These Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are perfect for cookie swaps, gifting, or adding to your holiday dessert tray. With homemade sandwich cookies, cool peppermint buttercream, crushed candy canes, and a drizzle of melted chocolate, they’re the ultimate festive treat!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Beautiful Presentation: With a piping of creamy frosting in the middle plus melted chocolate and crushed candy canes on top, these peppermint Christmas cookies are sure to impress!
- Make-Ahead Friendly: The cookie dough can be made in advance and refrigerated or frozen until you’re ready to bake.
- Perfect for the Holidays: Whether you’re headed to a party, participating in a cookie exchange, preparing homemade gifts, or planning your holiday dessert menu, this peppermint chocolate cookies recipe is great for any occasion.
If you love all things peppermint, you’ve got to check out our peppermint milkshake and chocolate peppermint cupcakes!
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Ingredients
For the Cookies
- Wet Ingredients: Butter provides richness, sugar adds sweetness, vanilla extract enhances the flavors, and an egg binds the dough. Melted chocolate chips deepen the flavor and create a fudgy texture for these dark chocolate peppermint cookies.
- Dry Ingredients: All-purpose flour provides structure, baking soda acts as a leavener, salt balances the sweetness, and cocoa powder enhances the chocolate flavor.
For the Frosting
- Butter: Creates the base of the chocolate peppermint cookie frosting.
- Powdered Sugar: Thickens and sweetens the frosting while keeping it fluffy.
- Peppermint Extract: Adds a cool, refreshing, minty flavor to the buttercream frosting.
- Milk: Helps achieve the perfect smooth and creamy texture for the frosting.
- Crushed Candy Canes: These are mixed in to add crunch and a pop of color.
For Decorating
- Crushed Candy Canes: Roll the assembled cookies into crushed candy canes or sprinkle some on top for the perfect festive touch.
- Melted Chocolate: Drizzle a little melted chocolate on top of each cookie before adding the crushed candy canes to help them stick.
⭐️ Tip: Use the peppermint extract and extra candy canes to make this white chocolate fudge next!
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Gluten-Free: Replace the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend containing xanthan gum to make gluten-free peppermint cocoa cookies.
- Chocolate-Dipped: After assembling, dip the cookies halfway in melted chocolate, then sprinkle on the crushed candy canes.
- Vanilla Cream: Swap the peppermint extract for vanilla extract and leave out the crushed candy canes in the frosting. Top with melted chocolate and festive sprinkles, if desired.
- No Buttercream: Skip the frosting for slice-and-bake chocolate cookies that are perfect for dunking in a warm milk steamer.
How to Make the Best Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
To get started making this chocolate peppermint cookies recipe, gather all of the ingredients for the dough. It needs to chill for a while, so you don’t have to preheat your oven just yet.
- Step 1: Melt chocolate chips. Add the chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals until smooth, stirring in between.
- Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients. Cream the butter and the sugar together. Then, mix in the egg, vanilla, and melted chocolate.
- Step 3: Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder, and mix until just combined.
- Step 4: Roll the dough. Divide the dough in half and add one half to a piece of parchment paper. Roll into a tight log. Repeat with the other half. Chill both logs in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Step 5: Bake the cookies. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the dough into ¼” slices and bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to set for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- Step 6: Make the frosting. Beat the butter and add the peppermint extract, milk, and powdered sugar a little at a time. Beat until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stir in crushed candy canes.
- Step 7: Assemble the cookies. Turn a cookie upside down and pipe frosting onto it. Top with another cookie. Continue until all of the cookies have been assembled.
- Step 8: Decorate the cookies. Drizzle melted chocolate on each assembled cookie and top with crushed candy canes, if desired.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients: For the cookie dough, allow the eggs and butter to come to room temperature to help them mix more evenly. For the frosting, bring the butter and milk to room temperature to create a lump-free, light, and fluffy texture.
- Chill the dough fully: If the dough isn’t cold enough, it won’t slice properly. Chilled dough ensures clean and uniform slices.
- Avoid overbaking: The cookies should be slightly soft in the center for the best texture. Bake them just until the edges are set.
- Pipe the frosting: Piping gives the frosting a cleaner, more polished look and makes it easier to assemble the cookies.
Serving Suggestions
- Enjoy a chocolate peppermint cookie with a delicious coconut milk hot chocolate.
- Serve these cookies on a holiday dessert tray along with fudge truffles and homemade English toffee for a tasty assortment of treats.
- Wrap them up and give them as gifts to family, friends, neighbors, teachers, or whoever’s on your Christmas list. And be sure to check out our cookie packaging ideas!
Recipe FAQs
Can you make the dough for peppermint chocolate cookies ahead of time?
Yes! Tightly wrap the dough logs and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw out the frozen dough in the refrigerator before slicing and baking.
How do I store chocolate peppermint cookies?
Store the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
What if I don’t have a piping bag and tip?
You can use a zip-top bag instead. Simply add the frosting to the bag, snip off a small corner, and pipe the frosting onto the cookie. It won’t be quite as decorative as a piping tip, but it still gives you clean, even layers.
More Holiday Cookies
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Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
These Chocolate Peppermint Cookies pair rich chocolate sandwich cookies with peppermint frosting, crushed candy canes, and a drizzle of melted chocolate. They’re perfect for cookie exchanges, gifting, and holiday dessert spreads!
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Rate
Servings: 35 cookies
Calories: 178kcal
Ingredients
Chocolate cookie
- 1 cup butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cup flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup melted chocolate chips
Peppermint frosting
- ½ cup room temp butter
- 3 cup powder sugar
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ¼ cup crushed candy canes
Instructions
Cookie Dough
- Melt your chocolate chips- place in a microwave safe bowl and cook in 30 second increments, stirring in between until smooth. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl cream your butter and sugar together. Add in egg, vanilla, and melted chocolate chips. Mix until just combined
- Add in your salt, baking soda, flour, and cocoa powder. Mix to combine
- Place half your cookie dough on a large piece of parchment paper and roll it into a tight log - about an inch in diameter. Repeat for the remaining dough. Place both in fridge for 1 hour.
- After chilling slice into ¼ inch slices and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Just until the edges are set. Remove from oven and keep them on the cookie sheet for about 1-2 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
Peppermint Buttercream Frosting
- In a bowl beat your room temp butter. Add in 1 cup powdered sugar, then peppermint extract, milk and remaining powder sugar. Beat for about 5 minutes. Stir in your crushed candy canes.
Cookie Assembly
- Match your cookie up into pairs of about the same size. Turn one upside down and pipe frosting onto the cookie then place the top on. You can roll in more crushed candy canes.
- If desired, drizzle with some melted chocolate on top and top with more crushed candy cane.
Notes
- Use room temperature butter and egg for the dough and room temperature butter and milk for the frosting to make mixing easier and to achieve the proper texture.
- If you want to make the dough in advance, wrap it tightly and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days ahead of time.
- If you don’t have a piping bag and tip, you can use a zip-top bag for the frosting. Fill the bag, cut off a small corner, then pipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 147mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 251IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg
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Candy says
There were a couple things that made this more difficult than it should have been. The egg is not listed in the ingredient list, so when I checked a few days prior if I needed egg and it wasn’t listed…then I didn’t have enough with the other food I was making. Also, in the directions it says roll the dough to a 1/4” which seemed odd to me so after scrolling up and down and back I figured out it was a typo and it was supposed to be rolled and then later cut to 1-4”.
Besides that, they were fun and yummy!
Desarae says
Thank you for letting me know about the egg missing. I've added it!
Emily says
There is a egg in the directions but no egg in the ingredients. Do I need eggs? If so how many?