Another Levain favorite, the seasonal dark chocolate-peppermint cookie, inspired this riff. We turned down the chocolate flavor (cocoa and semisweet chips instead of dark chocolate) but intensified the mint by processing Starlight mint candies into a fine peppermint sugar that’s creamed with the butter in the dough.
Tips for Making Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies
Keep these helpful Test Kitchen tips in mind when making this copycat cookie recipe.
- Use a food processor to crush the candies. Add candies and pulse until desired texture. Very finely crushed peppermint candies are the texture of sanding sugar. Finely crushed peppermint candies are 1/8- to 1/4-inch chunks.
- The peppermint-sugar coating melts into the cookies quickly as they bake. For an extra dose of holiday cheer, sprinkle additional peppermint chips and mint candies on top during the last couple minutes of baking. Our recipe testers loved adding these Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Mix-Ins.
How to Make Perfectly Round Cookies
To achieve consistent bakery-style rounds, try this trick with just-baked cookies. Using a 5- to 6-inch round cookie cutter in a swirling motion, shape the edges of the cookie until perfectly round (you aren't getting rid of any part of the cookie edge, but molding edge into a perfect circle). Because the cookies are still warm they're flexible enough to change shape minimally without breaking.
How to Store Chocolate-Peppermint Cookies
To store this peppermint-chocolate cookie recipe, place baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.
Ingredients
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1 cup salted butter, softened
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1 cup packed dark brown sugar
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1/4 cup granulated sugar
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1/4 cup very finely crushed peppermint candies
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2 large eggs
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1 teaspoon vanilla
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2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
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1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
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1 teaspoon baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
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1 cup peppermint-flavored chips or 6 oz. chocolate-peppermint squares, chopped
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1/4 cup granulated sugar
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1/4 cup finely crushed peppermint candies
Directions
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In a large mixing bowl beat butter with a mixer until creamy. Add brown sugar, 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar, and the very finely crushed candies. Beat on medium until very light, 3 minutes. Scrape bowl; beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; beat just until combined. Stir in chips. Cover and chill dough 30 minutes.
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Line a tray or cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a shallow dish combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar and and the finely crushed candies. Portion dough into eight even pieces. Shape the portions into balls. Gently dip half of each dough ball into sugar mixture. Place, sugar side up, on prepared tray. Freeze 4 to 24 hours.
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Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange four dough balls 4-inches apart, sugar side up, on a parchment-lined large cookie sheet. Bake 6 minutes (do not open oven). Adjust temperature to 350ºF. Bake until edges are firm and cookies appear set, about 14 minutes more. Remove from cookie sheet; cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| 702 | Calories |
| 33g | Fat |
| 98g | Carbs |
| 8g | Protein |
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 8 | |
| Calories 701.9 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 32.9g | 42% |
| Saturated Fat 19g | 95% |
| Cholesterol 107.5mg | 36% |
| Sodium 524.3mg | 23% |
| Total Carbohydrate 98g | 36% |
| Dietary Fiber 3.7g | 13% |
| Total Sugars 55.6g | |
| Protein 8.1g | 16% |
| Vitamin D 0.2mcg | 1% |
| Vitamin C 1.8mg | 2% |
| Calcium 54.8mg | 4% |
| Iron 4.9mg | 27% |
| Potassium 237.6mg | 5% |
| Fatty acids, total trans 0.9g | |
| Vitamin D 10.2IU | |
| Alanine 0.3g | |
| Arginine 0.3g | |
| Ash 2.4g | |
| Aspartic acid 0.5g | |
| Caffeine 13.5mg | |
| Carotene, alpha 0mcg | |
| Choline, total 51.9mg | |
| Copper, Cu 0.3mg | |
| Cystine 0.1g | |
| Energy 2936.4kJ | |
| Fluoride, F 3.1mcg | |
| Folate, total 85.9mcg | |
| Glutamic acid 1.8g | |
| Glycine 0.3g | |
| Histidine 0.2g | |
| Isoleucine 0.3g | |
| Leucine 0.5g | |
| Lysine 0.3g | |
| Methionine 0.1g | |
| Magnesium, Mg 43mg | |
| Manganese, Mn 0.5mg | |
| Niacin 2.7mg | |
| Phosphorus, P 111.6mg | |
| Pantothenic acid 0.5mg | |
| Phenylalanine 0.4g | |
| Phytosterols 6.8mg | |
| Proline 0.6g | |
| Retinol 210.4mcg | |
| Selenium, Se 18.8mcg | |
| Serine 0.4g | |
| Theobromine 105.9mg | |
| Threonine 0.2g | |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 1.2mg | |
| Tryptophan 0.1g | |
| Tyrosine 0.2g | |
| Valine 0.4g | |
| Vitamin A, IU 912.5IU | |
| Vitamin A, RAE 220.9mcg | |
| Vitamin B-12 0.2mcg | |
| Vitamin B-6 0.1mg | |
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 4.1mcg | |
| Water 22.3g | |
| Zinc, Zn 0.9mg | |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
