Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

By Maria Lichty

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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!

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

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We put up our Christmas tree and did some holiday baking over the weekend. I let the boys pick what cookies they wanted to make and they chose Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies. These cookies are the perfect holiday cookie. A batch of these cookies will get you in the holiday spirit ASAP. You need to add them to your holiday baking list right now.

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookie Recipe

Chocolate and mint is a popular combo, especially during the holiday months. The chocolate and peppermint combo in these cookies is perfection. I add a little peppermint extract to the chocolate cookie dough and mix in chocolate chips and peppermint crunch pieces.

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookie Recipe

I also dip the dough lightly in crushed candy cane pieces. Caleb and Maxwell love candy canes and had a fun time crushing them up for these cookies.

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. And it is ok if the candy canes melt a little, you just don’t want to roll the entire cookie balls in candy canes because you will end up with a melted mess. Just dip the tops and finish with candy cane pieces.

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookie Recipe
Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookie Recipe

If you are looking for a cookie to take to your Christmas cookie exchange party or a cookie to give to your family and friends this holiday season, I highly recommend these Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies. They are festive and are guaranteed to be everyone’s new favorite holiday cookie. Happy baking!


The recipe, photos, and post have been updated from the original post in 2009.

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Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Chocolate cookies with chocolate chips, peppermint crunch pieces, and candy cane pieces! These cookies are the PERFECT Christmas cookie!
4.59 from 222 votes

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. 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.
  • Note-store cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 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. 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.

Have you tried this recipe?

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Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies-chocolate cookies with candy cane pieces are the perfect Christmas cookies! #Christmas #cookies #Christmascookies #holidays
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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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4.59 from 222 votes (190 ratings without comment)

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  1. It looks great! You will love having the recipe index. I use mine all the time. Love the cookies. Peppermint and chocolate are my favorite. 🙂

  2. Looking fabulous!!!! Just like its authors…;) Was great seeing you this weekend. Cookies look(ed) wonderful. Can’t wait to come visit you again soon.

  3. The site looks wonderful… and so do these cookies! I can’t get enough of chocolate and peppermint during the holidays, so I know I will love these!

  4. Everything looks great! Glad you took the plunge 🙂 WP offers some basic tutorials for really cheap if you want to become a little more familiar w/ it. It’s not easy to manage. I’m always contacting my designers for help! Cookies look good too 🙂

  5. They are pretty cookie for the holidays. I loved how chewy they were too! Thanks for helping to arrange the brunch on Saturday. I had a wonderful time!

  6. Love the look of the new site. I am waiting on my designer to get back from maternity leave. I will hopefully get a new look soon. I’m jealous! Love the cookies.

  7. I love them! Your site looks great too! I just upgraded blogger and got my own domain – have someone working on design for me too!

  8. Your new blog looks so cheerful and fun. Just like you and Josh 🙂 Love the chocolate and peppermint cookie combo. Definitely will star to try this holiday season!

  9. I make a similar cookie every year, and it’s my absolute favorite for Christmastime! In fact, I am making a batch today. YUM!

  10. Love the new look! I’m still working on being a .com and dropping the blogspot. Where do I start?
    Cookies look excellant. So festive and a perfect flavor combo!
    Better buckel down the hatches, I hear the snow is coming your way. 🙂

  11. Maria, your cookies were wonderful! I loved the crunch in them. The pictures in your blog are beautiful and I love the new design. Thanks for weaving your magic again at The Wild Grape- your amazing.

  12. Your new site looks great! Congratulations and I’m so excited for you! WordPress is pretty easy to use, so you shouldn’t have any problems. My hubs and I have been using it for quite a while, so let us know if you have any questions! And these cookies look amazing! I think I’ll be adding them to my list! Peppermint candy canes are one of my favorite things about this season 🙂

  13. I don’t think I’ve commented before, but I have to tell you that I LOVE your blog. It has to be my favorite food blog–especially as a fellow cookie lover. 🙂 Love the new look, too.

    I am hosting a cookie exchange on Thursday and I was so excited to see this cookie! Nothing better than chocolate and peppermint.

  14. I love the new look! It will be worth all the work, I’m sure! and your cookies are so fun and festive!! It was good to see you on Saturday!

  15. LOVE the new look! So sleek and professional. Just great. Not as great as those cookies though! I could eat one hundred of those.

