Name: Chocolate Peppermint Cookies Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/4 cup (56g) salted butter, melted; 3/4 cup (150g) light brown sugar, packed; 1 large egg, room temperature; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 3/4 cup (90g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled; 1/2 cup (40g) Dutch process cocoa powder, spooned and leveled; 1/4 tsp fine sea salt; 1 tsp baking powder; 9 Ghirardelli peppermint bark, roughly chopped

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These chocolate peppermint cookies are nothing short of a dark and rich brownie in cookie form, stuffed with Ghirardelli peppermint chocolate bark.

Let’s talk details…

Ok, so if you haven’t noticed I’m a huge fan of my super quick & easy small-batch chocolate chip cookies…I love them because they’re delicious, quick and easy with no weird ingredients or awkward amounts of anything, aka convenient AF. So I took that cookie and adapted it into the perfect cookies and cream cookie which I then adapted to this peppermint chocolate cookie anddddd a lovely s’mores cookie (coming soon).

Yes, all my cookies for cookie week have the same base. Why?! Because I have two kids, no babysitter and THEY’RE QUICK, EASY & DELICIOUS. I don’t know how many more times I’m going to say that this week lol.

fold in dry ingredients — whisk together wet ingredients

How to make chocolate peppermint cookies

So of course I made sure we were using melted butter for the dough again because no one wants to wait for the butter to be at the perfect room temperature. The melted butter gets whisked with the light brown sugar, then whisk in the egg and vanilla and then fold in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder, followed by the chopped peppermint bark. Scoop, roll and bake. DONE, my friends!

Ingredients:

Flour: I just used all-purpose flour for this recipe however, I HIGHLY recommend using a digital scale, as over-measuring the flour is the most common baking mistake and may result in dry cookies.
Cocoa Powder: I love using dutch-process cocoa powder for my bakes because it gives such a beautiful dark and rich color and flavor.
Sugar: I’m going to spare you my whole rant on sugar lol… I used JUST light brown sugar for these cookies and I don’t recommend substituting it. Granulated sugar makes these cookies super pale and chewy.
Butter: I LOVE using salted butter in cookies! I started doing this this year and it just seems more flavorful and it’s one less step since you don’t have to add extra salt. If you use unsalted butter, just add ¼ tsp salt to the batter with the flour too.
Egg: I used one FULL large egg in this recipe because no one wants to mess with separating eggs.
Vanilla: Don’t underestimate the power of vanilla extract in a cookie recipe. I stopped putting vanilla in EVERYTHING that I make but for cookies it’s essential.
Baking Powder: just baking powder, no baking soda.
Peppermint Bark: I used Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark and roughly chopped them.

What kind of chocolate can I use for these chocolate peppermint cookies?

I used Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark but if you can’t find that, you can also use Peppermint Hershey Kisses or use plain white chocolate chips and add some peppermint extract to the cookie dough. I would do ½ -1 tsp, depending on how strong you like it.

How to bake these cookies

First, I recommend scooping the cookie dough and then rolling it into a ball. Since there’s a little less fat (butter) in this recipe, if you just scoop it and bake it, it will kind of bake in a funny shape.

Second, I always bake in a convection oven but when I took some polls on instagram, most of you said you either don’t have one or you don’t know how to use your convection oven. So since I developed ALL my recipes in a 350F convection oven, I decided to experiment with a conventional.

If you don’t know the difference, a convection oven has a fan that circulates the heat more evenly. This usually results in a quicker bake, so always do less time if you’re unsure and it also gives a more even browning. If you’re not used to it, the change can be frustrating.

If you’re using a conventional (NO FAN) oven, I recommend baking these cookies at 325F (163C) for about 12 minutes (for the 2 oz cookies) instead of 350F (177C) for 10 minutes in a convection oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I store unbaked chocolate peppermint cookie dough?

The cookie dough is pretty soft so you’ll want to scoop it out, roll it and then press it down just a little so it looks more like a disc than a ball. Then refrigerate it on a plate or tray until the cookie dough is more firm. Once they’re firm, place them in a ziplock bag and freeze. To bake, remove from the freezer as the oven is preheating and just add an additional 2-3 minutes to the bake time.

Can I make these vegan?

Unfortunately I haven’t had time to test this but I really wanted to get this recipe out to you all so when I do try it, I’ll certainly update it. If you try it, let me know!

Can I double the recipe to make a big batch of cookies?

You can! I double this recipe all the time and it makes 16 normal size cookies (2 oz) or 8 large (4 oz) cookies.

Can I use different add-ins?

You sure can! These cookies would also be phenomenal as double chocolate cookies, so just use milk or dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. Or as I mentioned earlier, plain white chocolate would be lovely as well.

I DON’T recommend adding chopped candy canes or anything candy-like because the texture is sub-parrrrrr, my friends. I really am not a fan of how candy melts and cools in baked goods.

If you have any other add-ins you’ve tried, let me know in the comment section.

How to store the cookies after baking

Nothing fancy, just place the cookies in a ziplock bag and keep them at room temperature for 3-4 days. They obviously will dry out a little more day by day but I just pop in the microwave for like 5-10 seconds before eating.

Thanks so much for reading today’s post , if you have any questions just comment down below, i’m happy to answer! If you make these chocolate peppermint cookies, I would love to see them! Make sure to tag me @baranbakery on instagram and as always, have a blessed day and happy baking!

Love, B

Yield: 8 small cookies

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies Recipe

These chocolate peppermint cookies are nothing short of a dark and rich brownie in cookie form, stuffed with Ghirardelli peppermint chocolate bark.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 cup (56g) salted butter, melted
3/4 cup (150g) light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup (90g) all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1/2 cup (40g) Dutch process cocoa powder, spooned and leveled
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
9 Ghirardelli peppermint bark, roughly chopped

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F (177C) convection OR 325F (163C) conventional and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, microwave the butter for 20-30 seconds, just until it's melted (if it gets super hot, then let it cool a little bit).
Add the light brown sugar to the melted butter and whisk together for about a minute. Add in the egg and vanilla and whisk until it's completely smooth.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder and fold the cookie dough just until there are a few streaks left of flour.
Fold in the chopped peppermint bark, just until they're evenly dispersed.
Roll the cookie dough into 8 small cookies, four per cookie sheet, and bake one sheet on the middle rack for 10 minutes on convection or 12 minutes on conventional, just until the edges feel set.
Remove them from the oven, give the pan a quick tap on the counter and allow them to rest for 5-10 minutes before transferring off the cookie sheet.
Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and enjoy warm!