Help Me Name my New Cookie, Contest. White Chocolate Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies

I've been working on this recipe for a few days. Originally my thought was to put a twist on the traditional peppermint bark with a cookie base.

I would love to hear some creative suggestions for the name of this delightful new cookie. Please post comments with some suggestions. The winning cookie name will win a set of Christmas cookie cutters.

I thought, instead of bark, how about a white chocolate ganache with some peppermint extract and topped with crushed candy canes. Well....the white chocolate ganache didn't turn out so well. I forgot that white chocolate doesn't have the same composition as regular chocolate and a straight conversion from my basic chocolate ganache left me with a runny mess. I ended up more than doubling the white chocolate so I have whacks left over. That's okay though since my family ate over 40 of my cookies already!! So much for gifts....grrrr.

I also had to tint the white chocolate red/pink as it went a little too yellow during the process and didn't look nice. It tastes fabulous though!

The end result is wonderful combination of flavours. A crisp white chocolate sugar cookie, a layer of white chocolate ganache and crushed candy canes to top.

I'm going to split this into ingredients and instructions for each section respectively.

White Chocolate Sugar Cookie (source http://www.karenscookies.net/)

2 ¼ cup all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

6 oz. white chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small saucepan over low heat, melt the white chocolate and set aside.

In small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt (so they're well combined) and set aside.

In large mixer bowl beat butter and sugar until creamy. Blend in egg and vanilla extract. Beat in melted white chocolate.

Gradually beat in flour mixture until soft dough forms. Shape dough in ball; flatten to 3/4" thickness.

Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 15 minutes* until firm.

On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to desired thickness. Bake until edges are golden (approximately 7 minutes). Let stand 2 minutes. Remove from cookie sheets and cool completely.

*Note: You MUST be able to roll and cut the dough after the 15 minute refrigeration time, or it will set up too much and won't roll out well.

White Chocolate Peppermint Ganache

18 oz pure belgian white chocolate, broken into small pieces

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp butter

1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract (or more to individual taste)

Place broken up white chocolate in a medium metal mixing bowl. Be sure the bowl is clean and very dry.

In a small saucepan place the cream and butter into pot bringing to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmered pour over chocolate. Let sit while the chocolate melts (a few minutes), stir until smooth. Add the peppermint extract and thoroughly combine.

Let cool to room temperature. Once the heat has dispensed you can cover with plastic wrap.

You will need approx 4 larger size candy canes to top. Crush them in a plastic bag with a meat mallet (that's what I do)

Assembly Instructions.

Once the ganache is cooled and set it should be spreadable and remain smooth. Spread evenly on cookie to desired thickness. A little more than 1/8" works well. Sprinkle crushed candy canes over the top of the cookie. Spread the cookies out over a parchment paper on cookie sheets and allow to completely set. You will find the ganache will set further and harden a little more. This is good!!

This recipe yields approx 75 medium sized diamond shaped cookies. Store in layers between waxed paper in an airtight container. Based on past experience these should freeze well for up to 3 months.