Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
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Chocolate Peppermint Cookies have everything you long for in a cookie during the holiday season: rich chocolate flavor, lots of peppermint-y goodness, velvety smooth white chocolate and peppermint candy canes. Hiiii dream cookie!
These chocolate peppermint cookies are so soft, chewy and I bet you won’t be able to just take one bite. Scratch that, I bet you won’t be able to stop at just 1 cookie!
Cameron tasted it and told me, “Now that’s a cookie that I can’t put down.” And he’s right. After one bite it’s literally going to be glued to your hand it’s so good you literally can’t let it go!
This cookie is based off of one of my favorite brownie-like cookies, these Mint Chocolate Cookies. I made a few small adjustments to create this cookie and it’s full of amazingness.
They are fudgy and really easy to make too. Add these to your holiday spread this year, I hope you love them!
P.S. If you want even more peppermint inspiration, check out my One Bowl Peppermint Brownies and White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies!
Ingredient Notes:
You can scroll down to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and measurements.
- All-Purpose Flour: use a gluten free flour 1-1 if needed.
- Espresso Powder – It’s like a bakers secret weapon! Espresso powder enhances and intensifies the chocolate flavor in these cookies.
- Cocoa Powder: If you can get your hands on the special dark cocoa, try that. If not regular cocoa works great too!
- Corn starch: helps make the cookies chewy
- Baking Powder: be sure your baking powder isn’t expired! Always important to check expiration dates when baking.
- Chocolate chips (milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or dark). I love using dark for this recipe.
- Eggs, room temperature
- Peppermint extract: I love having peppermint extract stashed in my pantry during the holiday season.
- White chocolate: Use your favorite. I like melting the Ghirardelli white chocolate chips or melting waters in a little coconut oil for these cookies.
- Peppermint candies or candy canes: crush them almost into a fine powder so you won’t bite down on big pieces of candy cane.
- Flaky Sea Salt – Maldon salt takes the flavor of the cookies from flat to robust. Trust me on this!
Step by Step Directions
Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe instructions.
- Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the chocolate chips and butter. Stir just until ingredients are melted and be careful to watch so chocolate doesn’t burn. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract and peppermint extract and cool.
- Beat the eggs and sugars in a stand mixer for 3-4 minutes or until thick and pale in color.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir in the cooled chocolate mixture until well combined.
- Add in the flour mixture and fold until combined, avoid over-mixing. Dough will look shiny.
- Chill cookie dough in fridge for at least 10 minutes so batter can thicken and look more like cookie dough. (Chilling the dough will also help the cookies bake up thicker & help prevent spreading)
- Scoop batter using a cookie scoop so cookies come out even in size. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes. (Will make ~18 cookies, depending on size scoop you use).
- Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, dip in melted white chocolate and garnish with crushed peppermint candies.
Tips
- The cookies will spread if you don’t allow the batter to rest. It will look very wet, shiny, and almost gooey at first. Allowing the batter to chill in the fridge for just 10 minutes gives the dough a chance to firm up and act more like a cookie dough.
- Cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
- Store cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Cookies might look gooey when you pull them out, but once they cool they will firm up and be perfect!
- When melting the chocolate chips and butter be sure to watch it carefully so the chocolate doesn’t burn.
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Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. espresso powder
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 cup chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, dark)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. peppermint extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed (dark or light)
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 cup white chocolate chips or melting wafers work great!
- 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
- 1/3 cup crushed candy canes for garnish
- flaky sea salt (optional)
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl: flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Whisk and set aside.1 3/4 cup all purpose flour, spooned and leveled, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 2 tsp. espresso powder, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. salt
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the chocolate chips and butter. Stir just until ingredients are melted and be careful to watch so chocolate doesn't burn. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and peppermint extracts and cool.8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, 1 cup chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, dark), 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tsp. peppermint extract
- Using a stand-mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs and sugars for 3-4 minutes or until thick and pale in color.2 large eggs, room temperature, 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed (dark or light), 1/4 cup white sugar
- Using a rubber spatula, stir in the cooled chocolate/butter mixture until well combined.
- Add in the flour mixture and fold until combined, avoid over-mixing. Dough will look shiny.
- Chill cookie dough in fridge for at least 10 minutes so batter can thicken and look more like cookie dough. (Chilling the dough will also help the cookies bake up thicker & help prevent spreading). Preheat oven to 350°F while dough chills.
- Scoop batter using a cookie scoop so cookies come out even in size and place on a baking sheet or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. (Will make ~18 cookies using a 2 Tbsp. scoop)
- Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Melt white chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwavable safe bowl in 30 seconds increments, stirring in between, until smooth.1 cup white chocolate chips or melting wafers work great!, 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
- Dip one side of the baked cookies into the white chocolate and add crushed peppermint candies and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt (optional).1/3 cup crushed candy canes for garnish, flaky sea salt (optional)
Video
Notes
- The cookies will spread if you don’t allow the batter to rest. It will look very wet, shiny, and almost gooey at first. Allowing the batter to chill in the fridge for just 10 minutes gives the dough a chance to firm up and act more like a cookie dough.
- Cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.
- Store cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Cookies might look gooey when you pull them out, but once they cool they will firm up and be perfect!
- When melting the chocolate chips and butter be sure to watch it carefully so the chocolate doesn’t burn.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
This was the perfect recipe for gifting during the holidays. The recipe is simple but the presentation makes them look next level! You can’t go wrong with chocolate and peppermint!
These cookies are more like a brownie! So good and the recipe is pretty simple. I had my boys help with red and green sanding sugar as these are “Santa’s cookies” and I did the peppermint sprinkling. Love having the ingredients re-listed below the directions. Make it so much easier
I made these cookies but doubled the recipe. I made them twice ( but haven’t dipped yet as I promised my granddaughter she could help with that). The first batch was done exactly as the recipe stated. The second batch I tried using the stand mixer for all mixing steps and this I don’t recommend. Both batches made 12 large and 12-15 smaller cookies and are yummy. However, the second batch that I used the stand mixer completely are definitely not as pretty as the first batch that I hand mixed so hand mixing is definitely a must!! These are so much like a brownie but much nicer to give away even if you don’t choose to dip them in white chocolate. Thank you Tawnie for another FABULOUS and heavenly cookie recipe!!!!!!
Love this comparison! thank you so much for making them 🙂
These cookies are delicious and super chocolatey with a great texture. They will be a perfect addition to my holiday cookie tray!
Love how you relist the ingredient information under each step by step direction. Since I bake from my iPad, it saves a lot of time scrolling up and down between the two. So helpful ~ Wish everyone did this. Will be making these soon. Thank you and Merry Christmas??
Thank you SO much! Working on adding this to all my recipes! 🙂
So good! Chocolate and peppermint are a favorite in our house and these did not disappoint! My kids had fun decorating them. They were a bit big. My kids had trouble finishing one. Next time I will make them smaller.
The recipe is good. The adds make it impossible to read on my iPad!
Hello!
These look amazing!
Can I mix in crushed candy canes I to the dough and then bake?
I am sure that would be delish! LMK how it goes! 🙂
I ordered the espresso powder but will be coming too late. Anything I can substitute for it? Instant coffee?
Hi Rebecca! I haven’t tried these with Instant coffee, the espresso powder is used to enhance the chocolate flavor, not really to give a coffee-y taste so you could omit it if you’d like until your espresso powder arrives 🙂
Can I freeze the cookie dough to bake at a later date or is it better to freeze the baked cookies?
Hi Courtney! Yes, either way works. You can freeze the dough balls for up to 3 months or the baked and cooled cookies for also up to 3 months 🙂