Chocolate Peppermint Santa Cookies

My Chocolate Peppermint Santa Cookies offer a delightful variation on my traditional Santa Cookies. These treats are soft yet crispy, rich in chocolate, and infused with a delightful peppermint taste, making them a surefire hit with any crowd.

By Rose Huxford

If you enjoyed my classic Santa Cookies, you'll adore these Chocolate Peppermint Santa Cookies, which are dipped in extra chocolate and topped with crushed peppermint candy pieces. This holiday season, I wanted to experiment with something new, and since peppermint is so prevalent in December, I decided it would be exciting to incorporate chocolate and peppermint into the beloved Santa Cookies. They yield a large batch and freeze excellently. Share them as gifts or serve them at a cookie party.

Chocolate Peppermint Santa Cookies

Pre-heat oven: 375 degree F

yields: ~40 cookies

Prep-time: 5 minutes

Bake-time: 10-12 minutes

Total-time: ~25 minutes

Equipment: 2 baking sheet pans, parchment paper, 2 large mixing bowls, stand or hand electric mixer, whisk, spatula, measuring cup, measuring spoons, cooling rack

Ingredients

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, soften, or dairy free (I like earth balance brand)

• 1 1/2 cups cane sugar, or monk fruit sweetener

• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, or coconut sugar

• 2 lg eggs, room temperature

• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1 tsp pure almond extract

• 3 cups all-purpose flour, or GF flour 1-1 ratio baking flour

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels, or Trader Joes 72% dairy free chocolate chips

• 1 cup vanilla morsels, or Pascha dairy free white baking chips

• 1 cup m&m's, or dairy free Unreal chocolate pieces

• 1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips

  
  

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degree F.

2. Line 1-2 baking sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, use a stand or hand electric mixer to cream the butter. Next, incorporate the sugars and mix for approximately 20 seconds until well combined. Then, add the vanilla and almond extract. Introduce one egg at a time, beating on medium speed until each egg is completely mixed in.

4. In a large bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, chocolate chips, vanilla morsels, M&M's and Andes baking chips. Use a whisk to blend everything together.

5. While the mixer is on low speed, gradually incorporate the flour mixture, adding roughly 1/4 cup at a time. Ensure that each addition is mostly blended in before proceeding. Repeat this process until all the flour is used. After the flour is fully incorporated, mix the batter for an additional 10 seconds at medium speed.

6. Use a cookie scooper and scoop out about 1" size balls. Keep each cookie ball about 1 inch apart.

7. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the bottom is slightly golden brown.

8. The goal is to take the cookies out while the center is slightly under done. This will make for a chewy and crisp cookie!

9. Once the cookies are done, let them sit on the sheet pan for few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. The cookies will continue to cook as they cool.

10. Enjoy right away or freeze in a tin or airtight container for up to 1 month.

11. These make for great holiday gifts!