These Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are baked to crisp perfection, drizzled with silky white chocolate, and topped with crushed peppermint candies. They’re the epitome of festive holiday treats with absolutely none of the fuss!
Peppermint Cookies
So many cookies during the holidays are soft, chewy and gooey. Not these! When you’re looking for a chocolate dessert with a little snap, turn to this Crisp Chocolate Peppermint Cookie recipe. They’re small in size, which means you can feel good about having a few, and they’re perfectly sweetly.
Another selling point for these chocolate peppermint cookies—the dough can and should be made ahead. Which means you can break up the work and bake them when you feel like it or have time. Plus, they last a long time at room temperature and in the freezer. Talk about the perfect make ahead holiday cookie!
And if you’re looking for more make ahead chocolate treats, try Dark Chocolate Truffles or fudgy Olive Oil Brownies!
Peppermint Cookie Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour
- Cocoa Powder — for this recipe we recommend using unsweetened Dutchprocessed cocoa powder.
- Baking Soda & Baking Soda
- Kosher Salt — we develop our recipe using Morton kosher salt. If you’re using a different brand, you can learn how to make the conversion in our What Is Kosher Salt article.
- Butter — it’s best to use unsalted butter in most baking recipes. Most recipe development of baking recipes use (or should use) unsalted butter because salt content of salted butter can vary between brands. Using unsalted butter allows you to have control over salt level in your baked goods.
- Granulated Sugar
- Instant Espresso Powder — use instant espresso powder, not instant coffee. It’s usually sold in small glass jars with a green lid either near the coffee or baking ingredients. Then make use of the instant espresso powder in Cardamom Cookies or Olive Oil Brownies.
- Egg Yolks — we develop recipes using eggs labeled as large so it’s important to use egg yolks from large eggs. If you use smaller eggs the yolks will be smaller and will result in a dough that’s too dry and doesn’t stay together.
- Peppermint Extract — just a dash of peppermint extract really enhances the peppermint flavor of these cookies. Don’t be heavy handed through! The dough just needs 1 teaspoon—any more and they enter into the “minty fresh” category.
- Candy Canes — the candy canes get crushed so you can also use round peppermint candies (though we like the high red-to-white ratio that candy canes offer).
- White Chocolate — use white chocolate chips instead of white bar chocolate or almond bark. It melts well and stays set on the cookies at room temperature. We like Ghiradelli the best.
How to Make Peppermint Cookies
The full recipe is below, but let’s first run through the process so there aren’t any surprises!
- Sift the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. This combines the ingredients and it sifts out any lumps. Set the dry ingredients aside.
- Beat the butter, sugar and espresso powder in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until it’s smooth. You will likely need to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
- With the mixer running, add the egg yolks and peppermint extract and mix to combine.
- Add the flour mixture in increments—mixing to combine after each addition—until all of the flour has been added.
- Divide the dough in half and form each half into disks. Be patient, if you measured everything correctly the mixture will come together! Chill the dough until firm—this will take at least 1 hour (though it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days).
- Roll out one disk of dough to 1/4-inch thick. This is important! Any thinner and these cookies will burn. But any thicker and they won’t be crisp.
- Cut the cookies out using a ¼-inch or 2½-inch cutter then arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet (they don’t spread so they only needs to be spaced 1-inch apart).
- Bake the cookies until the edges are dry to touch and they barely yield in the center—this will take about 13–15 minutes at 350ºF. (Check your oven’s temperature with an oven thermometer to be sure you’re baking at the right temperature.)
- Cool the cookies on the sheet pan then drizzle with melted white chocolate and top with crushed peppermint candies. Let dry until chocolate is set then store in airtight containers for up to 1 week.
Tips for Making Peppermint Cookies
- Plan to bake these cookies over a two-day period or make the dough in the morning and bake in the afternoon. To keep the cut out shape in tact, the dough should be chilled until firm.
- Work quickly when drizzling the chocolate over the cookies and topping with the crushed peppermint candied. The chocolate sets quickly! To ensure the candies stick to the chocolate, drizzle and sprinkle in batches.
- Want to make these even more festive? Add green food coloring to the white chocolate or top with green sprinkles.
Storage and Freezing
Peppermint cookies can be stored at room temperature, in an airtight container, for up to 1 week.
For longer storage, peppermint cookies can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Chocolate Peppermint Cookie FAQs
Absolutely, we recommend freezing these peppermint chocolate cookies without the chocolate drizzle on them. When you’re ready to serve, let them sit at room temperature for a few hours before drizzling with chocolate and topping with the crushed peppermint candies.
Yes! Since this recipe was developed to create a crisp cookie, it does well when made with a gluten-free flour blend. We like Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten-free blend.
Stored in an airtight container, chocolate peppermint cookies will last up to 1 week.
More Cookies to Try
- If you love a crunchy cookie, try our Christmas Biscotti that’s loaded with dried fruit and nuts.
- Once you’ve gotten your fill of crisp and crunchy cookies, try our uber-chewy Hermit Cookies which are also filled with dried fruit.
- For the spiced cookie lover, our Cardamom Cookies and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies are both must-try treats.
- Another Christmas favorite are our Eggnog Cookies. Fun and festive!
Peppermint Cookies Recipe
Description
Ingredients
- 1 cup (122g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (45g) unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (150g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
- 8 candy canes, crushed
- 1 cup (6 ounces) white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar, and espresso powder on medium-high speed until combined and smooth, scraping down sides as needed, about 1 minute.
- Reduce speed to medium-low, add yolks and peppermint extract; beat to combine.
- Add flour mixture in increments, briefly mixing after each addition.
- Divide dough in half, shape into disks, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350°F (177ºC). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll dough to ¼-inch thick on a large sheet of parchment paper.
- Using a 2¼-inch or 2½-inch cutter, cut dough into shapes; space shapes 1 inch apart on prepared sheets.
- Bake one sheet at a time until edges of cookies are dry to the touch, and barely yield in the center, 13–15 minutes; rotating halfway through. Transfer sheets to wire racks; let cookies cool completely on sheets.
- Repeat cutting and baking with remaining dough dish. Gently reroll scarps until all dough is used.
- Add chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments until completely melted and smooth. Drizzle cookies with white chocolate and sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies. Let set then transfer to an airtight container with tight fitting lid.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe article was originally published on December 14, 2017.
