Chocolate Mint Sandwich Cookies

I use dehydrated cane juice w/honey and "fluff" it in my VitaMix instead of buying powdered sugar. It isn't as white (but it isn't chemically processed or bleached).

1 cup softened butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup cocoa powder
1 egg white
3/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (or you can toss regular sea salt in the VitaMix for a few seconds)
1-1/2 cups hard white wheat flour (or combo of hard white wheat and oat flour)

Cream filling

2+ cups powdered sugar, sifted for silkiness
10 - 15 drops peppermint extract
1/4 cup water

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.

Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and continue to cream, scraping the sides of the bowl a time or two. Stir in the vanilla extract, cocoa powder, egg white, and salt and mix until the batter is smooth and creamy and the consistency of a thick frosting. Add the flour and mix just until the batter is no longer dusty looking (it still might be somewhat crumbly).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, form it into a ball, and knead it slightly - until smooth. Separate into two 1" thick patties and place, covered, in the freezer to chill.

Remove one patty at a time from the freezer. On a well-floured surface roll it out very thin - about 1/8" thick. Stamp out cookies in whatever shape you like. Place on pre-heated baking sheets, sprayed with non-stick spray, and bake for 7-10 minutes, depending on the size of your cookie.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Filling: Using a mixer, whisk together the sugar and water until nice and fluffy. The filling should be thick, but not runny. Add small amounts of powdered sugar at a time to thicken and add a few drops of water at a time to thin. Whisk in the peppermint extract a bit at a time, until you are satisfied with the taste (don't make too strong).

Take the cooled cookies, put on some filling and cover with a second cookie.

Makes about 3 dozen 1-1/2" sandwich cookies.