Chocolate-Dipped Peppermint Chocolate Sugar Cookies

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This easy recipe makes chewy peppermint chocolate sugar cookies, dips them into more chocolate, then covers them with crunchy peppermint pieces! Santa will love these Peppermint Chocolate Sugar Cookies and so will you! Get ready to meet your new favorite Christmas dessert.

Double Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Peppermint

Whenever I think of Christmas, I start daydreaming about all of the iconic flavors that come with it. While I reserve some of those flavors for the holiday season, chocolate and peppermint are a dynamic duo that I like to indulge in year-round. If you can relate to that, you’re in for a huge treat with these super chocolatey peppermint cookies.

Even without all the bells and whistles, these Chocolate Sugar Cookies are divine. They’re amazingly soft and fudgy, and they stay that way for days after they’re made. Dipping your cookies into melted chocolate makes them exponentially yummier, and it also helps them stay fresher for longer.

These cookies are flavored with peppermint extract and topped with peppermint pieces to make them look and taste festive for Christmas. I love the contrast of the crunchy peppermint chunks and the soft, tender cookies. You will definitely want to whip these up more than once a year!

What You’ll Need

You only need a few basic ingredients to make these minty chocolate sugar cookies. Let’s discuss them one at a time.

• All-Purpose Flour: This acts as the base for the cookies. Be sure not to over measure or your cookies won’t spread properly and will be dry.
• Cocoa Powder: Natural and unsweetened.
• Baking Soda & Baking Powder: The use of both helps you get the right mix of rise and tenderness.
• Salt: For flavor. Omit this if you’re using salted butter.
• Unsalted Butter: Room temperature butter is best for creaming with the sugar.
• Granulated Sugar: This adds not only sweetness but also moisture.
• Eggs: To help bind things together and keep the cookies chewy.
• Vanilla Extract
• Peppermint Extract
• Baking or Melting Chocolate: You want a chocolate that will melt nicely and firm back up as it cools. There are lots of good options out there – Candiquick, Ghirardelli chocolate melts, almond bark, wilton candy melts, etc.
• Peppermint Pieces: I use these Wilton Peppermint Crunch Sprinkles.

How to Make Peppermint Chocolate Sugar Cookies

These softer kinds of sugar cookies are known as drop cookies, meaning you simply drop the dough onto the baking sheet rather than rolling it out and using cookie cutters to shape it. Since they’re meant to be soft and rise in the oven, they won’t retain their shape like their crisper cut-out cookie counterparts.

1. Prep for Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set them aside.
2. Combine Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set it aside.
3. Cream Butter & Sugar: Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixer bowl on medium speed until the mixture becomes light in color and fluffy. You should be able to see the change in color happen and know it’s ready.
4. Add Eggs: Add the eggs one at a time and mix until well combined after each addition.
5. Add Vanilla: Add the vanilla and peppermint extracts and mix until the wet ingredients are well combined.
6. Combine Dry & Wet Ingredients: Add the dry ingredient mixture to the combined wet ingredients and mix until the dough is well combined. It will be thick. Do not over-mix it. Once it’s well combined, use a rubber spatula to help it come together to form a more cohesive ball.
7. Form Cookies: Create 1 1/2 tablespoon sized balls of cookie dough. Roll each ball into the additional sugar to coat it. Set the balls on the baking sheet. Gently press on the tops of the balls just a bit (I did this with the bottom of a glass).
8. Bake: Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes. Don’t over-bake them. The cookies will be a little puffy when you take them out of the oven, but they will fall a bit as they cool.
9. Let Cool: Remove your cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheets for 4-5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Melt Chocolate: Once the cookies are completely cooled, melt the chocolate in a small bowl. I like to do this in a double boiler, but you can also heat your chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time and stir after each increment until it’s melted. Reduce the microwave time as needed so you don’t burn the chocolate.
11. Dip Cookies: Dip the cookies into the melted chocolate one at a time. Gently shake each one over the bowl to remove any excess chocolate.
12. Add Peppermint Crunch: Set your dipped cookies onto a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle each one with peppermint pieces.
13. Let Set: Leave the cookies on the parchment paper until the chocolate has fully set.

Tips for Success

Before you jump into this festive recipe, review the tips and tricks below. Let’s make these cookies as yummy as possible!

• Don’t Over-Measure the Flour: Flour can be finicky when you’re measuring it out by hand. I recommend using a food scale to ensure an accurate measurement, but it you don’t have one, that’s okay. Simply spoon the flour into the measuring cup until it’s overflowing, then level it off with a butter knife. This prevents it from getting packed in.
• DIY Peppermint Pieces: If you’d like to avoid purchasing pre-crushed peppermint, you can prepare some yourself! Just place a few candy canes into a heavy-duty storage bag and crush them up with a mallet or a rolling pin.
• Don’t Over-Mix or Over-Bake: Your cookies won’t come out quite as soft and chewy if you mix the batter too much or bake them too extensively. The cookies will look puffed up when they’re done baking and will fall a little as they cool.
• Let the Cookies Cool Completely: Don’t dip your cookies into the melted chocolate until they have cooled all the way down to room temperature. This prevents them from breaking while you dip them or shake them off.

Variation Ideas

Looking for some simple ways to reinvent this recipe? Try out one of these variations.

• Use White Chocolate: If you want a sweeter dipping chocolate to balance out the richness of the cookies, use white chocolate melts instead of dark or milk chocolate ones. You could even throw in some food coloring to make the cookies look even more festive!
• Fold Peppermint Pieces Into the Dough: When you’re craving a little extra crunchiness, you can always fold some peppermint pieces into the cookie dough as well as sprinkling them over the melted chocolate.
• Substitute the Peppermint Pieces for Sprinkles: Feel free to forego the crushed peppermint in favor of some festive Christmas sprinkles if you’d like. You could also use red or green sanding sugar.

How to Store Sugar Cookies

These cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days. Keep them in an airtight container or storage bag. If preferred, you can store them in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Can I Freeze These?

You certainly can! Just pop them into a freezer-safe container and store them for up to 3 months. If you have to stack the cookies in layers, place a sheet of parchment or wax paper between each one to prevent sticking. Thaw out frozen cookies before enjoying them.

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More Fun Christmas Cookie Ideas

I have so many dreamy holiday cookies to share with you. Make sure you check out the easy recipes linked below!

• The Best Gingerbread Cookies
• Jam Thumbprint Cookies
• Candy Cane Cookies
• Stacked Sugar Cookie Christmas Trees