BALANCE Dark Chocolate Peppermint Dipped Shortbread Cookies

Get in the spirit of the holidays with these dipped shortbread cookies! Recipe makes 30-40 cookies depending on your cookie cutter size. Vegan!

INGREDIENTS 

• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour 
• 1 ¼ cup vegan butter (2.5 sticks - Earth Balance is best) at room temperature 
• ¾ cup icing sugar (Wholesome is best) 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

Chocolate Dip 

• ½ - ¾ bag of your favorite dark chocolate dips or approx 6 oz dark chocolate bar 
• 1 - 2 tbsp Eversio Wellness BALANCE 4 Mushroom Blend
• Crushed candy canes or your favorite topping

DIRECTIONS 

• Preheat oven to 325 F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
• Using a stand or hand mixer - add softened butter, vanilla + icing sugar to the bowl. Mix well. Then add flour and blend until well combined. The dough will look crumbly and soft but should smash together when squeezed in your hands. 
• Place a sheet of parchment paper on your countertop and sprinkle with a little flour, then form the dough into a ball and place in the middle of the parchment paper.  
• Use another piece of parchment paper for the top, sprinkling a little flour on top of the dough to prevent sticking, and roll the dough to about 1/3-1/2 of an inch thick. Cut into desired shapes (I used a few sizes of small + medium fluted edge cookie cutters) and place on the prepared baking sheets. 
• Continue re-rolling the dough until it is all used. Bake for 12-13 minutes, until the bottom is just slightly golden. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.  
• Melt chocolate in microwave or over double boiler. Transfer to a deep enough vessel so you can dip the cookies. Add BALANCE blend + mix well.  
• Once cookies are completely cooled, gently dip into melted chocolate and place back onto cooling rack. Top with crushed candy canes while the chocolate is still warm.  
• Cool in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set the chocolate.