Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Peppermint chocolate chip cookies are Santa’s favorite treats! They boast white and dark chocolate chips, and crushed candy canes. They’re a popular choice for cookie exchanges, church socials, and Christmas gatherings.
📌 PIN PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THese peppermint cookies
- Familiar instructions: Candy cane chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorite go-to holiday desserts. They’re a festive twist on the traditional chocolate chip cookie! Because most of us are already familiar with that basic recipe and instructions, these treats are quick and simple to make.
- Convenient: This recipe’s a time saver during the busy holiday season. It’s easy to double. Make cookie dough pucks in advance. Refrigerate or freeze them for later. When ready to enjoy, slip pucks into the oven. Within minutes, you’ll have a batch of freshly-baked peppermint chocolate chip cookies ready to serve. So simple and convenient.
- Elevating the flavor is easy: Sea salt is known to enhance the flavor of chocolate. It intensifies richness and makes it “pop.” It also provides exciting texture. If you love this idea, sprinkle the warm cookies with flaky salt.
- Perfect for holiday gift-giving: Most everyone loves cookies! Assemble extra batches for holiday gift-giving. Arrange them on a tray, or slip them into bakery-style glassine bags. Present the gifts with a Christmas ornament plus a recipe card for the peppermint chocolate chip cookies.
- Easy to pair with drinks: These yummy treats with crisp edges and chewy middles are irresistible. It’s impossible to just eat one! Pair candy cane chocolate chip cookies with peppermint hot cocoa bombs or homemade iced vanilla latte.
🧑🏼🍳 WAY TO USE LEFT-OVER CANDY CANES: After the holiday is over, we often have left-over candy canes. Instead of throwing them out, use them to make fresh batches of peppermint chocolate chip cookies.
🛒 INGREDIENTS
Here’s what you’ll need for the best peppermint chocolate chip cookies.
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar
- Large egg
- Pure vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Sea salt
- Dark chocolate chips
- White chocolate chips
- Candy canes (standard size)
- OPTIONAL GARNISH: Maldon flaky sea salt
🥣 EASY INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS
Missing an ingredient for these candy cane chocolate chip cookies? Don’t put on your shoes and head to the market. Instead, head to your fridge or pantry. Check for these easy ingredient swaps.
It’s convenient and money-saving to use ingredients you already have on hand! Especially during stay-at-home times.
- Unsalted Butter: The best swap is salted butter. Just reduce the 1 teaspoon salt in the recipe down to 1/2 teaspoon salt. More good options are margarine, butter-flavored shortening, or refined coconut oil. Just know, coconut oil will result in cookies that are crunchy rather than chewy.
- Light Brown Sugar: The moistness in brown sugar helps provide peppermint chocolate chip cookies with a chewy soft texture. Replace with half granulated sugar and half dark brown sugar. Or use an even measurement of granulated sugar.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Sub with maple syrup, bourbon, brandy or amber rum. Or use vanilla bean paste as a 1:1 replacement.
- Dark Chocolate Chips: The best swaps are high-quality, semi-sweet chocolate chips, or high-quality baking chocolate bars.
- White Chocolate Chips: Replace with white chocolate almond bark (chips, blocks or squares). Another good option: milk chocolate chips. Their level of sweetness is a great flavor match.
- Candy Canes: Use starlight peppermint candy. Crush up the candy well so no one breaks a tooth when biting into these peppermint cookies. The more crushed the candies are, the more evenly flavored the cookies will be.
📖 RECIPE STEPS
RECIPE PREP: Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper or reusable silicone baking mats.
- STEP 1: In a large bowl, whisk melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla. Whisk to incorporate. In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and sea salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
- STEP 2: Sprinkle in the dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and crushed candy canes. Gently fold them into the batter. Cover and chill in the freezer 30 minutes, or in the fridge 45 minutes (or overnight).
- STEP 3: Preheat oven to 350°F. With a 1-ounce metal scoop, portion out pucks of cookie dough, placing the balls 2 inches apart on a prepared baking tray. Bake 11 to 14 minutes or until the edges are just set, and the middles are puffy. It’s absolutely perfect if the centers are still a bit gooey and under baked. After removing the cookie sheet from the oven, tap it gently on the counter to slightly deflate the cookies.
- STEP 4: If desired, sprinkle tops of the cookies with flaky sea salt and/or additional candy cane crumbs. Let cookies shed heat on the tray about 5 minutes. When cool enough to lift, transfer to a metal rack to finish cooling.
👩🏻🍳 RECIPE FAQ
These are the most commonly asked questions when making peppermint chocolate chip cookies, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.
Add 1 extra egg yolk to the cookie dough batter. Yolks have protein that become a gel-like substance when heated in the oven. This delivers a baked chocolate chip cookie with a soft chewy texture. Another option is adding a tablespoon of Karo light corn syrup to the cookie dough.
