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These peppermint chocolate chip cookies are a colorful, cheerful, and festive take on everyone’s favorite classic treat.
Traditional peppermint candy cane is probably my favorite Christmas flavor and scent. It’s cozy and familiar but also energizing and invigorating at the same time. When I was trying to think of a fun chocolate chip cookie variation to add to my Christmas cookie trays this year, peppermint chocolate chip cookies were the first thing that came to mind and the obvious first choice. My first test batch of these cookies earned me a “nice!” and a congratulatory fist bump from my 10-year-old, Jack, and if that isn’t a sign of a true Christmas baking winner, I don’t know what is. Here’s how to make these delightful, decadent, soft-and-chewy peppermint cookies.
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Ingredients Needed for the Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
You’ll need:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Brown sugar
- Granulated white sugar
- Melted butter or a plant-based substitute
- Vanilla extract
- Peppermint extract
- Eggs or a plant-based alternative
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Crushed candy cane bits
I used pre-crushed, store-bought candy cane for these cookies, which worked great. As a connoisseur of candy cane baked goods, however, I do have to mention that you get much better flavor and have a lot more fun if you crush the candy cane yourself. I’m not sure why, but there’s just something about the scent of candy cane filling the air that makes the experience extra memorable. I’m also fairly sure that the crushed candy cane from the store is, in fact, not 100% pure peppermint candy cane. I’m almost certain they sneak in some cherry candy cane and other various broken red, white, and green candy bits in different flavors. So, if you’re a purist, crush the candy canes yourself with a rolling pin on a heavy wooden cutting board.
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Method for Preparing the Candy Cane Cookie Dough
Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated-sugar. Add in the eggs, vanilla, and peppermint extract and continue mixing until everything comes together in a smooth, even mixture. With the stand mixer running on low, slowly add in the dry ingredients, a little at a time, and continue mixing until a uniform cookie dough comes together.
Next, turn the mixer on low again and add in the chocolate chips along with 3/4 cup of the crushed candy cane, reserving 1/4 cup for decorating later. Once the peppermint candy and chocolate chips are well-distributed, stop the mixer and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat. Use a spatula to mix the dough a bit more if you find the add-ins need to be stirred in a bit further.
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Scoop the dough out using a medium cookie scoop and place it on the cookie sheet. Remove the cookies from the oven when they’re done baking and immediately sprinkle the top of each cookie with a pinch of candy cane bits. The heat from the cookies will melt them just enough to make them stick without causing them to melt completely into the cookies or causing the colors to run.
Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Once the cookies have cooled, store them in an airtight container such as a cookie-jar Santa, or freeze them to share with friends and family later. Serve your cookies with a homemade peppermint mocha for Christmas season afternoon perfection.
Here’s the full printable recipe. Print it out and add it to your recipe binder or pin it on Pinterest to save for later.
These peppermint chocolate chip cookies are a colorful, cheerful, and festive take on everyone's favorite classic treat.
- 2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 3/4 cup Granulated white sugar
- 3/4 cup Brown sugar
- 2 sticks Butter or a plant-based substitute
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp Peppermint extract
- 2 Eggs or a plant-based alternative
- 3/4 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup Crushed candy cane bits
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Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars. Add the vanilla, peppermint extract, and eggs, and continue mixing until everything comes together into a smooth mixture.
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With the mixer running on low, slowly add in the dry ingredients, a little at a time, and keep mixing until you have a uniform cookie dough.
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Add the chocolate chips and 3/4 cup of the candy cane bits and stir until everything is evenly distributed.
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Scoop the cookie dough out using a medium cookie scoop and place the dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Bake for 16 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through the baking time.
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When the baking time is up, remove the cookies from the oven and add a pinch of the remaining candy cane bits to the top of each cookie. The heat will melt the candy just enough to allow it to stick without making it melt or making the colors run.
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Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack, then store in an airtight container or freeze them to serve later.
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.