Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

It is Christmas cookie season, and I am not kidding when I say I have found my new favorite cookie recipe. These Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are rich and fudgy with just the right amount of peppermint flavoring.

The cookies are topped with crushed peppermint, semisweet chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips and then rolled in sugar for the perfect crunch. They're soft and tender with just the right amount of chewiness. Convinced yet?

We start off with a super easy chocolate peppermint cookie dough and add in the chocolate chips and crushed peppermint. I like using semisweet and white chocolate chips, but bittersweet chocolate chips will work fine too. The recipe makes a little more than a dozen and a half cookies with a 2 tablespoon sized cookie scoop, but can easily be cut in half or doubled if less or more cookies are needed.

A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE GET STARTED

• Room Temperature Ingredients:
  • Butter: It’s important that your butter is softened. In a pinch, you can put your butter in the microwave for about 5 seconds on each side, but watch closely to make sure it is just softening and not melting.
  • Eggs: You want to make sure that your eggs are at room temperature to ensure that they are properly incorporated into your batter. If you forget to leave them out before you start baking, place them in a bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes until they become room temperature.
• Measuring Your Ingredients:I strongly encourage that you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients and ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
  • However, if you don’t have a scale on hand and will be using cup measurements, make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method when measuring to avoid packing in too much of any dry ingredient.
• Oven Temperature:Make sure to preheat your oven for at least 15 minutes before you start baking.
  • I recommend purchasing an oven thermometer to get to know your oven so you can adjust your baking temperatures accordingly. Some ovens run slightly warmer or colder so its important to know yours to make sure your baked goods come out right.
• Check out My Favorite Baking Tools to see what I use when I bake.

Who's ready to bake? Preheat oven to 350º F. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and melted chocolate on medium speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs one at a time, followed by the peppermint extract.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture and mix until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Carefully stir in about ¾ of the semisweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and crushed peppermint, making sure to save the rest for the tops of the cookies. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it for about 30 minutes.

Using a 2 tablespoon scoop, form cookies into balls and place each cookie on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Add a few chocolate chips and crushed peppermint pieces to the tops of each cookie. Make sure to put the peppermint as close to the centers as possible as they’ll melt and spread if they’re closer to the sides. Roll each cookie in sugar.

Place each cookie a few inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until cookies are firm around the edges. Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet before carefully moving them to a cooling rack.

Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to one week but are best when enjoyed within the first few days.

Cookie dough can also be made ahead, scooped and topped with chips and peppermint and placed in a ziploc bag to be frozen for up to two months. Once you're ready to bake, let the dough sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes, roll in sugar, and bake. You'll need to add on an extra 5 minutes or so to the original baking time.

If you're looking for other chocolate peppermint recipes, check out these Peppermint Brownies, Chocolate Peppermint Pudding, and Chocolate Covered Peppermint Pretzels.

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