Chocolate Peppermint Cookies recipe is one of our all time favorites with the heavenly chocolate and mint combo! The cookies are delicious, chocolaty with an amazing texture! They are crunchy from the outside while soft, moist and chewy from the inside. And it takes only 25 minutes to make them!
These Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies taste like moist thin mints. They are easy to make and are a great option for a Christmas cookie exchange, holiday cookie gift boxes, Christmas goodie plates and cookie giveaways. Once you make these cookies, you’ll add them to the holiday baking list!
These fudgy cookies are perfect to make with your children as a fun activity during the holidays’ season!
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy – this is one of the easiest cookie recipes for the holidays.
- Chocolatey – who doesn’t love rich and chocolaty cookies?!
- Their flavor is so Christmassy – they will get you in the holiday spirit as soon as you start baking them and will soon become a holiday cookie staple at your house!
Ingredients for Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Here’s what you need to make these delicious Chocolate Peppermint Cookies:
- Dry ingredients: All purpose flour, baking powder and cocoa powder.
- Butter: Use unsalted softened butter for this recipe.
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar.
- Egg: Use an egg that’s at room temperature. As this will allow it to incorporate better in the cookie dough.
- Vanilla: Use a good quality pure vanilla extract. It can also be substituted with peppermint extract if you prefer.
- Chocolate chunks and peppermint chips.
How To Make Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Prep your oven: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line sheet pans with silicone liners or parchment paper.
- Mix the dry: Start by sifting the flour, baking powder and cacao into a bowl.
- Mix the wet: In a separate large bowl, using a mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes on medium-high speed. Then, add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix just until smooth and combined.
- Make the dough: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the cream. Mix just until no large lumps of dry ingredients remain.
- Add chocolates and peppermint chips: Fold the chocolate chunks and peppermint chips into the dough with a silicone spatula.
- Scoop: Scoop the cookies onto the parchment lined baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Flatten cookies slightly with the palm of your hand to help them spread a little.
- Bake: Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are set in the center. Rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time.
- Serve: Allow for the cookies to sit on the baking tray for 3 minutes before serving them while still a bit warm. Enjoy!
Tips For Making Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Vanilla extract can be substituted with peppermint extract. But make sure to use peppermint and not mint extract.
- My preferred cocoa powder is Hershey’s special dark but any unsweetened cocoa powder will work in this recipe.
- Chocolate chunks can be substituted with chocolate chips.
- White chocolate peppermint chips are widely available in grocery stores around the holidays. The most common brands are Ghirardelli and Andes. However if you cannot find them, you can substitute with ¼ cup white chocolate chips and ¼ cup crushed candy cane.
- If using crushed candy cane, you can crush the candy cane finer to avoid having some larger chunks in these soft cookies.
- If cookie dough gets warm while rolling it into cookie dough balls, it’s better to chill the dough before continuing working with it.
- Using a cookie scoop ensures uniform cookies every time you make them.
- Flatten cookies slightly after scooping them (but not too much so they don’t end up being completely flat) with the palm of your hand to help them spread a little.
- Feel free to add any of your favorite additions to the cookie dough, such as hazelnuts, walnuts, craisins, M&M’s, espresso or coffee powder.
- If desired, you can drizzle glaze over cooled cookies and let them stand until set for about 10 minutes. The glaze is made of mixing together sugar, mint extract and a bit of water. But, in my view, this is unnecessary and you can totally skip the glaze as the cookies are sweet enough on their own. Plus, it helps to cut down on sugar.
- These cookies are best when served warm. I like to heat them for 15-20 seconds in the microwave for that “fresh from the oven” taste, and enjoy them with a glass of milk!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can store the cookies after allowing them to cool on a cooling rack to room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
You can safely freeze cooked cookies after letting them cool completely. Put them in freezer-safe bags or containers for up to 2 months. Thaw them out at room temperature and enjoy!
Alternatively, you can freeze the dough after scooping them into balls and placing on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Like this they will be ready to bake. Let them freeze for half an hour before transferring them to a freezer safe bag or containers.
You can freeze them up to 2 months. Bake as usual, but add a few additional minutes to the total baking time.