  16. Oh WOW! Ok first of all, fantastic-looking cookies. And wowowow!! Very cute blog makeover! Wordpress looks good on you! 😉

  17. I love the new look of your blog! These cookies awesome…and I don’t even like the combination of mint and chocolate! 🙂

  18. These are too pretty for words. I am definitely adding these to my baking this year.

    I tried to comment last night about the new look but there were a few glitches and couldn’t. Either way, i love the new look- it’s so clean and simple.

  19. It was great to see you again! Thanks for helping to organize the brunch. Your peppermint chocolate cookies were so pretty and absolutely addictive.

  20. I’m checking out all the cookies people brought to brunch, and these look wonderful. It was fun wasn’t it?

  21. Loving the new site, very well done you two! 🙂 I especially love the larger pictures you’re able to put up. Now I can appreciate the beauty of these cookies better, hee! 🙂

  22. Oh my goodness! I just finished baking…and now I’m ready to go again! You have the best cookie recipes. These are so christmas perfect. I wish I had seen these before I sent my care packages!!

  23. Saving that recipe, it looks WONDEEEEEERFUL! And so festive!

    I love your layout. New to your blog, so I can’t comment on the improvements but it looks fantastic!

    Nicole

  24. Congrats on the new site! I’m too lazy and technologically klutzy to move my blog, even though Blogger sometimes drives me nuts.

    Cookies look beautiful. They seem like the perfect holiday cookie for chocolate lovers.

  25. How adorable, and perfect for Christmas! Santa would be sure to leave you an extra something in your stocking if you leave those out for him!

  26. I remember you tweeting about moving to WP and I’m so glad you are happy. Love the new blog design and I know how long it takes to get things back into shape. You forget how much stuff you’ve added until it’s gone!!!

    Gorgeous photos!

  27. I’m so glad I popped over here tonight, because now I need to update my reader! Love the new blog look and especially love the cookies!

  28. These cookies are the perfect holiday treat! I can’t wait to make them for the office everyone will love me =). I really love the new site!!!!

  29. I love peppermint and chocolate together. I’d be afraid I’d eat those yummy looking dough balls before making any cookies, but they look delicious.

  30. Congratulations on the move. I’m moving my site too. What a pain. But worth it. These will be the perfect cookies for my husband, a peppermint fan.

  31. i think this is probably the finest use for the glut of candy canes i receive during the holidays. very nice, maria!

  32. the site looks great; the cookies even better b/c anything with chocolate just makes me the happiest woman!!! niiice work!

  33. Love the new design! I’m getting caught up in my blog reading and I’m so glad I found these. They look delicious and I always have a ton of extra candy canes to use up after Christmas.

  34. Beautiful Maria! The cookies and the new design! You are going to love Wordpress. It really is great to work with.
    Love the photo’s too! The first one is great! Really nice. 🙂
    Have a great day!

  35. Yay, welcome to WP! The site looks great. And so do your chocolate peppermint cookies. Perfect for the holidays.

  36. The cookies are thin, but the dough should be thicker than brownie batter. Was your butter too soft? Maybe try adding more flour until it thickens up. Sorry!

  37. This is probably a silly question, but what temperature does my oven need to be set for? I’m baking these tomorrow, help! Thanks

  38. These cookies sound awesome! Do I definitely have to have a stand mixer for them to turn out well? What would be the alternative?

  39. Hi…followed you over here from sweet i am baker…wanna make these for a cookie exchange but have 2 questions: do they freeze well & how many doesthis recipe make? I have to make 12 dozen! 😮 THANKS

    1. I haven’t tried freezing this recipe, but I am sure they would be fine. The recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies. Thanks for visiting!

  40. hi, i just found your recipe and it looks amazing! my question is, can you freeze the dough at any point? or the finished cookies? thanks for any advice you can offer.

    1. Yes, you can freeze the dough or the cookies. I like to roll the cookies in balls and freeze them so they are ready to bake. You can also freeze the finished cookie. Just make sure they are in an air-tight container.

  41. I made these last night and they are so good! They didn’t look as pretty as yours, but still tasty. I baked mine 12 minutes. After cooling completely, they are a little crisp on the outside and still soft and cake-like on the inside. Thanks for posting this recipe! It has given me lots of ideas for future cookies.

