Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
Layers of deep chocolate, creamy peppermint frosting, smooth melted chocolate, and festive peppermint crunch—all in one irresistible cookie. Easy to bake and even better to share, these treats are made for the holiday season!
Oh, how I love peppermint and chocolate together, especially at the holidays! My Peppermint Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Peppermint Roll are on the baking list every year. These two flavors also come together in cookie form, and are a huge favorite at our house. The fudgy cookie is paired perfectly with peppermint buttercream and silky chocolate layers, topped with bits of peppermint.
They’ll look so festive on any holiday cookie or treat plate, served at a Christmas party, or wrapped up to give away. Best of all, they might look like they take a long time to make, but these cookies come together quickly.
Table of contents
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Recommended quipment
- Cookie sheet – I like half sheet pans the best, but any size will do.
- Stand mixer or hand mixer – A stand mixer is easiest, but a hand mixer will do the job!
- Parchment paper – I love the sheets of parchment that fit right on your cookie sheet. So easy!
- Cookie scoop – For this recipe I like to use a medium cookie scoop, but if you’d like to make them larger or smaller you can. You’d just need to adjust the baking time a bit.
- Frosting Spatula You can use a regular knife to spread frosting, but these make it so much easier to spread evenly!
Ingredients
- Flour
- Cocoa
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Baking soda
- Butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Chocolate chips
- Powdered sugar
- Candy canes or peppermint sticks/candies
- Heavy cream
How to make
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Add the salt and vanilla and mix until combined.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda and gradually add to the creamed mixture.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to place cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 7 minutes until fluffy but still soft. Do not over bake!
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting
While the cookies are baking, start the frosting. Beat 1 cup of softened butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or hand mixer) until light and fluffy, about a minute.
Add the powdered sugar, salt, peppermint extract, vanilla extract, and 4 T. heavy cream, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed, and beat until creamy and fluffy, adding more heavy cream as needed to get the right consistency.
Note – You can adjust the peppermint extract to your taste. Start with a little–you can always add more. You want to avoid the toothpaste taste!
Unwrap the candy canes or peppermint candies, place in a plastic quart bag, and use a rolling pin to crush into pieces. You can also use a food processor if you have one.
Add a handful of the peppermint bits into the frosting and mix with a wooden spoon. Amounts are to your preference! Make sure you have enough reserved to sprinkle on top of the finished cookies.
Layering the cookies
When the cookies have cooled completely, frost each one generously with the peppermint frosting.
After the cookies have been frosted, place them in the refrigerator while you’re getting the chocolate ready. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Repeat in 10 second intervals, stirring each time to avoid overheating, until you can stir smooth.
Spoon a layer of chocolate over each cookie, spreading it to not quite cover the peppermint frosting. I like to see the edges of white from the top of each cookie.
Immediately sprinkle the remaining peppermint bits on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve or package.
Storage & freezing
Store the cookies in an airtight container, layered between sheets of parchment paper, for up to 3 days.
FAQ
Absolutely — you can make the cookies only (no frosting or chocolate) and freeze them up to 30 days in advance. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding to next steps. You can also make them up to 2 days in advance and store in an airtight container, between layers of parchment paper. I would suggest frosting and adding the chocolate the day of serving or packaging for the very best results.
Yes! It will make the cookies a richer, more intense chocolate flavor.
More Christmas recipes
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Peppermint Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 1 cup butter
Frosting
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. peppermint extract
- 4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
- dash salt
- Crushed peppermint candies or candy canes
Chocolate
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Add the salt and vanilla and mix until combined.
- In another bowl, combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda and gradually add to the creamed mixture.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to place dough onto the prepared cookie sheet. I can fit 12 on a half sheet baking pan. Bake for 7 minutes until fluffy but still soft. Do not overbake!
- Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting
- While the cookies are baking, start the frosting. Beat 1 cup of softened butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or hand mixer) until light and fluffy, about a minute.
- Add the powdered sugar, salt, peppermint extract, vanilla extract, and 4 T. heavy cream, and mix on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed, and beat until creamy and fluffy, adding more heavy cream as needed to get the right consistency. If it's too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.
- Note – You can adjust the peppermint extract to your taste. Start with a little–you can always add more. You want to avoid the toothpaste taste!
- Unwrap the candy canes or peppermint candies, place in a plastic quart bag, and use a rolling pin to crush into pieces. You can also use a food processor if you have one.
- Add a handful of the peppermint bits into the frosting and mix with a wooden spoon. Amounts are to your preference! Make sure you have enough reserved to sprinkle on top of the finished cookies.
Layering the cookies
- When the cookies have cooled completely, frost each one generously with the peppermint frosting.
- After the cookies have been frosted, place them in the refrigerator while you're getting the chocolate ready. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Repeat in 10 second intervals, stirring each time to avoid overheating, until you can stir smooth.
- Spoon a layer of chocolate over each cookie, spreading it to not quite cover the peppermint frosting. I like to see the edges of white from the top of each cookie.
- Immediately sprinkle the remaining peppermint bits on top. Refrigerate until ready to serve or package. Makes approximately 30 cookies, depending on size.
