Peppermint is available year-round, but is it really Christmas without seeing candy canes literally everywhere? These chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies are a great addition to Christmas baking and the flavor is incredible. Chocolate and peppermint are such a classic flavor combination, and the inclusion of crushed candy canes make these cookies perfect for Christmas time.
Chocolate and peppermint have always been a great combination, and these crinkle cookies are a great way to showcase that. Whether you call them crinkle cookies or crackle cookies, these are fun cookies to make for Christmas and look like snow covered fudge studded with pieces of candy canes.
This is actually a new recipe for myself and took a little tweaking until I was happy with them. My first batch used melted, unsweetened chocolate in addition to the cocoa powder, but the cookie dough came out too dry and dense. While the cookies tasted great and all my testers raved about the flavor, they were difficult to work with. I had to basically smash the dough into small discs before coating in sugar and baking, and I didn’t want to do a recipe that needed special directions in how to shape the dough and be difficult for people to work with.
My final workaround was a great solution that kept the flavor close, while the dough was much easier to work with. Instead of melted butter and chocolate, I swapped in mini chocolate chips. Now the oven could do the work of melting the chocolate for me, and the ones that don’t melt add little chunks of chocolate in the final cookie.
Ingredients for Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
Flour – 1 ½ cup of all-purpose flour gave me enough structure for roughly 30 cookies.
Cocoa Powder – Use unsweetened cocoa powder here, not Dutch processed.
Baking Soda – I originally used both soda and powder but found using only soda kept the cookies less cakey and more fudgy.
Butter – Instead of melting butter and chocolate, I ramped up the butter and creamed it with the sugar instead. Here I use 12 tablespoons of unsalted butter at room temperature, or 1 ½ sticks.
Sugar – Use both white and brown sugar here. You could use just white, or 50/50 white to brown, but I find a little extra brown sugar adds to the fudgy flavor and texture in the final cookie. You’ll also need a little granulated sugar and some powdered sugar for rolling the cookies in before baking.
Extract – A little peppermint extract goes a long way, but here I use a full teaspoon of peppermint and a ½ teaspoon of vanilla. I find the vanilla helps to temper the peppermint, while the full teaspoon of peppermint really ramps up the flavor in the cookies. If you want the flavor a little more subtle, cut back to a ½ teaspoon.
Eggs – I use a large egg and a large egg yolk here for added moisture and the yolk helps to keep the cookie fudgy instead of cakey.
Chocolate Chips – Use about 1 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. Some of them will melt in the oven to add chocolate flavor to the cookies, while the rest will leave nice bits of chocolate in the cookie.
Candy Canes – Use about 4 regular sized candy canes in the cookie dough. You’ll crush them before folding into the dough for little bits of peppermint flavor in the cookies.
How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine fully and set aside. Place the unwrapped candy canes in a small zipper lock bag without sealing and using a meat mallet or rolling pin, gently crush them. They shatter like glass, so use gentle pressure and try not to turn them into 100% powder.
In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla and peppermint extracts and mix on medium speed until combined, about 10 seconds. Add the egg and egg yolk, one at a time, and mix on low until fully combined, about 1 minute.
Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2-3 increments and mix on low speed until the cookie dough just comes together. Now fold in the mini chocolate chips, and then fold in the crushed candy canes. Once everything is combined, refrigerate the cookie dough for about 2 hours or overnight.
Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and preheat your oven to 350°F/177°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Set aside two bowls, one with a ½ cup of white granulated sugar and the other with 1 cup of powdered sugar. Scoop out the cookie dough with a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop or try to estimate that amount. Roll the cookie dough into a ball and then lightly coat it in the sugar, then heavily cover it with the powdered sugar. Place the dough on your baking sheet about 2-3 inches apart.
Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes, mine usually took right about 10 minutes. The cookies should just be starting to set around the edges and the tops will form cracks. Let them cool for at least 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and then move to a cooling rack.
The cookies will keep covered at room temperature for about a week.
📋 Recipe
Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, (1 ½ sticks) at room temperature
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 4 candy canes, crushed
For rolling:
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Directions
- In a mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups flour, ⅔ cup cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Whisk to combine fully and set aside. Place the 4 unwrapped candy canes in a small zipper lock bag without sealing and using a meat mallet or rolling pin, gently crush them. They shatter like glass, so use gentle pressure and try not to turn them into 100% powder.
- In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, ¼ cup granulated sugar, and ¾ cup brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon peppermint extract and mix on medium speed until combined, about 10 seconds. Add the egg and egg yolk, one at a time, and mix on low until fully combined, about 1 minute.
- Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2-3 increments and mix on low speed until the cookie dough just comes together. Now fold in the 1 cup mini chocolate chips, and then fold in the crushed candy canes. Once everything is combined, refrigerate the cookie dough for about 2 hours or overnight.
- Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and preheat your oven to 350°F/177°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Set aside two bowls, one with a ½ cup of white granulated sugar and the other with 1 cup of powdered sugar. Scoop out the cookie dough with a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop or try to estimate that amount. Roll the cookie dough into a ball and then lightly coat it in the sugar, then heavily cover it with the powdered sugar. Place the dough on your baking sheet about 2-3 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes, mine usually took right about 10 minutes. The cookies should just be starting to set around the edges and the tops will form cracks. Let them cool for at least 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and then move to a cooling rack.
- The cookies will keep covered at room temperature for about a week.
Comments
No Comments