Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies
Updated December 13, 2024
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Quick Summary
Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies-chocolate cookies with chocolate chips, peppermint crunch pieces, and candy cane pieces! These cookies are the PERFECT Christmas cookie!
Why You Will Love These Cookies
Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies are a festive and indulgent treat that combines the rich, decadent flavor of chocolate with the refreshing, cool bite of peppermint.
- Chocolate Base: The dough is made with Dutch processed cocoa powder, giving the cookies a deep, dark chocolate flavor. The richness of the chocolate creates a satisfying contrast with the bright, crisp peppermint.
- Peppermint: Peppermint crunch baking chips are mixed into the dough and crushed peppermints or candy canes are sprinkled on top of the cookies before baking. The peppermint adds a delightful crunch and a burst of refreshing, minty flavor.
- Texture: These cookies have a slightly chewy interior with a soft, melt-in-your-mouth center, balanced by the crunch of the peppermint bits.
- Aromatics: When baking, the scent of warm chocolate mingled with the fresh, invigorating scent of peppermint fills the kitchen, creating a cozy, wintery atmosphere.
Perfect for holiday cookie exchanges or as a special treat during the winter months, Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies are a crowd-pleaser that combines the best of both worlds—chocolatey decadence and peppermint’s crisp freshness.
How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Whisk together dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cocoa. Make sure you whisk well so there are no clumps of cocoa powder. I like to use Dutch processed cocoa for a deeper chocolate flavor, but unsweetened cocoa powder works well too.
- Cream butter and sugar. With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add in eggs, vanilla and peppermint extract. Peppermint extract is strong, so make sure you don’t add too much. Mix until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Don’t over mix the dough.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and peppermint crunch pieces. If you can’t find the Andes peppermint crunch baking chips, you can use the Andes Peppermint Thins and chop them up! peppermint chips, Trader Joe’s are great!
- Roll in candy canes! Place the crushed candy canes (or peppermint candies) in a small bowl. Scoop the dough into rounded tablespoons and lightly dip the tops of the cookies into candy cane pieces. Make sure you don’t get carried away. You only want the tops to have the candy cane pieces. If you roll the whole cookies in the candy canes you will end up with a melted mess.
- Bake. Place cookie balls on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until cookies are set, but still soft in the center. Don’t overbake. You want the cookies to still be soft in the center. They will finish baking as they cool on the baking sheet.
- Cool. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes. If desired, add extra candy cane pieces right after they come out of the oven to make the cookies extra pretty. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.
How to Store & Freeze Cookies
- Storing Baked Cookies: Store the baked cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. You can freeze baked cookies in a freezer container or bag for up to 3 months. If you are using a bag, make sure you seal the bag tightly and press out as much air as possible.
- Chilling the Cookie Cookie Dough: Covered tightly, the cookie dough will keep in the fridge for up to 72 hours. You can chill scooped dough balls or you can wrap all of the cookie dough in plastic wrap. If you are chilling all of the dough, remove it from the fridge when you preheat the ovens so it is easier to roll in balls.
- Freezing Cookie Dough: Place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet or tray and freeze until balls are solid. Transfer the dough balls to a freezer container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove the balls from the freezer and preheat the oven. Bake the cookies as directed but add a couple of minutes to the baking time.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Andes Mint Cookies
- Easy Sugar Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Thumbprint Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Spritz Cookies
Check out all of my COOKIE RECIPES! There are SO many good ones!
Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies
Chocolate cookies with chocolate chips, peppermint crunch pieces, and candy cane pieces! These decadent cookies are perfect for the holiday season.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa (or unsweetened cocoa)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup peppermint crunch pieces
- 1/2 cup crushed candy canes, for dipping cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat baking mat. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cocoa. Set aside.
- With a mixer, cream butter and sugars together until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time. Next, add in vanilla extract and peppermint extract. Mix until just combined.
- Gradually add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chips and peppermint crunch pieces.
- Place the crushed candy canes in a small bowl. Scoop the dough into rounded tablespoons and lightly dip the tops of the cookies into candy cane pieces. Make sure you don’t get carried away. You only want the tops to have the candy cane pieces. If you roll the whole cookies in the candy canes you will end up with a melted mess.
- Place cookie balls on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies for 10 minutes, or until cookies are set, but still soft in the center. Don’t overbake. Remove from oven and let sit on baking sheet for 3 minutes. If desired, add extra candy cane pieces right after they come out of the oven to make the cookies extra pretty. Move to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Notes
Note-store cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They also can be frozen. If you can’t find the Andes peppermint crunch baking chips, you can buy the Andes Peppermint Crunch Thins and chop them up or peppermint chips. If you can’t find candy canes, you can crush up peppermint candies.
Important note-don’t go crazy with the candy canes because they will melt. I dip just the tops of the cookie dough balls. If you want to make the cookies extra pretty, you can add extra candy cane pieces right after they come out of the oven.
Nutrition
Calories: 176kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 72mg, Potassium: 78mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 15g, Vitamin A: 173IU, Calcium: 20mg, Iron: 1mg
Have you tried this recipe?
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If I need to could I refrigerate the dough for a day or two before baking the cookies??
Quick, satisfying and delicious. I did not do the final candy topping (lazy) and they were just fine without. You can get the crushed candy canes from Amazon.
Great recipe
Hi , can the dough be frozen and cooked later is so what do you recommend?
Best cookie ever!
Best cookie ever!
These cookies turned out great! I used Bob Mills 1 for 1 gluten free flour. A new family favorite!