  42. LOL….good luck with them lasting for 3-4 days in my house! These cookies are my absolute favorite. My recipe is a little different. I mix chopped peppermint into the mixture & roll them in granulated sugar. I also find candy canes are the easiest form of peppermint to work with. 6 canes are enough for a batch of cookies & they chop up better than any other peppermint I have worked with!

  43. Yes! Another cookie recipe that I have to try; these cookies sound and look so good. I’m loving your photos too!

  44. Holy moly these are yummy! I had trouble with mine spreading, even after I chilled them. I think the problem was actually the candy canes because they melted around the edges and I think contributed to the cookies spreading. Didn’t affect the taste though – very, very good. Thanks!

    1. Roll the cookies lightly in the candy canes so they don’t melt. If you are worried, you can always sprinkle them on after too. Mine never melt, but I do them lightly.

  45. Am wondering if the Dutch processed cocoa listed in the recipe is correct?  Usually Dutch processed is used in recipes with baking powder. 

  46. Just made these but the crushed peppermint candy melted into the cookies! Why did that happen? They taste great but not presentable for gifts sadly.

  47. I made these and they taste great, but my peppermints melted on the outside and definitely didn’t look as pretty as yours. What could I be doing wrong? Thanks!

    1. And make sure the crushed pieces are pretty small…I had a couple cookies that got a bigger piece or two when rolling and yes, those did melt and bubble up a bit.

  48. I have looked everywhere for Dutch processed cocoa and can only find it mixed with sugar & other stuff to make into a drink. I did find it on Amazon, just don’t know which brand to buy. Can you tell me what brand you use? I’d think the cheap stuff may not be as good/high quality as the better brand, just not sure what is good and not have as good results as I should. 

    1. Yes, Amazon sells it. I buy it from Orson Gygi in Salt Lake City and the brand is Callebaut. I think King Arthur or the Rodelle brand would be good from Amazon.

  49. I bought the ghiradelli peppermint. white chocolate chips. I might use those and then roll them without the candy canes, then dip in white chocolate with sprinkles. I like the flatness of this cookie, I think it would lend itself well to that. Do you agree?

  50. Have you tried making these with regular unsweetened cocoa instead of dutch processed cocao? I found a website that said to sub it for equal amounts then use 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda for every three Tablespoons of cocoa powder used to cut  back the acidity. Any idea if this would be a success? Would I still need the 1t baking soda?

  51. Do you have a substitute for Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips as I cannot find them except on Amazon, and you have to buy 3 bags?

    1. I was able to buy a single bag on Amazon this year. I also found white chocolate peppermint M&Ms this year that might be good in these but you might want to crush them a little….they aren’t the mini variety.

  52. 3 stars
    Made these and they are great!  Suggest only 1/2 cup of peppermint candy and 1/2 of chocolate chips.  Otherwise a bit too sweet.  Be certain to let them cool the full 3 minutes.  They are hard to work with because of chocolate chips melting. Family loved them

  53. 5 stars
    These cookies were delicious! I baked them for a family Christmas party and everyone loved them! Thank you for such a yummy and easy recipe. 🙂

  54. Hi there! I want to make these tomorrow and have all the ingredients expect for the peppermint thins/chips so I want to just sub in extra chocolate chips. Without the peppermint chips, is it still pretty minty or should I add a touch more peppermint extract? Thanks!

    1. You could add a little more peppermint but be careful peppermint extract is strong. I think it would be fine as is if you are doing the candy canes on top!

  55. Is the dough supposed to be thick? I double checked all my ratios but it’s thick as clay. My mixer couldn’t keep up. What am I doing wrong?

  56. 5 stars
    I question the need for Dutch processed cocoa in this recipe. I substituted regular Hershey’s cocoa powder and made 1.5X this recipe (all at once, and the dough was crawling out of my KitchenAid LOL). After the fact I researched the difference between the two; all the websites agree that a recipe calling for DUTCH cocoa should always call for baking POWDER and not SODA, which this recipe does. Cookies came out GREAT (a little darker than the phpts, which is weird, as Dutch cocoa usually results in darker foods than regular, which is what I used) – this is definitely one I’ll make again! But I think I’ll stick with regular cocoa as I don’t want to make the adjustments with the soda and add baking powder and possibly screw it up LOL. I also want to point out that if you have little patience (like me), use crushed peppermint CANDIES and not candy canes. WAY easier to unwrap! Lastly, WHY doesn’t Andes sell the peppermint crunch pieces in stores? Had to buy mine off Amazon. I make a lot of cookie boxes for frinds, neighbors and co-workers, so I need sturdy cookies that will hold up to a lot of handling and transport. These fit the bill; addictive, cute, sturdy and tastier than the traditional Chocolate Crinkles (which I have NEVER gotten right and ditched years ago…) Thanks for this great cookie!

