Chocolate Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies sing of the holiday season with their combination of chocolate and peppermint and are so easy to make. These dense chocolate peppermint cookies are the perfect treat for Santa or sharing throughout the holiday season.

2024 Update: This recipe was originally shared in December 2013. The recipe and post were updated in December 2024 to include new photos, as well as more tips and tricks, and weighted measurements in the recipe card. I hope you love them!

Remember the class Christmas parties you attended in elementary school just before classes let out for winter break?

I don’t remember a ton about them, but I do remember the copious amount of candy canes and chocolate available for all children on that day and trying to eat as much as humanly possible because CHOCOLATE and CANDY CANES.

I also remember opinionated fights over what music to play during said party. (Just so we’re clear, No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom is totally not appropriate because they use the “H” word in one song. Thanks, jerk-y 6th grade classmate.)

Why I love this recipe:

Holiday parties. Chocolate. Candy canes. All the spirit and joy leading up to Christmas.

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Honestly, this recipe is one of my favorite Christmas cookies. I love sharing it this time of year because it is the perfect holiday cookie.

This cookie is the combination of all of the above, and it shines this season. It starts with a dense, gooey chocolate cookie base, then we stir in peppermint pieces and chocolate chips for good measure.

Also, it’s a no chill cookie batter, which means you mix them up and immediately bake them!

The final Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are incredibly dense, chewy and decadent without being too over-the-top. They strike that perfect balance between the dense, richness of the chocolate and the punchiness of the peppermint without either overwhelming the other.

This is a recipe that can be appreciated by people of all ages, and the peppermint sings when surrounded by all the delicious chocolate.

More holiday cookie recipes with chocolate: Chocolate Sugar Cookies | Chocolate Crinkle Cookies | Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies | Peppermint Brownie Cookies | Peppermint Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

What you need to make this recipe:

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• Rimmed sheet pan or cookie sheet
• Parchment baking paper
• Large mixing bowl
• Hand mixer
• Stand mixer
• Cookie scoop (1.5-tablespoon)
• Wire cooling rack

You need to grab the following ingredients from the grocery store:

• All-purpose flour — we keep unbleached AP flour in our house, but the regular kind works, too. I have not tried replacing this with a gluten-free blend.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder — also known as natural cocoa powder, this gives the dense, rich chocolate flavor to our cookie dough. This is not the same thing as Dutch process cocoa powder.
• Baking soda — this is our leavener. Be sure yours is fresh.
• Kosher salt — medium grain kosher salt is my go-to for baking.
• Unsalted butter — a single stick of unsalted butter at room temperature gets this recipe going. If you only have salted butter, you may use that.
• Plain Greek yogurt — you may use nonfat yogurt or the full-fat variety.
• Granulated sugar — also known as white sugar, this gives our cookie dough some sweetness. There is no substitute.
• Dark brown sugar — this adds another layer of sweetness to the batter. I really like the deep molasses tones that dark brown sugar brings. That said, you can use light brown sugar if that’s all you have.
• Large eggs — these act as a binder, as well as help leaven the cookies. I purchase large eggs from my local grocery.
• Pure vanilla extract — this brings all the flavors together and helps them sing. I recommend using the pure kind instead of imitation vanilla extract because of the undertones and flavors it brings.
• Bittersweet chocolate chips — you need a 12 oz. bag of these. Save a few for the tops of your cookies to press in after baking.
• Peppermints or candy canes — I smashed up 12 regular sized candy canes to get the amount we needed here. I know you can purchase pre-crushed peppermints or candy canes from certain stores. This is where we get our peppermint flavor from. I do not recommend adding peppermint extract to the mix in addition to these. Gently crush them up in a zip top bag. I like to use a rolling pin for this.

Substitutions and variations:

Replace the butter with your favorite vegan butter or vegetable shortening to make them dairy free. Just be sure that your chocolate chips are dairy free.

Swap out the chocolate chips. I like bittersweet chocolate chips the best in this recipe, but you can use any type. If you use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips, add 2-3 tablespoons less than what the recipe calls for. Why? Because the cookies can become too sweet.

Add white chocolate chips. Use a 1 ½ cups of chocolate chips, then add ¼ cup of white chocolate chips, if so desired.

How to make Peppermint Chocolate Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or nonstick baking mats), and set aside.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. These are the dry ingredients. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, Greek yogurt and sugars until fluffy.

This should take about 2-3 minutes.

Add eggs and vanilla extract to the butter mixture.

Mix until combined, about 1-2 minutes.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.

Beat on low speed, until just combined. Do not overmix.

Fold in the chocolate chips and crushed candy cane pieces with a rubber spatula until just combined.

Use a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scooper to scoop cookie dough balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheet about 3″ apart from one another so they can spread in the oven.

Bake for about 12 minutes or until puffed and slightly cracked. The edges of the cookies should be set, but the insides should still be relatively gooey.

Add additional crushed peppermint candies and chocolate chips to the tops of the baked cookies to finish them off.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before enjoying with a big glass of milk.

How to store:

Store cooled cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Warm through in 20-second bursts in the microwave until gooey.

Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips

These Chocolate Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies make for a wonderful dessert throughout the holiday season.

They would would be a beautiful addition to a cookie tray or in a cookie gift box. You could easily bake them for a holiday cookie exchange because they’re unique. They’re also great to set out for Santa.

Whatever you make these cookies for, I have some ideas for you to help you entertain with them:

• Double the recipe. Having made this for a few gatherings myself, let me give you this tip: Double everything. This cookie recipe is one of the ones that translates easily and doesn’t require a lot of mental legwork.
• Use a 1-tablespoon cookie scoop* (affiliate link) instead of the 1.5-tablespoon one, listed below in the recipe card. This will make for smaller, bite-sized cookies. The bake time will be less.
• Make the dough a day in advance and keep it cold. This cookie dough can sit in the fridge for a day or two easily. Make it easier on yourself and prepare that early so that you don’t have to fret about it before guests arrive.
• Freeze the dough. I’ve written a whole post on how to freeze cookie dough, so follow those instructions. Basically, you place cookie dough balls in the freezer, freeze them, and then remove to bake whenever.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick tips and tricks for the best Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

• Use a cookie scoop to ensure the cookies are all the same size.
• Help shape the baked cookies with a glass or a spoon. Since the candy canes might bleed out of the cookies, you can use a glass to gently scoot the cookies back into a circular shape. You can also do this with a spoon, gently scraping the cookie back into a circle.
• Add extra chocolate chips and peppermint pieces on top of the baked cookies.
• How to store: Cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
• How to freeze: I wrote a tutorial for you here! Freezing cookie dough is one of my all-time favorite things to do for my future self. When you’re ready to enjoy them, preheat the oven, line a baking sheet and place the frozen cookie dough on it. You will probably need to bake for 1-2 minutes longer than specified in the recipe below.
• How to reheat: Place on a microwave-safe plate and heat for 10-15 seconds. Do this in increments until the cookie is warmed to your liking. Do not set it for a minute because the chocolate will burn.

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