Thanks for letting us know! They are perfect for the holidays!
Don’t bother putting any peppermint pieces on until they come out of the oven. All it does it melt and leave the top of the cookie looking like it has craters. Nice flavor and texture though.
Delicious!
Wonderful! The perfect balance of peppermint and chocolate!
Awesome cookie! Great chocolate flavor and the peppermint is terrific!
Glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Delicious! I used a gluten free all purpose flour, subsituted coconut sugar for brown sugar and added 2 teaspons of apple sauce.
My daughter and her boyfriend made these for Christmas, everyone loved them! Turned out great and this was their first time baking!
This is a perfect holiday treat. Thanks for this!
I’m having trouble writing down the recipes as these commercials keep interrupting and covering more than half of the ingredients and preparation rules! I ended up not even making them!!!!
I was wondering if these can be frozen after being baked?
I made the Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies yesterday, using my heavy-duty stand mixer which, toward the end of the mixing process, labored somewhat, forcing me to stir-in the chocolate chips with a sturdy wooden spoon in order to have them evenly distributed. I did not have peppermint crunch pieces, so I pulverized two or three candy canes to a fine powder & added it with the flour mixture. I followed the rest of the instructions precisely, even allowing the baked cookies to sit on the parchment-covered baking sheets for exactly three minutes before removing them to cooling racks. The results were nothing less than perfection! I froze the cooled cookies, separating the layers with waxed paper, & will be adding each one as a ‘piece de resistance’ to neighbors’ & co-workers’ Holiday cookie tins. Thank you, Maria, for sharing such a great recipe!
I am so glad you loved the cookies!
They tasted good but they turned out flat. I live at a high altitude so that may have someone to do with it.
*Something
I don’t know why but they didn’t spread out and came out tasting like dry cocoa powder. (I double checked all of the amounts)
I won’t be making these again 🙁
Looks like I’m late to the party but I’m glad to find this recipe! So yummy! I wonder if they even make the Andes mint chips anymore. I couldn’t find them so I crushed a bar of Ghirardelli peppermint bark and it worked!
Glad you loved the cookies. Thanks for reporting back!
This made a lot more than 3 dozen – more like 5- 5.5 dozen! They didn’t turn out as pretty as yours, though, because the crushed candy cane on top melted (and in some cases ran down the sides and formed puddles on the edges of the cookies). I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa which is a mix of natural cocoa and Dutched, a friend used natural for one batch and Dutched for the other, and we both noticed that the natural cocoa yielded a softer cookie, whereas the more alkaline cocoas gave a crisper texture. We found this is due to the Maillard reaction. So if you prefer a softer cookie, natural cocoa is the answer (or maybe add a bit of cream of tartar, like you do in snickerdoodles). I’d love to know how you got the candy to not get all melted on top – when I just pressed it into the tops of the last sheet of cookies when they came out of the oven, most of it still fell off after taking them off the wire rack and during transport, as well as when you took a bite!
Could I use choc cake mix cookie for this? Thx!!
Good recipe. The candy cane or peppermint topping is best if you have chunks, not pulverized. The 3 minute rest after coming out of the oven is spot on.
Glad you like the cookies!
These are amazing! One of my new favourites! I took the Ghirardelli peppermint bark squares and chopped them up to add to the batter. These are so yummy! Thanks for an amazing recipe!!
You are welcome. They are so festive.
Does it have to be Dutch process cocoa?
you can use regular unsweetened cocoa.
Followed recipe exactly. Easy to make, tasty peppermint flavor and crunch. Beautiful presentation too. Will make again!
This recipe was awesome! However, I think I messed up. I put chocolate chips and candy cane pieces into the dough….. which made it way to much with putting on top as well……I don’t think I was supposed to do that…. but….. they still were good!!
Best recipe ever! I ate the whole batch by myself.
I underbaked them a little bit so they were really fudgy. I use Ghirardelli’s 100% Dutch cocoa and Andies candy cane baking chips.
I didn’t have parchment paper so I floured my pan and chilled the dough for a few minutes beforehand.
I am so glad you loved the cookies!
A M A Z I N G! I have made these cookies for the past several years and they are always a huge hit. Thank you for sharing!
A M A Z I N G! I have made these cookies for the past several years and they are always a huge hit. Thank you for sharing! Personaly I prefer to use mint-fudge chocolate chips instead.
They are a holiday staple!
Can you chop up peppermint bark and use that instead of chips?
Yes!
I forgot to buy the baking soda and I used baking powder instead. Turned out great but look like mini cookies. Absolutely, delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
One problem (so far): It would have been MUCH, MUCH easier to take the candy canes out of the plastic before malleting them. This is taking me forEVER to get the plastic wrappers out of the candy! I hope the rest of the recipe goes better.
I made these vegan, by adding dairy free buttery sticks and 1/2 cup apple juice. I would have used apple sauce if I had any. I only used 1/2 the chocolate chips, yet they were chocolaty! They were delicious!! Thanks for the recipe.
Nice! Thank you for sharing!
Delicious
Thanks!
Delicious and so festive
Perfect for the holidays!
These are the best cookies ever! I made batch after batch and kept eating them all in one day!
Most cookie recipes that I make come out too cakey but these come out perfect every time!
YAY!
Made them last year (2024) and they were amazing! I ended up freezing some because we couldn’t eat them fast enough (they are a little rich). I actually found 4 of them this week that were still left in the freezer (probably got lost or they’d be gone). It’s almost a year later, and they were still amazing warmed up in the microwave.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Can the dough be made ahead of time and frozen?
YES!