1) You can add some flour to solve the spreading problem. About ¾ of a cup should do the trick.
2) Try to chill the butter a bit before using. Not totally firm but chilled.
3) Avoid adding cookies to a warm pan sheet. If you need to reuse same baking sheets for the following batches, clean and rinse them under cold water until they are totally cooled, then dry completely before using.
Yes you can! Same as with an electric mixer, mix together wet ingredients first, then slowly add the dry ingredients until no large lumps of dry ingredients remain. However, this will require a bit of a workout for your arm.
Recommended Tools
Here’s what I use and recommend to bake these amazing cookies:
- Sheet pan or baking sheet: I use half size Nordicware sheet to bake cookies and roast veggies. They are durable and never rust. They allow food to cook evenly and are easy to clean.
- Stand mixer: I’ve been using this KitchenAid hand mixer for many years now and I’d recommend it as a reliable kitchen equipment. It has 9 speeds and a soft start feature to help preventing ingredients from splattering.
- Silicone spatula: this is my favorite spatula that I always use.
- Mixing bowls: I love using these Pyrex glass bowls. They are transparent which allows you to see through all the ingredients and how they’re being mixed. The bowls come in different sizes and nest one into another to save space.
- A cookie scoop: I use this cookie scoop to ensure uniform cookies.
- Measuring cups and spoons: these are my favorite ones that I use in my kitchen every day.
More Festive Recipes You’ll Love
- Grinch Cookies
- Condensed Milk Fudge
- White Chocolate Fudge
- Vegan Cocolate Cheesecake
- Instant Pot Cheesecake
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Marble Cookies
- Stained Glass Cookies
- Mocha Chocolate Truffles
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Enjoy!
Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Equipment
- Sheet pan or baking sheet
- Silicone spatula
- A cookie scoop
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsweetend cocoa powder
- ½ cup butter 1 stick – softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
- ½ cup white chocolate peppermint chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Line sheet pans with silicone liners or parchment paper.
- Sift together flour, baking powder and cacao powder in one bowl.
- In another bowl, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes on medium-high speed. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl 1-2 times.
- With the mixer on low, add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix just until smooth and combined.
- Next, with the mixer on low, add sifted flour mixture. Mix just until no large lumps of dry ingredients remain.
- Lastly, add the chocolate chunks and peppermint chips. Fold them into the dough with a silicone spatula.
- Scoop the cookie dough into the lined baking sheets, about 2-inches apart. Flatten cookies slightly to help them spread a little.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are set in the center. Rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time.
- Serve the cookies warm and enjoy!
Notes
- Vanilla extract can be substituted with peppermint extract. But make sure to use peppermint and not mint extract.
- My preferred cocoa powder is Hershey’s special dark but any unsweetened cocoa powder will work in this recipe.
- Chocolate chunks can be substituted with chocolate chips.
- White chocolate peppermint chips are widely available in grocery stores around the holidays. The most common brands are Ghirardelli and Andes. However if you cannot find them, you can substitute with ¼ cup white chocolate chips and ¼ cup crushed candy cane.
- If using crushed candy cane, you can crush the candy cane finer to avoid having some larger chunks in these soft cookies.
- If cookie dough gets warm while rolling it into cookie dough balls, it’s better to chill the dough before continuing working with it.
- Using a cookie scoop ensures uniform cookies every time you make them.
- Flatten cookies slightly after scooping them (but not too much so they don’t end up being completely flat) with the palm of your hand to help them spread a little.
- Feel free to add any of your favorite additions to the cookie dough, such as hazelnuts, walnuts, craisins, M&M’s, espresso or coffee powder.
- If desired, you can drizzle glaze over cooled cookies and let them stand until set for about 10 minutes. The glaze is made of mixing together sugar, mint extract and a bit of water. But, in my view, this is unnecessary and you can totally skip the glaze as the cookies are sweet enough on their own. Plus, it helps to cut down on sugar.
- These cookies are best when served warm. I like to heat them for 15-20 seconds in the microwave for that “fresh from the oven” taste, and enjoy them with a glass of milk!
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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