Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Have you had the best Christmas Cookie yet? Well, these Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are that! Chocolate Cookies with a peppermint frosting and topped with crushed candy canes is the perfect cookie for the Holiday season!

Christmas time is one of the best time of years to make cookies. Ok, so really any time of year is great for making cookies.

These Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are one of my favorite cookies in the wintertime. Peppermint and candy canes on a cookie, you can't beat that!

These chocolate cookies are topped with an amazing peppermint buttercream icing and topped with crushed candy canes making one of the best Holiday cookies you will make this year!

How to make Chocolate Peppermint Cookies:

Like most cookie recipes your mix your dry ingredients and your wet ingredients separately. Then combine them together and mix well.

You then add in your chocolate and mix that all together. We use a 2-tablespoon scoop and make the cookie dough balls on the baking sheet.

Bake the cookies and while they are baking make the frosting. Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack and then frost them once they are cooled. Top with the crushed candy cane and enjoy!

Ingredients for Cookies:

• Butter - I used unsalted butter and make sure it is softened to room temperature.
• Dark Brown Sugar - You can substitute for light brown sugar if needed.
• Vanilla Extract
• Egg
• All-Purpose Flour
• Baking Powder
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• Chocolate Chips - use semi-sweet or milk chocolate depending on how sweet you like your cookies
• Milk - I used 2% but you can use any milk you have at home
• If you want to make a homemade peppermint frosting you can find those below. 

Directions for Cookies:

Step One - Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper then set aside. If you have not already, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave and set aside to cool slightly.

Step Two - Cream together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Step Three - Next add in vanilla extract, baking powder, egg, flour, cocoa, milk, and melted chocolate into the butter mixture. Mix until just combined.

Step Four - Scoop cookie dough into 2 tablespoon and roll into ball or use a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop.

Step Five - Place cookie dough on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly and bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool while you prepare frosting.

Step Five - Place cookie dough on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly and bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool while you prepare frosting.

• Tip: Get the cookies off the pan quickly once done, so they can cool faster for the icing.

How to make Peppermint Buttercream Frosting:

This buttercream frosting is a really simple frosting to make. Use a hand or stand mixer to mix everything together.

Ingredients for Frosting:

• Butter - also unsalted and softened
• Powdered Sugar - also called confectioners sugar
• Whipping Cream - add more for the desired texture you want.
• Peppermint Extract
• Crushed Candy Cane - you will use this for topping

Directions for Frosting:

Step One - Beat softened butter in a mixing bowl until creamy.

Step Two - Pour in 1 cup of the powdered sugar, and all of the peppermint extract, and whipping cream and mix.

Then slowly add in the remaining powdered sugar while mixing until smooth and creamy. Add more whipping cream as needed to get your desired texture.

Step Three - Spread peppermint frosting on cooled cookies then topped with crushed candy canes.

Tips for making a great cookie:

1. Don't over bake. Yes, this recipe does call for baking 12 to 14 minutes. I typically will pull them out closer to the 12-minute mark and allow them to bake some more on the pan once out of the oven. Yes, you do want to remove them from the pan relatively quickly so they can cool to be frosted.
2. Don't Over-Mix: Over mixing your cookies they could come out of the oven flat. Make sure to mix until just combined.
3. Freezing Cookie Dough: Place them on a sheet pan and into the freezer. This way they all freeze individually without getting stuck together. Once they are frozen you can place them all in a large freezer bag together.
4. Baking Frozen Cookie Dough: Start by removing the cookie dough from your freezer. Take out the cookie dough balls from the baggy and place on a baking dish to thaw.

Variations to Chocolate Peppermint Cookies:

1. Add some Peppermint Extract to the batter. Add a teaspoon of the peppermint extract to the batter and mix it in for a nice Chocolatey and Pepperminty flavor for the cookies.
2. Finely chop some Candy Canes and add them to the batter. I think this is a great addition to the cookies. Make sure you finely chop/crush the candy canes so when you bite into the cookies it is not too hard.

Do I need to chill this cookie dough?

For a lot of my cookie recipes, I have you all chill the dough. For this one I do not.

The reason for that is I want these to be a tad flatter for the frosting.

Chilling them does tend to harden the dough and dry it out a tad. But this also keeps the cookies from spreading for ones filled with chocolate chips or M&Ms.

Try some of my other favorite Christmas Cookies:

Christmas Monster Cookies - These Christmas Monster Cookies are great for a fun festive Christmas cookie! They are loaded with oats, Christmas M&Ms, crushed pretzels, chocolate and white chocolate chips!

Christmas Sugar Cookies - These Christmas Sugar Cookies are whipped with cream cheese to make the perfect soft and fluffy sugar cookie. Topped with a cream cheese frosting and festive Christmas sprinkles

Chocolate Christmas Sprinkle Cookies - These Chocolate Christmas Sprinkle Cookies make the perfect Christmas cookie! Soft and gooey and full of Christmas cheer.

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