwich. Place the top on, flat side down.
Fully support the bottom cookie flat on your fingers from one hand while you use your fingers (flat) from the other hand to gently swirl the top in small circles, gently pressing down until filling reaches the edges evenly. Using your fingers, and not your palm, will give you more control over the process. If you don't support the cookie from below, it may crack on you.

Recipe Notes

* If you can't find mint chocolate pieces, use Andes mint chips or use 10 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips and add 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract once your chocolate mixture has melted and been removed from the heat. Make sure it's peppermint and not just mint. I used the regular semi sweet chips and added the peppermint.

*For the cocoa, I used King Arthur Flour's Double Dutch Dark Cocoa

*To make things easier, I match up all the cookie tops and bottoms, then scoop out all of the filling onto all of the bottom halves, then do all of the pressing. I think it's faster than stopping and starting after each cookie and you can insure you use up all of your filling this way.

*Store at room temperature in an airtight container, separating each layer of cookies with wax paper for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookie magazine, 2008