When it comes to traditional chocolate chip cookies, it sometimes pays to experi-mint

It's hard for me to believe, but it's been years since I've written about a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. Years. In 2013, I first wrote about my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe on my blog, followed by a s'mores cookie in 2014, with milk chocolate chips. I haven't really ventured out and made other versions since, sticking with those two almost exclusively when baking at home. It's rare that a new chocolate chip cookie idea catches my attention.

When I spied this recipe by Andrea Bemis from her cookbook, "Dishing Up the Dirt," featured on the blog Dessert for Two, I stopped and lingered. The cookies looked perfect, which for me means soft and chewy. I could tell by looking at the texture in the photographs that the dough was most likely chilled before baking, different from my classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. I was right. But what enthralled me the most was the use of fresh mint, steeped in melted butter, giving the entire dough an inescapable minty aroma. What a great idea.

If you have fresh mint on hand, whether it be for mojitos, tabbouleh or watermelon salad, set some aside for these mint chocolate chip cookies. I thought the kids would be skeptical when they encountered the surprising fresh mint flavor when biting into a traditional-looking chocolate chip cookie, but they loved them too.

Fresh mint chocolate chip cookies

Yields about 2 dozen cookies

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup firmly packed fresh mint, roughly chopped

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter together with the mint leaves. When the butter is completely melted and bubbly, turn off the heat. Set the pan aside and allow the mint to steep, 30 minutes. Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the butter.

To the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugars. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, beating until incorporated. Next add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix again until combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the chocolate chips and mix briefly, about 30 seconds. Refrigerate the dough 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto the baking sheet, about six-eight cookies per sheet, leaving plenty of room for the cookies to spread out. Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden on the edges but still somewhat undone in the center. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Repeat with any remaining dough.

Cookies are best served warm or room temperature. Store in an airtight container. Recipe adapted from Andrea Bemis via Dessert for Two.

Maya Wilson lives in Kenai and blogs about food at alaskafromscratch.com. Have a food question or recipe request? Email maya@alaskafromscratch.com and your inquiry may appear in a future column.

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