White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies will top your confectionary “nice” list this holiday season. Sweet white chocolate pairs perfectly with crushed candy canes, folded into my classic buttery cookie base for a fun, festive holiday favorite.
We’ve officially hit the time of year where all I want to do is bake cookies and countdown the Christmas bucket list. All you need is love and Christmas cookies, right?
I’m a firm believer that a great Chocolate Chip Cookie has the capacity to cure almost any ill. Naturally, I created a recipe specifically tailored to satisfy Santa’s sweet tooth. The biggest challenge? Actually, having any left for Santa to enjoy!
Bake a batch to gift teachers, friends, or neighbors. And remember- you only live once, lick the bowl!
Why you’ll love this Recipe:
Easy: I keep trying new cookie recipes, but I ALWAYS seem to come back to this cookie dough base. It never fails me to create perfectly chewy yet crisp cookies.
Texture: Chewy throughout with bits of crunch from the crushed peppermint candies. These will soften if you put them in a container over night, but fresh out of the oven and crispy is my favorite way to enjoy!
Peppermint Flavor: The combination of peppermint and creamy white chocolate is fantastic! I cut out some of the sugar to let those flavors shine.
No chilling: These cookies can be baked right away, no need to chill the dough.
Appearance: With a topping of white chocolate drizzle and crushed peppermint candies these cookies are pretty enough for holiday gifting. I put some parchment paper between layers when transporting.
Ingredient Notes
This recipe uses a similar cookie dough base as my Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies.
A few tweaks turn them into white chocolate peppermint cookies:
- This dough has less granulated sugar than some of my other recipes.
- Peppermint extract adds a consistent bite while crushed candy canes add a bit of crunch to the cookie.
- An optional drizzle of melted white chocolate gives these a fun, cheerful finish!
Recipe Tips for Baking Perfect Cookies
The full instructions for this recipe are in the card at the bottom of this post, but I answer common questions in this section.
Smooth Dough. If you see chunks of butter when you cream the butter and sugar, the butter wasn’t quite the correct temperature. Allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes and mix again. Don’t proceed until it’s completely mixed.
Use a cookie scoop. I use a #40 medium cookie dropper (a little over a tablespoon). I scoop up a slightly rounded mound which translates to cookies that are about 3 inches in diameter. I get many questions about what a slightly rounded scoop looks like, so I’ve included a photo above.
Don’t overmix the dough. A stand mixer or hand mixer work equally well for this recipe, but overmixed cookies won’t rise as well. The dough is quite thick. Don’t be surprised if you find folding in the candy canes and white chocolate chips to be a bit challenging.
Do NOT chill the dough. When room temp, the butter and fats and leavening are perfect as is. I’ve honestly tested this so many times, using all kinds of methods and different lengths of time. My conclusion is that there’s absolutely no need to chill this cookie dough as long as the butter was kept at room temperature.
Pro Tip: The secret to success is to place an additional 3-4 chips and to sprinkle more crushed candy canes on top of cookies as they come out of the oven. Sprinkle them on organically and then gently press so they stay put.
Tips for the Best Peppermint Cookies
- Soft butter. Room temperature butter means that you can push a finger into it, but it’s still solid (you can pick it up and move it easily).
- Parchment paper. Keep your cookies round by using a silicone mat (or parchment paper). Slide the mat from the cookie sheet to a cooling rack. Let them cool for several minutes, until the edges have hardened. Remove cookies from the mat.
- Weigh your flour. Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. If you don’t have a scale with grams, fluff your flour with a spoon. Sprinkle flour into your measuring cup and use a knife to level it off.
- If you’re not a peppermint fan, omit the peppermint extract. We tested these versions side by side. According to my little taste testers, “They are different, but I don’t know that I’d notice if they weren’t side by side.”
- Add nuts if desired. You can totally add nuts to this recipe for some extra crunch. I would suggest macadamia, pecans, or walnuts.
- Want perfectly round cookies? Immediately from the oven, use a large glass or 3 inch circle cutter and gently do a little swirl until the cookies are perfectly round.
Freezing and Storage
To freeze the cookie dough, roll out into a log and secure tightly with plastic wrap. Place in a sealable plastic bag and freeze. To bake, I slice rather than scoop the dough and put them in the oven that way.
To store baked cookies, put layers in a container with wax paper or parchment paper between layers. Store in a cool, dry place at room temperature. Cookies that are loosely wrapped in plastic wrap may get crispier over time, while an airtight container often softens them.
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PS. If you make this recipe, leave a COMMENT AND A STAR RATING in the comments section at the bottom and be sure to take a photo and tag it #cravingcreative on Instagram! I appreciate you for taking the time to read about me and my family recipes.
White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Ingredients
- Parchment Paper or Silicone Mat
- 2 ½ cups All-purpose Flour 300 grams
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter room temp, 2 sticks
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar
- ½ cup White Granulated Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Peppermint Extract
- 1 ½ cups White Chocolate Chips divided
- ½ cup Candy Cane Pieces crushed
- 4 ounces White Chocolate optional, for drizzling cookies
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside. The parchment paper is highly recommended!!!
- In a medium bowl, add flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until combined.
- In a large bowl, add butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. If using a mixer, beat at medium-high speed until creamy and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract and mix until well incorporated.
- Add dry ingredient mixture to butter mixture, ½ cup at a time, and mix on low speed between additions. Scrape the side of the bowl and mix until consistent. Do not overmix. (The point of mixing in smaller portions is to keep the flour from puffing into the air.)
- Set aside ⅓ cup of the chips. Fold the rest of the chips and the candy cane pieces into the batter with a spatula or spoon.
- Using a cookie scoop, drop dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Or you can roll balls of dough with your hands, about 1.5 Tablespoons, into balls.
- Bake 10-14 minutes or until edges are starting to golden, or desired level of crispness. If desired, nestle 2-3 chips into the tops of the cookies within 1-2 minutes of removing from the oven. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack.
- If drizzling, melt the chopped white chocolate in the microwave in 20 second increments, stirring after each until completely melted. Drizzle over cooled cookies and sprinkle with a few pieces of crushed candy cane, if desired.
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