    1. You can buy direct from Andes. LOTS of price gouging on Amazon. Last year, I order 6 bags of these Peppermint Crunch Chips from an Amazon seller in December and all 6 arrived as solid bricks.

    2. You can buy direct from Andes. LOTS of price gouging on Amazon. Last year, I order 6 bags of these Peppermint Crunch Chips from an Amazon seller in December and all 6 arrived as solid bricks.

  57. 5 stars
    I made these for for my Roller derby bout bake sale and everyone loved them. I didn’t have peppermint crunch pieces but just used an additional cup of white chocolate chips instead. The extract and crushed candy canes on top were perfect amount of peppermint anyway. Thanks for the recipe.

  58. 5 stars
    I added a drop of peppermint oil to the batter and dipped the cookies (only halfway) into white melting chocolates, then sprinkled with peppermint crunchies. THEY ARE TO DIE FOR. This is such a great chocolate cookie recipe base. I will definitely make these again- likely this week!

  59. 5 stars
    This will now and forever more be my go-to chocolate/candy cane cookie recipe. The chocolate flavor is intense, and the crispiness to chewiness ratio is perfect. I did not use peppermint chips. Just chocolate chips and candy canes. I used a generous two-teaspoon scoop, rolling into a ball and flattening each cookie before dipping in the broken candy cane and baking. Baked exactly ten minutes. Fabulous! And thank you!

    1. No. To my understanding dutch process cocoa is basically a process where unsweetened cocoa is stripped of its acidic components. But its has a more chocolate flavor and a darker color to it. Unsweetened cocoa still has its acidic components in tact. I recommend guittard dutch process cocoa. 

  60. 5 stars
    These cookies are so good with and without peppermint. I omitted the peppermint candy today and just did all chocolate chips and they were absolutely delicious! 

  61. I have a question I can’t get the peppermint crunch pieces by the time the cookies need to be made, what can I use as a substitute?

  62. I made these gluten free with Cup4Cup gf flour and they came out really well. BTW, I ordered the Andes Peppermint Crunch chips from Target. My local store doesn’t carry them but I had them shipped and they arrived intact.

  63. I made these for a cookie exchange and had lots of requests for the recipe. I used dark chocolate cocoa powder, dark chocolate chips, crushed candy cane pieces, and omitted the peppermint extract. We’ll be baking more!

    1. That’s what we used – in fact, I may use more next time and skip the candy canes, because the white chocolate peppermint chunks don’t melt and go translucent. I bet mint chocolate chips would work too.

  64. I made these cookies 5 times last year and 2 times this year! I have always used unsweetened cocoa not Dutch. They come out amazing! With the sugar, peppermint extract, chocolate chips and peppermint crunch there is no way you will ever taste any acidity from the cocoa! I also find the peppermint crunch easily during the holidays. My grocery store never has it but I’ve had luck at Target and Walmart! Brach’s makes crushed candy canes in a bag too!

  65. 5 stars
    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.

  66. 4 stars
    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.

  67. 5 stars
    Delicious! I used a gluten free all purpose flour, subsituted coconut sugar for brown sugar and added 2 teaspons of apple sauce.

  68. 5 stars
    My daughter and her boyfriend made these for Christmas, everyone loved them! Turned out great and this was their first time baking!

  69. 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!!!!

  70. 5 stars
    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!

    1. 1 star
      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 🙁

  71. 5 stars
    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!

  72. 4 stars
    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!

  73. 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.

  74. 5 stars
    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!!

  75. Followed recipe exactly. Easy to make, tasty peppermint flavor and crunch. Beautiful presentation too. Will make again!

  76. 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!!

  77. 5 stars
    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.

  78. 5 stars
    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!

  79. 5 stars
    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.

  80. 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.

  81. 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.

  82. 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.

  83. 5 stars
    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!