Chewy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Festive soft-batch chocolate cookies are dipped in a peppermint spiked white chocolate then garnished with crushed peppermints in this Chewy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies recipe
Servings: 14 cookies
Ingredients
Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips will be melted with the butter
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter cut/broken into pieces for even incorporation
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks for mixing into the batter
White Chocolate
- 10 ounces Ghirardelli white melting wafers or similar, to use white chocolate see notes for tempering
- 1/3 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candy
- flaky sea salt for garnishing this helps cut the sweetness from the white chocolate
Instructions
Make and Bake Chocolate Cookies
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl or zip-top bag whisk together all dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and butter. Heat them in the microwave on low-power for 20 second increments, mixing each time until butter and chocolate are fully melted. Let cool for 5 minutes.
- Use a hand mixer to beat in both sugars to the melted chocolate mixture. Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing to incorporate each one. Add in peppermint extract and milk beating until incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and stir to combine with a spatula so you don't over-mix. Fold in chocolate chunks mixing until just combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to measure batter, shape into uniform balls, and place onto the prepared baking sheet. *Batter will be sticky*
- Bake for 7 minutes. Pull the tray from the oven and use the back of a measuring cup to slightly flatten the cookies. Press additional chocolate chunks to the tops of each cookie. Return to oven and bake for another 3 minutes or until the cookies are set but a little gooey in the middle.
- Allow cookies to cool on the tray.
Coat in White Chocolate
- Prepare a clean surface lined with parchment paper. Have the bowl of crushed peppermints nearby along with the flaky sea salt if using.
- Melt the white chocolate melting wafers according to the package instructions. I like to use a deep glass container like a wide-mouth mason jar for easy dipping.
- Dip the cookies halfway down into the melted white chocolate, lift and allow excess to drip off. Gently scraping the bottom against the dish to remove any large globs of chocolate.
- Place cookies on the clean parchment and sprinkle with crushed peppermint and sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Notes
Be sure to store these cookies separately from any other holiday cookies as the peppermint flavor will creep into other cookie varieties. I like to individually seal my cookies using cellophane wrappers and a heat press. This ensures the cookie flavors don't seep into others in a gift box or holiday cookie tray.
How to Temper White Chocolate:
If you prefer real white chocolate over melting wafers, here is the method I use to melt the white chocolate:
Add 1 1/2 cups of white chocolate chips into a medium bowl. Microwave at 50% power in 20-second intervals, stirring between intervals until about two-thirds of the chocolate is melted.
Remove from microwave and add remaining 1/2 cup white chocolate chips into the melted chocolate, mixing until all the chocolate is melted. This can take a few minutes. To test if it's tempered, coat the back of a spoon with the white chocolate and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. If it sets up hard and crunchy, it's tempered.