Peppermint Cookies

Peppermint Cookies are easy to make, loaded with white chocolate chips, peppermint bark, and peppermint crunch baking chips. They are soft and chewy and are the perfect holiday treat for peppermint lovers everywhere.

Calling all peppermint lovers! Do you love the taste and smell of peppermint? Then you’re going to love these cookies! They’re easy to make, and they’ll leave your kitchen smelling heavenly.

Plus, they’re perfect for Christmas or any other wintertime celebration. Enjoy!

It’s the holiday season, which means it’s time to break out the peppermint cookies! These cookies are festive, delicious, and perfect for sharing with your friends and family.

If you’re like me, you love the smell of peppermint cookies baking in the oven. The combination of sweet and minty is irresistible!

Plus, they’re really easy to make – you just need a few simple ingredients. So why not give them a try this year? You won’t be disappointed!

Here are some commonly asked questions

How do you decorate Peppermint Cookies?

You don’t have to do anything to these cookies unless you want to. I like to add additional chocolate chips on top when I pull them out of the oven. You can skip that part if you like. Or you can add frosting and sprinkles to make them extra fancy. 

Making Peppermint Christmas Cookies Ahead of Time

You can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking or in the freezer for up to 3 months. I like to portion out the dough ahead of time since scooping partially-frozen dough can be difficult.

Place the dough on a baking sheet in a single layer. Place them in the freezer until they are solid. Then you can transfer the dough balls to a resealable bag for space-saving until you are ready to make these cookies.

Ingredients for Peppermint Cookies

• all-purpose flour
• table salt
• baking powder
• baking soda
• granulated sugar
• unsalted butter – room temperature
• eggs – room temperature
• vanilla extract
• white chocolate chips
• peppermint bark chips
• peppermint baking chips

What do you mean by soft butter?

You will need to take your butter out of the fridge about an hour before you would like to make the recipe for the butter to soften but not get too soft.

How to soften the butter to room temperature?

First

There are a couple of ways to do this. The first being that you can take the butter (& any other ingredients that need to be at room temperature) out, leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes while you prep for baking.

I usually start with all my chilled ingredients and pull everything I need out onto the counter before getting started – so I know for sure I have everything before I’m mid-way through I realize I’m out of something.

But sometimes it’s winter and that isn’t enough time to get the ingredients warmed up – OR – I’m just not that organized to plan ahead. It happens. So I have another couple of tricks.

Second

I place the butter in the microwave – wrapped in the paper. (don’t do this if it is wrapped in foil) Then I microwave for 2 seconds – flip – go another 2 seconds – flip again – and continue for 2 seconds on each side.

This is usually enough to get it perfect – sometimes stopping before if it feels soft enough. Take care when doing this method – overly softened butter from the microwave WILL ALTER the end result of the recipe. Don’t over-do it.

Third

My third method is to place the wrapped butter sticks in a zip-top bag and place it in a bowl of warm water. I do this with the eggs too. If the water isn’t too hot it can be THE PERFECT way to get “room-temperature” ingredients.

How to Make Peppermint Cookies

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
2. In a separate large mixer bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar and butter. Beat well until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix until combined.
4. Fold in the white chocolate chips, peppermint bark chips, and peppermint baking chips.
5. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. For best results, chill for 1 hour or more.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
7. Use a medium cookie scoop to portion out the cookie dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Be sure to place the dough at least 2″ apart to account for spread.
8. Bake for 10-13 minutes.
9. Add more chocolate chips and peppermint bark to the tops of the warm cookies immediately after removing them from the oven.
10. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet completely before transferring them to an airtight container for storage.

Do I really need to chill the dough?

Yes, Yes, Yes! Chilling the dough is important for a couple of reasons. First – while the dough is chilling the ingredient flavors are coming together. It gives a better overall flavor to the cookie.

The second and probably even more important than the first – is that chilling helps the dough hold together during the baking process.

Without chilling, the dough would not only be too sticky to really roll it into balls. But it would also spread way too much while baking – leaving flat and not very appealing cookies in the end. Please don’t skip the chilling process.

Variations and Add-ins

• Sprinkles – Press just a few sprinkles into the cookie dough for a festive flair. Try traditional holiday colors or just all red would be cute too.
• Food coloring – Use a fun color of gel food coloring in the cookie dough, either throughout all of it, or swirled throughout.
• Candy Canes – You can mix in crushed candy canes into the cookies too. Keep in mind that because candy canes are made of pure sugar, if they are showing on the outside of the dough balls, the candy cane pieces will melt when baked and leave a runny mess. Still tasty, just not as pretty for the presentation.
• Confectioner’s sugar – After baking, sprinkle the cookies with just a bit of confectioner’s sugar.
• Peppermint flavor – add 1 tsp of peppermint extract or more peppermint pieces, peppermint candies, or crushed peppermint to the dough.

More Tips & Tricks

• If a cookie scoop is not available (#60 scoop), use a tablespoon for the scoop. It’s important for the cookies to be uniform in size for adequate baking uniformly.
• Use a food processor or hand-held chopper to chop the peppermint bark if you can’t find the peppermint bark already in pieces.
• You can use salted butter in place of unsalted if desired.
• Try using milk chocolate chips instead of white chocolate.
• Mix in some crushed Oreo cookies. Try either the regular variety or use the holiday ones with the red filling.
• Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to one week.
• Freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and then proceed with the baking directions above.
• If using crushed peppermint candy for these peppermint sugar cookies make sure it isn’t showing around the edges of the cookies when you shape dough.
• These festive peppermint cookies have the perfect texture with chewy centers and fresh peppermint flavor.
• Please don’t skip the chill time and be sure to cover the bowl with plastic wrap to keep the dough from drying out.
• These cookies are a great addition to a Christmas cookie exchange, a cookie platter, or for leaving under the Christmas tree for Santa.
• When you cream butter while making these delicious cookies, be sure to use the paddle attachment on the mixer.

Kitchen Supplies You’ll Need

• Large mixing bowl
• 2 small mixing bowls (you can also use a medium bowl)
• Rubber spatula
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper or silicone mat
• Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
• Whisk and/or sifter
• Airtight container
• Cooling Rack
• Measuring Spoons
• Cookie Scoop

Tips For The Best Peppermint Cookies

• Soften your butter – Be sure to allow butter to soften so that it mixes more easily. Also, slicing it into smaller pieces before adding it will also help to speed up the mixing process. 
• Unsalted butter – As with most baked goods, these are best made with unsalted butter. If you prefer a salty/sweet combination in your baked goods, try experimenting with adding the salt to your own taste (after trying the standard recipe).
• Room temperature ingredients – No matter what type of baked goods you’re making, ensuring that all ingredients are at (or close to) room temperature is key to creating the ideal sweet or savory treat.
• Avoid over-mixing – Over-mixing ingredients when baking can lead to a dense end product. Only mix as long as necessary to combine all ingredients.
• Oven placement – Always place the sheet pan in the center of the oven to ensure even baking.
• Avoid opening the oven – A consistent temperature is crucial for baked goods to turn out right. Only open the oven as often as necessary to avoid temperature fluctuations.

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DON’T MISS MY HOLIDAY E-BOOK!

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If you love this easy peppermint cookie recipe, you’re going to love these other holiday cookies too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Awesome Peppermint Recipes to Try

White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels

Homemade Peppermint Patties

No-Bake Peppermint Oreo Bars

Peppermint Bark Cookies

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Peppermint Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Andes Mint Cookies

Peppermint Cake

Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cake

Peppermint Snowball Cookies

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