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Overhead shot of a large white serving plate filled with chocolate peppermint cookies. In the upper right and lower left corner, more cookies are peaking in to the scene. A red linen is in the bottom right corner, and some cedar boughs and Christmas balls are in the top left corner.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Leanne Neill
Rich chocolate and cool peppermint make these cookies a must-bake for the holiday season. Each bite delivers fudgy chocolate goodness with a refreshing hint of mint, finished with a sprinkle of crushed candy canes for a touch of Christmas sparkle. Perfect for cookie exchanges, gifting, or simply enjoying with a mug of hot cocoa, these Chocolate Peppermint Cookies capture the spirit of the season in every bite.
5 from 8 votes
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 13 minutes
Cooling Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 42 minutes
Course Cookies
Cuisine American
Servings 23 cookies

Ingredients
  

Cookie Dough

  • ½ cup salted butter (115g) at room temperature
  • ½ cup brown sugar (110g) lightly packed
  • ½ cup granulated sugar (105g)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (124g) (spoon and level)
  • ⅔ cup natural cocoa powder (52g) not dutch processed
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ¾ cup chocolate chips semi-sweet or white chocolate

For Garnish (optional)

  • 6 oz White chocolate
  • 3 Candy Canes

Instructions
 

Making The Cookie Dough

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • In a mixing bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Set the bowl aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer or hand held mixer beat the butter with the brown and white sugar for at least 2 minutes. The mixture should be creamy.
  • Add in the egg, vanilla extract and peppermint extract. Beat to combine for about a minute, it should almost be fluffy.
  • Add in half of the dry ingredients and beat to combine. Add in the other half of the dry ingredients and again beat to combine. Things can get a little dusty, so keep the mixer on a lower speed or use a spoon to get things started. The dough will be very thick - this is perfect
  • Add in the chocolate chips of your choice and stir through with a spoon.
  • No need to chill this dough to prevent spreading.
  • Take about 1.5 tablespoons of dough (30g) and roll it in your hands to form a column - sort of like a ball but it is slightly taller than it is wide. See Notes. Place the columns on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart.

Baking The Cookies

  • Bake for 12-14 minutes. The surface will look a little cracked and more matte than shiny.
  • If you don't want to dip in white chocolate then you need to sprinkle the warm cookies with crushed candy cane immediately in order for them to stick.
  • Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for about 5 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. Cookies must be completely cooled before dipping in the white chocolate.

Dipping In Melted Chocolate

  • Chop the white chocolate into small chunks. Place in a microwave safe bowl. I like to use a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Give it a stir even though it will look like nothing has melted yet. Stirring will help prevent hot spots.
  • Give it another 20 seconds in the microwave and stir. After one more 20 minute pulse in the microwave and a lot of stirring most of the chocolate should be melted. Another 10 seconds in the microwave to help make it a little more fluid for dipping. See Notes. Your times may need to be adjust depending on the power of your microwave.
  • Dip cookies halfway into the white chocolate then lay the cookie down on parchment paper. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy cane. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Set aside to let the chocolate harden. The hardening process can be speeded up by placing the tray in the fridge for about an hour.

Notes

  1. Use natural cocoa powder as opposed to Dutch Processed for best results in this recipe. As baking soda is the leavening agent it needs the acidic natural cocoa powder to activate it.
  2. No need to chill the dough. When the cookies are rolled into a column it helps alleviate too much spreading, so you can save time by not chilling the dough.
  3. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips but they could be substituted with any chocolate chips you like, white chocolate chips would give a nice color contrast to the dark cookie.
  4. You can use any melted chocolate you like to dip the cookie in. I used white chocolate for the color contrast, and I'm a fan of white chocolate.
  5. When melting chocolate in the microwave you don't want to heat it too fast. Chocolate can seize if overheated (at surprisingly low temperatures). The cocoa butter separates from the solids turning the mixture thick, dull, and grainy instead of smooth and glossy.
Keyword chocolate peppermint chip cookies, Chocolate peppermint cookies