Peppermint Thumbprint Brownie Bites

For the prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spray a 12 or 24-cup mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Wipe the inside of each cup with a paper towel to thoroughly coat. Set aside.

For the cookies:

1. Place the soft butter in a medium-size bowl and stir to blend. Add the sugars and stir until well combined.
2. Add the egg yolks, vanilla and peppermint extracts, baking powder and the salt and stir again.
3. Next stir in the cocoa powder until completely incorporated. Lastly, add the flour. At first, it may seem like too much flour but keep stirring until all the white streaks are gone.
4. Scoop the dough into 28-34 equal portions and roll each portion into a ball with your hands. (I like to use a scale and make each portion around 30g or 1 ounce.)
5. Place about ¼ cup granulated or cane sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll each ball in the sugar then place it in the center of one of the cups of the prepared mini muffin pan.
6. With a small round measuring spoon (I use a half teaspoon spoon) make an indention in the center of each ball of dough.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are slightly firm to the touch. It’s better to underbake just a bit than to overbake.
8. Remove from the oven and reinforce the indentations with the same little measuring spoon. (At this point, you can make the indentations a little deeper to hold more of the delicious filling if you like.)
9. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes then remove the brownie bites to a cooling rack to cool completely. (I use a table knife to gently lift each cookie enough to be able to remove it from the pan.)

For the peppermint filling:

1. In a medium-size microwave-safe bowl, combine the white chocolate and butter. Cook on high power for 30-40 seconds until the butter is melted. Stir until the white chocolate is melted. You might need another 10-20 seconds in the microwave.
2. Add the half and half and extracts and stir again. Then add the powdered sugar and stir until nice and smooth. I like to use a whisk for this. You may need a little extra powdered sugar. You want a thick but pourable consistency.
3. Add a few drops of green food coloring to achieve a hue of green that you like (I add 4-5 drops, stirring after each drop until I like the color.

To finish:

1. Using a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon, fill each brownie indentation to the top.
2. Sprinkle with nonpareils (if desired) while the filling is still wet. I like to fill 3-4 cookies at a time, then sprinkle with the nonpareils so they stick to the filling.
3. Allow the filling to set. This will take 1-2 hours. If you want to speed things up, you can refrigerate the brownie bites for 30 minutes.
4. These cookies keep well at room temperature for several days and also freeze well.