I was looking in our junk food cupboard (admit it, you have one too!) and there I saw it, one last box of Christmas chocolates.  Hmmm, do I eat these delicious peppermint chocolates immediately, or can I turn them into a scrumptious treat?  Of course, I decided to bake with them instead of tearing open the box and devouring the chocolates in mere seconds! 🙂

Chocolate and Peppermint make an excellent cookie, but, as I didn’t have any cocoa in the apartment, I had to improvise.  What happened next?  I reached for a boxed chocolate cake mix…

Did you know that boxed cake mixes serve as an excellent base for cookies?  I have used them in the past when I was pressed for time or when I was missing a key baking ingredient.

The great thing about using a cake mix as a cookie base is you know that the taste and texture is going to be consistent.  I was able to whip up this batch of cookies in no time; only 20 minutes from start to finish.  This is a great trick to keep in your back pocket for that last minute bake sale at school or the office pot-luck that you forgot about until you are starting to make your lunch for the next day.  It is also fun to whip these up with the kids, as there is very little measuring involved.

Now I am sitting here,  day-dreaming of all of my favourite chocolate bars, and how I can incorporate them into these cookies.  Awesome! 😉

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Adapted from The Cake Mix Bible                                                                                                Publications International

Ingredients:

• 1 boxed chocolate cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped peppermint chocolates

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease baking sheet.
2. Combine cake mix, eggs and oil in large bowl.  Beat until well blended.  Stir in peppermint chocolates (mixture will be still).  Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls.  Place two inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
3. Bake at 350°F for 10-11 minutes (cookies will look moist).  Cool 2 minutes on baking sheets.  Remove to cooling racks.  Cool completely.
4. Enjoy!