Madge's Minty Mountains! A tasty, minty, crunchy Holiday cookie!

This is a GREAT holiday treat recipe that's sooooo easy to make, sooooo tasty and makes a TERRIFIC HOLIDAY GIFT! People always rave about them when I make them.  I call them (my) Madge's Minty Mountains and they require a mere 4FOUR! ingredients.  Corn Flakes, semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, peppermint extract and powdered sugar.  I use gluten free millet or corn flakes from the health food store... they have a much better crunch and they are much better for you. They take less than 20 minutes to make!!  
See how below!

INGREDIENTS: 

• Approximately 1/2 of a medium box of Corn Flakes - I buy gluten free millet flakes or gluten free corn flakes at the health food store.  They are much crunchier & tastier. Eye measurement: In a large 10" bowl it would be about 1/2 full of corn flakes.

• 1 standard size bag of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (one large cap full) 

• 1 scoop of powdered sugar in a hand held strainer (like a tea pour strainer)  
  

DIRECTIONS:  

HINT: Chocolate is very fickle and doesn't like being over heated or combined with water.  Chocolate is an oil, really - and when you add your extract it is like adding water to oil.  Therefore, you must add the extract only when the chocolate is melted and warm and you must whisk your extract in as quickly as possible - or your chocolate will seize and will become rock hard and unfixable... just chuck it away if that happens:(( Bummer

• VERY carefully and slowly heat your chips in a glass bowl over a simmering pot of water.  Stirring often.  Once melted remove your bowl and - with your measured extract at the ready - pour this quickly into the chocolate as your stir consistently with a fork or whisk.  Have someone hold the bowl for you or hold it yourself once you have poured the extract in.  This helps with balance when stirring it all together.  

• Taste chocolate for minty-ness.  If you need to add more... warm your chocolate over the water again for just a short moment (so the choc gets soft) and then add your additional extract. 

• In a large bowl pour in your corn flakes.  It may seem like too much but they will break down and your chocolate will cover them.  

• Pour melted, minty chocolate over corn flakes and work quickly to combine.  This takes arm work and you MUST WORK QUICKLY.  It is hard to get the chocolate to cover the flakes thoroughly - it is just a matter of turning the flakes over, crunching them down, mixing with one hand while your rubber spatular turns and turns the flakes over.  After about 7 minutes or so you see that the flakes have broken down and are mostly covered in chocolate.  KEEP WORKING IT until the corn flakes are completely covered! 

• Once covered... spoon small clumps onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. 

• Place in freezer for 1 or 2 minutes and remove

• Sift powdered sugar over cookies and you are DONE! 
  

Cookies as they are spooned onto parchment paper before micro freezing