Chewy Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Celebrate the holidays with these scrumptious double chocolate peppermint cookies. They are a chocolate-mint lover’s dream and have the perfect chewy cookie texture. In under an hour, they are ready to serve with hot cocoa.
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a good dose of treats! These chocolate peppermint candy cookies are a family favorite because they have the ultimate Christmas flavor combination. They are thick, chewy and gooey with a bit of crunchy peppermint to create a satisfying texture. In fact, if your guests are anything like mine, then these cookies will earn a permanent spot on your Christmas cookie menu (just like these peppermint crinkles).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Classic holiday flavor combo. These cookies are loaded with deep chocolatey flavors from the cocoa powder and chocolate chips, while the crushed peppermint add a satisfying minty flavor.
- Good use of leftover candy canes. Just chop them up and stir the pieces into the dough.
- Make ahead the dough for easy holiday prep.
- Ready in under an hour. A short chill time means the cookies are ready to eat in no time!
- Tested and perfected. This recipe is based off my popular double chocolate chip cookie recipe. It guarantees a chewy texture.
Ingredient notes
- Unsalted butter: Ensure that the unsalted butter is at room temperature to achieve the perfect cookie texture.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: Use good quality unsweetened cocoa powder for the best results. I prefer Ghirardelli.
- Chocolate chips: Select semisweet or dark chocolate chips for this recipe.
- Crushed peppermints: You can buy peppermints that are already crushed or crush them by hand. (If you have extra, make my white chocolate peppermint cookies next.)
- Peppermint extract: This extract will intensify the peppermint flavor.
Refer to the recipe card for ingredient details and measurements.
Recipe Variations
Dip the cookies in chocolate. I love the clean finish of white chocolate. Simply dip the cookies into the melted chocolate and add a sprinkle of crushed candy canes before serving. You can also dip the cookies in melted dark chocolate if you prefer a more bittersweet taste.
Swap out the chocolate chips. If you are feeling creative or have extra chocolate chips, you can use white chocolate chips or peppermint chips in this recipe! Not too keen on peppermint?
Make cookie sandwiches. Pipe some chocolate buttercream on the bottom of one cookie and press another on top. It would also taste delicious with the white chocolate buttercream I used in my peppermint cake recipe.
How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Whisk the dry ingredients: Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside for later.
- Beat wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the egg, peppermint extract and mix until combined.
- Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Stir until just combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and crushed peppermint by hand.
- Chill the dough: Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- Roll and bake: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into balls and place them on the baking sheet. Press the dough down slightly and top with more crushed peppermint. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes.
Expert Tips
Weigh the flour with a kitchen scale to achieve the best cookie texture. Adding too much or too little flour to the dough will affect the texture and taste of the cookies. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, fluff up your flour and spoon it into the measuring cup before leveling and do the same with the cocoa powder.
Sift the crushed peppermint with a fine mesh sieve and discard the peppermint dust. The dust creates extra sugar in the dough and causes the cookies to spread. In addition, do not roll the dough balls in crushed peppermint for the same reason. Just put a few pieces on top of the cookies if you’d like an eye-catching finish.
To achieve the perfect circular shape go around the cookies in a circular motion with a circular cookie cutter while they are still hot.
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Once you are ready to bake, defrost the dough in the refrigerator then scoop and bake. Baked cookies also last in the freezer for up to 3 months. Wrap stacks of 3 or 4 cookies in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the freezer.
Make ahead the dough and store in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Alternatively, you can roll the dough into balls, flash freeze them for an hour and store in an airtight container the freezer. Bake from frozen for 12 to 14 minutes.
Recipe FAQ
Peppermint extract has a very strong flavor so you only need 1/2 teaspoon for this recipe. Any more may result in overly minty cookies.
Yes, candy canes do melt in the oven. If there are too many candy cane bits in the cookies then they will lose their shape. To avoid this, sift the peppermint dust out of the crushed candy cane and only press candy cane bits on top of the dough balls.
Yes, this recipe doubles and triples easily to make a large batch of cookies to feed many.
Related Recipes
If you love minty desserts, then try these tasty recipes next!
Did you love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below and if you REALLY loved it, consider leaving a comment further down the page.
Get the Recipe: Chewy Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (33 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 3 candy canes, crushed (equivalent to 12 mini candy canes), sifted (see notes)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl with a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the egg and peppermint extract. Beat until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the side of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated, 30 seconds. Stir in the chocolate chips and crushed candy canes.
- Cover and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
- Ten minutes before taking the dough out of the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350° F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop dough, roll into a ball. Slightly flatten the ball and place on prepared cookie sheet. If you want, add a few candy cane bits on top for aesthetics. Repeat with remaining dough and place on prepared cookie sheet 1 1/2 inches apart.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are set and the center is still soft. Let cookie cool on the baking sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
5 Comments on “Chewy Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies”
These are the best ever! Thanks for sharing.
I have already crushed peppermint so how much should I use in this recipe?
I have now made these twice and here’s what I’ve learned… I don’t think there’s enough butter in the cookie. I added 1/4 cup more than the recipe calls for. I also liked a stronger mint flavor, so added another 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract. these little tweaks, and rolling the dough in sugar before baking, made them AMAZING.
Absolutely delicious and potentially addicting! I did have some melting of the candy inside the dough that leaked onto the cookie sheet. but I could break it off.
Thanks for such a delicious recipe