The type of chocolate you use will make or break the cookie! Use high-quality chocolate, not the store brand. Low-quality chocolate chips have a waxy flavor profile. Look for Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips, and Ghirardelli premium baking classic white chips. Or Guittard dark chocolate chips, and Guittard choc-au-lait gourmet white baking chips. If you can’t find those brands, use Nestle Toll House.
Chilling cookie dough before baking solidifies the fat in the mix. Chilled fat takes longer to melt and spread when baked in a hot oven than does room temperature fat. Chilled cookie dough helps prevent the cookies from over-spreading and becoming flat as a pancake.
As a tray of cookies is removed from the oven, baking experts recommend tapping the tray (or dropping it down) on the oven rack or countertop. This slightly deflates the cookies, allowing the edges to set up perfectly, and the middles to remain soft and chewy.
Several different things can cause this. The baking soda was not fresh. Ingredients were incorrectly measured. The oven is too hot. The cookie dough was not chilled long enough so the butter melted too quickly in the oven before the cookies could develop a firm structure. Hot baking sheets were used after the first batch so the cookies spread out quickly.
Line a baking tray that will fit inside your freezer with parchment paper. Portion out cookie dough into small balls. In a single layer, arrange balls on prepared tray leaving space between each. Slip tray of cookie dough into the freezer for 3 to 4 hours or until solid. Transfer frozen balls to a zip-top freezer bag, or arrange them in a plastic container with layers separated by sheets of parchment paper. Freeze up to 3 months.
🎄MORE EASY CHRISTMAS TREATS
For holiday baking, there’s nothing better than fool-proof classic recipes that are guaranteed to please a crowd. If you enjoyed these peppermint chocolate chip cookies, you’ll also love these special Christmas treats.
- Peppermint Meringues
- Ginger Spice Cupcakes
- Chocolate Pudding Dessert
- Tiramisu
- Gingerbread Loaf
- Cranberry Cupcakes
- Gingerbread Man Cookies
- Ginger Snap Cookies
RATE THIS RECIPE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
At large events, these Christmas cookies get high ratings. Eaters rave that this is the BEST recipe for peppermint chocolate chip cookies. They have the ideal flavor and texture. They’re festive, yummy and satisfying!
If you agree these treats are delicious, give the candy cane chocolate chip cookies a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero! Share it with a friend. Pin it to Pinterest. Happy holidays to you and your family.
Peppermint chocolate chip cookies
- Total Time: 1 Hour
- Yield: 30 Cookies 1x
Description
These candy cane chocolate chip cookies are packed with yummy white and dark chocolate chips and crushed candy canes. Crisp around the edges and soft in the middle, they have a gorgeous texture and festive crunch!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (firmly-packed) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3/4 cup Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup Ghirardelli premium baking classic white chips
- 6 regular-size candy canes, well crushed (about 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
- FOR SPRINKLING: Additional crushed candy canes
- OPTIONAL: Maldon flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
RECIPE PREP: Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper or reusable silicone baking mats.
- In a large bowl, whisk melted butter and brown sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla. Whisk to incorporate.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and sea salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix. The dough will be softer, thinner, and much less dense than standard chocolate chip cookie dough.
- Sprinkle in the dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and crushed candy canes. Gently fold them into the batter. Cover and chill in the freezer 30 minutes, or in the fridge 45 minutes (or overnight).
- Preheat oven to 350°F. With a 1-ounce metal scoop, portion out pucks of cookie dough, placing the balls 2 inches apart on a prepared baking tray.
- Bake 11 to 14 minutes or until the edges are just set, and the middles are puffy. It’s absolutely perfect if the centers are still a bit gooey and under baked. After removing the cookie sheet from the oven, tap it gently on the counter to slightly deflate the cookies.
- If desired, sprinkle tops of the cookies with flaky sea salt and/or additional candy cane crumbs. Let cookies shed heat on the tray about 5 minutes. When cool enough to lift, transfer to a metal rack to finish cooling.
Notes
HOW TO FREEZE COOKIE DOUGH: Line a metal tray that will fit inside the freezer with parchment paper. Portion out cookie dough into small balls. In a single layer, arrange balls on prepared tray leaving space between each. Slip tray of cookie dough into the freezer for 3 to 4 hours or until solid. Transfer frozen balls to a zip-top freezer bag, or arrange them in a plastic container with layers separated by sheets of parchment paper. Freeze up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Chill Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 15 Minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
peppermint chocolate chip cookies > your thoughts
Have you ever baked candy cane chocolate chip cookies? Would you like to try this easy recipe? Who will you share these minty treats with? Join the conversation in the comments below!
