Add ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, and 1 cup shortening to a mixing bowl.
Cream sugar and shortening together with a hand mixer until well combined, approximately 2 minutes.
Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 large egg. Mix until combined.
Add the second large egg and mix until combined.
Combine 2 cups flour, 1 package of Ghirardelli peppermint hot cocoa mix, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of baking powder in a separate bowl. Stir.
Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl methodically. I add the dry ingredients in four equal-ish additions. After each addition, mix until just combined with a hand mixer. Repeat until the dry ingredients are completely mixed in.
Chop up those Ghirardelli peppermint bark bars, roughly. Try to keep eating bits and pieces of it to a minimum.
Add the chopped Ghirardelli peppermint bark to the mixing bowl, and mix by hand with a spoon until just combined.
Cover with plastic wrap, pushing the plastic wrap down tightly to the cookie batter to keep the air out.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop 12 cookies onto a baking sheet, leaving a generous amount of space between each (or however many will fit; I was able to fit 12 at a time on a large aluminum baking sheet).
Bake for 13-14 minutes.
Remove the cookies from oven and let sit on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes. Remove each cookie with a spatula and let cool on a cooling rack.
Repeat until you've used up all of the dough. Makes 40 delicious and festive AF cookies.