• Preheat oven to 350° F and line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set them aside for later.
• Slice the cold butter into ¼ inch cubes and place them in the standing mixer, along with the brown and granulated sugars. Gradually increase speed and mix on high for 3-4 minutes until creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula halfway through.
  1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup light brown sugar, ¾ cup granulated sugar
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder, flour, sea salt, cornstarch, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
  ⅔ cup Dutch process cocoa powder*, 2 ¼ cup all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 2 teaspoon cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder
• After creaming the butter and sugar, add the eggs and vanilla extract to the standing mixer. Mix on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
  2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Add mixed dry ingredients to the standing mixer and mix on the lowest setting until just combined. I like to let the dough sit for about 5 minutes for the flour to absorb some of the liquid, making the dough easier to work with.
• Add the granulated sugar and powdered sugar to two separate small bowls.
  ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup powdered sugar
• Roll the cookie dough into 12 balls. Roll each ball of cookie dough in the granulated sugar.
  
• Then generously roll each ball of cookie dough in the powdered sugar***.
  
• Add 4 balls of cookie dough to each baking sheet. Bake each baking sheet individually for about 12-14 minutes, or until cracking.
  
• Immediately out of the oven, use a large, round cookie cutter to round out the edges of each cookie. (optional)
  
• Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets completely before frosting.

Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

• Either using a standing mixer with a whisk attachment or a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, imitation vanilla, and peppermint extract for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until creamy. Make sure that the cream cheese and butter are softened so that they mix easily.
  4 oz cream cheese, 3 tablespoon salted butter, ½ teaspoon clear imitation vanilla**, ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
• Gradually add in the powdered sugar, mixing as you go, until smooth and creamy. Start on low speed and increase to medium. At this point, the frosting will be thick.
  4 cup powdered sugar
• Then gradually add the heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency. You'll want it to be thick enough to frost, but not too thick to work with.
  2-3 tablespoon heavy cream
• Frost the cookies by either piping on the frosting or spreading it with a knife. Sprinkle crushed peppermint candy over the top of the cookies.

  Enjoy!