These Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are a delightful combination of rich chocolate and crunchy peppermint candy, creating a sweet and decadent treat that complements the holiday season perfectly.
If you enjoy the pairing of mint and chocolate, you should also consider trying our Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies and this Peppermint Bark (VIDEO).
Recipe Details
Chewy, rich Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are a holiday favorite. These sweet and decadent treats fill your house with an amazing aroma as they bake, setting the stage for the festive season.
- TASTE: These cookies boast chocolatey, sweet, buttery, and minty flavors that create a delightful combination.
- TEXTURE: The cookies are chewy and fluffy, with the added crunch from the crushed candy canes providing a wonderful texture.
- TIME: The preparation time is 40 minutes.
- EASE: While the recipe calls for several ingredients, the steps are straightforward, making it easy to create these tasty treats.
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
- Cocoa powder- Dark chocolate cocoa powder is used to add a hint of bitterness and enhance the rich chocolate flavor.
- Egg + egg yolk- These serve as binders and add moisture, with the extra yolk contributing to the cookies’ chewiness.
- Baking soda + Baking powder- Both are utilized to balance the acidity and provide leavening for fluffy, soft cookies.
- Andes candies- The peppermint crunch ones add a delicious minty crunch to the cookies.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips- These chips offer a less sweet alternative to milk chocolate, maintaining a balanced sweetness with the peppermint candy and chocolate.
- Extract- The vanilla enhances the chocolate flavor, while the peppermint imbues the cookies with their minty taste.
- Candy canes- Using small candy canes makes them easier to crush than larger ones.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Substitute different chocolate chips- Try white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, or dark chocolate chips for a variation in flavor.
- Use another extract- Mint extract or spearmint extract can be used if peppermint extract is not available.
- Add peppermint bark- Incorporate bits of Peppermint Bark for an additional chocolatey mint flavor.
- Use unsweetened cocoa powder- For a richer chocolate flavor with less sweetness, opt for unsweetened cocoa powder.
How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Combine the butter and sugar. In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
- Add in the the eggs and extracts. Then mix in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract.
- Sift in the dry ingredients. Using a fine-mesh sieve, sift in the flour, dutched cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Then mix.
- Add the chocolate and peppermint. Incorporate the semisweet chocolate chips and chopped Andes peppermint crunch thins, mixing until well combined.
Pro Tip: Use a spatula to fold the ingredients together once the dry ingredients are added and the dough becomes thick.
- Scoop the dough. Use a medium-sized cookie scoop to form mounds of the dough and roll them into balls.
- Dip them into the crushed candy canes. Dip only the top of each dough ball into a bowl of crushed candy canes.
- Bake. Place the dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet with the candied side facing up, then bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 9-10 minutes.
- Add more candy on top. Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, sprinkle extra crushed candy canes on top.
Recipe Tips
- Sift the dry ingredients- This is an important step because it eliminates any clumps that can create dry spots in these moist and chewy cookies.
- Crush the candy canes small, but not to powder- You want them to be big enough to have a little crunch, but not to dominate the cookie or be powdery and melt entirely.
- Only add candy canes to the tops of the dough balls- Avoid rolling the entire dough balls in candy canes, or else they will bake up a into a mess.
- Don’t wait to add the candy canes after baking- You’ll need to catch the cookies when they’re hot and soft so you can add the crushed candy canes and they will stick.
FAQs
Creaming the butter and sugar together adds air pockets that make cookies more fluffy. Adding an extra egg yolk also introduces fat that creates lighter, chewier cookies.
If you overbake your cookies, they can become hard. Your cookies should look soft when they come out because they will harden a little as they cool. Don’t overbake them. Also, too much flour can lead to drier, harder cookies. Make sure that you spoon the flour into the measuring cup rather than scoop it as this packs in too much.
Serving Suggestions
These Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are rich and decadent with tons of sweet chocolate flavor. They go great with other cookies, cakes, chocolate treats, or your favorite drink.
- Cookies: Add these cookies to a cookie platter with some Easy Cream Cheese Cookies, Lofthouse Frosted Sugar Cookies (VIDEO), Linzer Cookies with Raspberry Jam, or Chewy Nutella Cookies.
- Cakes: Pair these Chocolate Peppermint Cookies with a slice of Sopapilla Cheesecake, Tiramisu Cake (VIDEO), Chocolate Mousse Cake, or Gingerbread Cake.
- Chocolate treats: Serve them with some Chocolate Covered Dates, Chocolate Bark, Chocolate Creme Brulee, or Chocolate Caramel Pretzels Bars.
- Beverages: Enjoy these cookies with your favorite coffee or tea, such as this Pumpkin Spice Latte, Iced Caramel Macchiato, Caramel Frappuccino (Starbucks Copycat), or Iced Matcha Latte.
Make This Recipe in Advance
Make ahead: You can prepare the cookie dough and cover it, storing it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake these cookies.
Storing: Store these Chocolate Peppermint Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Freeze: You can freeze these cookies in a freezer ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
More Scrumptious Cookies!
- Soft Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Monster Cookies
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Lofthouse Frosted Sugar Cookies (VIDEO)
Full Recipe Instructions
