These chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies are easily one of my favorite holiday cookies. They’re rich, decadent, and almost brownie like in texture. They are a total crowd pleaser, and as long as you work with a stand mixer, they are super easy to make. The reason you really need a stand mixer is because the butter, eggs, and sugar must mix for five minutes until they get to what’s called “ribbon stage”. This is what helps give the cookies that incredible texture. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you could do this with a hand mixer or by hand, but I can’t imagine that it would be easy or fun to beat the eggs for that long.
I adapted these chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies from my double chocolate crinkle cookies recipe, which was originally adapted from this recipe. I’ve made little changes here and there to really make these cookies perfect. I’ve made these dozens of times and every single time I make them they are gobbled down quickly.
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ + 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
- ½ cup salted butter
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Beat eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed with a stand or hand mixer for 5 minutes until the mixture becomes light and pale yellow in color. Add in the vanilla and peppermint extract and mix to combine. (Yes, it’s kind of a weird amount of peppermint extract, but more would cause the cookies to taste like toothpaste, and there’s not enough peppermint flavor with less)
While the eggs are beating, place the butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 20 second intervals, stirring the mixture each time until it becomes smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder and whisk to get rid of as many lumps as possible (from the cocoa powder).
With the standing mixer on low, add the chocolate butter mixture to the sugar and egg mixture and beat until everything is combined.
Next add in the dry ingredients in three batches, mixing just until all the dry ingredients are moistened and a thick batter is formed.
Let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes so it firms up a bit.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or line it with a silicone baking mat.
Place the powdered sugar in a bowl, then scoop about 1 tablespoon scoops of the batter into the powdered sugar and roll them to coat. The dough will be soft, so just work gently. If the dough is too difficult to work with, just place it in the fridge for 10-15 min before scooping and rolling the balls in the powdered sugar.
Place the powdered sugar coated dough balls onto the cookie sheet, leaving about 1.5 inches in between each cookie because they will spread as they bake. (This recipe makes 2 ½ – 3 dozen cookies)
Bake for 7 minutes at 350 degrees. When the chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies come out of the oven, let them set on the baking sheet for an additional 7 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store the chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies in an airtight container for up to a week.