Prep: 30 minutes

Bake: 7 minutes

Makes: About 3 dozen

170 grams/6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, broken up

57 grams/4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up

46 grams/1/3 cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

266 grams/1 1/3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

36 striped chocolate mints (make your own with recipe below, or buy cute ones, like Andes)

1. Prep: Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Heat oven to 350F.

2. Melt: Drop chocolate and butter into a microwave-safe bowl. Zap in two 1-minute bursts, just to melt. Stir. Let cool down.

3. Mix: Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Beat: Crack eggs into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the whisk attachment and medium-high speed, whip fluffy. Cascade in sugar and whip until pale and thick, about 5 minutes. Scrape in chocolate mixture; whip. Sprinkle in flour mixture; whip. Pour in vanilla; whip.

5. Bake: Portion dough into 1-tablespoon balls or domes and arrange on the prepared pans with 2 inches of space between cookies. Bake until just set, about 7 minutes.

6. Gild: While hot, center one (unwrapped!) mint on a cookie. Set a fork flat again the mint and press gently. Repeat with remaining cookies and mints. Let cool. Enjoy, wide-eyed.

Mints:

Mark out an 8x8 square on a sheet of parchment paper. Turn paper over (to avoid getting pencil smudge on your chocolate). In a small bowl, zap 70 grams (2½ ounces) dark chocolate, just to melt. Stir in ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract. Using an offset knife, spread out chocolate into an 8-inch square, using the marks as your guide. Let set until no longer shiny or sticky, about 4 minutes. Meanwhile, zap 70 grams (2½ ounces) white chocolate and one drop of canola oil (use low power, white chocolate is finicky), just to melt. Stir in ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract and (if you like) one dot of green food coloring. Spread over dark chocolate. Repeat, creating a third layer with dark chocolate. When chocolate has set, slice into rectangles or squares. There’s a good tutorial here.