Have you ever been in that situation where everything you planned just doesn’t work out? I bet many of us reading this have been in that situation – even more than once. Well, this was the situation I found myself Christmas four years ago. I had forgotten to get the family tree so that just led to a series of unfortunate events. For some reason, my kids were particularly hyper about lights and Christmas tree that year; they kept mentioning it anytime we talked about new toys. I felt it was nice that everyone was getting into the spirit of Christmas finally in the house. My kids were 5 and 6 then. Anyways, like I said I forgot to pick the trees before all the stores sold out all good ones, so I had to just get one of the trees no wanted (bad me, I know). I was supposed to help my wife with dinner too but I couldn’t get home in time to help out – so that didn’t go as planned too. However, it was that evening that I found life hack that has since helped as well as savor what was left of Christmas Eve that year. I saw my neighbor coming out of his house and told him what happened. He then sent me the link to a recipe that I have since named Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread. The recipe saved my holidays and it might just save yours or even add more color to a wonderful time of the year.

1. Beat the butter and both sets of sugar until the resulting mixture becomes fluffy in a stand mixer or paddle attachment.
2. Add the salt, vanilla, peppermint, and beat those into the mix. Add cocoa, flour until it becomes adequately mixed. Do not over mix.
3. Try your best to roll the dough into a log that is about 2 inches; then wrap it in plastic and keep for at least an hour. You can also decide to roll it out and cut it into shapes using a cookie cutter.
4. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees; line a baking sheet with parchment. Slice the cookie log into ½ inch coins and place them on the sheet.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges become just dry. The center will look raw but you shouldn’t worry about that – just pull them out.
6. While cooling, melt the chocolate in a microwave or glass bowl over simmering water.
7. Add the rest of the peppermint extract and stir. Drizzle it on the cookies. Sprinkle flaky salt and enjoy.

Note: The cookies will stay at room temperature for about 3 days. This recipe will come in handy during the holidays.