Every holiday season, I love to bake several kinds of festive cookies and chocolate peppermint are always on the list. You can't beat the classic combination of chocolate and peppermint! Much like our Candy Cane candle, the little bits of candy cane combined with chocolate take me back to Christmas as a child.
When searching for a chocolate peppermint cookie recipe, it has to meet one specific criteria, there has to be A LOT of peppermint. I don't want just a hint! The recipe I tried this year is definitely going to be a repeat. It has peppermint extract, peppermint crunch bits AND is topped with crushed candy canes. The only thing I omitted from the recipe was rolling the raw cookie dough in crushed candy cane bits, I felt that they would become and melty mess, so I opted for topping the cookies with melted chocolate and sprinkling them on top. Continue reading for the full recipe provided by Two Peas and Their Pod.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup peppermint crunch pieces
- 1/2 cup crushed candies for dipping cookies
Method:
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cocoa. Set aside.
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With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time. Next, add in vanilla extract and peppermint extract. Mix until just combined.
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Gradually add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chips and peppermint crunch pieces.
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Place the crushed candy canes in a small bowl. Scoop the dough into rounded tablespoons and lightly dip the tops of the cookies into candy cane pieces. Make sure you don’t get carried away. You only want the tops to have the candy cane pieces. If you roll the whole cookies in the candy canes you will end up with a melted mess.
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Place cookie balls on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until cookies are set, but still soft in the center. Don’t overbake. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3 minutes. If desired, add extra candy cane pieces right after they come out of the oven to make the cookies extra pretty. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.
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Note-store cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 days. They also can be frozen. If you can’t find the Andes peppermint crunch baking chips, you can buy the Andes Peppermint Crunch Thins and chop them up. If you can’t find candy canes, you can crush up peppermint candies. Important note-don’t go crazy with the candy canes because they will melt. I dip just the tops of the cookie dough balls. If you want to make the cookies extra pretty, you can add extra candy cane pieces right after they come out of the oven.
Happy holiday baking!!
