Peppermint Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Nothing like Christmas in 2020 to make you miss beloved Christmas cookie exchanges, huh?! Of course necessary to withhold any festive cookie exchanges this year, but man oh man I really do miss exchanging cookies! Peanut butter blossoms, snowball cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, the classic chocolate chip cookies. I could go on for days.

But honestly, not having cookie exchanges this year is just all the more reason to make more for yourself, right?? Maybe I’m the only one doing this, or maybe I’m not, but shoot is it hard to resist making all the cookies this time of year!

And to kick off my own personal cookie exchange with… well, myself… I started with these buttery, decadent, festive peppermint chocolate chunk cookies! They come together so quickly with just a few basic pantry staples, and some festive add-ins, and we let the dough sit in the fridge for a little bit to really let those flavors come together and get even richer!

How do I get big pools of chocolate in my Peppermint Chocolate Chunk Cookies?

For those pools of deliciously glossy melty chocolate, chop your own chocolate – and use baking chocolate! I like to start with a block of dark chocolate or a bar of baking chocolate and chop it into big chunks to use in the cookie dough. Of course, using store bought chocolate chunks or chopping up a chocolate bar are fine options, too. But for the best pools of chocolate, grab a bar or block of chocolate and chop it into big chunks. You can find baking chocolate at most grocery stores or your nearest Target or Walmart.

Do I need to refrigerate the cookie dough?

Yes! For these cookies, refrigeration is essential so that the cookies do not spread too thin. These cookies are designed to be a thinner cookie, versus a thick and chewy one. With that, though, we do need to refrigerate the dough for one hour before baking so that the cookies don’t become too thin!

How small should I chop the candy canes?

About 1/4 inch in size is perfect! Just be wary of cutting them into pieces that are too small, or you’ll end up with cookies that are very crunchy! Since candy canes have a high amount of sugar in them, if you cut the candy canes too small, they’ll disperse thinly throughout the dough and produce a really crunchy cookie.

Peppermint White Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 from 4 votes

Recipe by Lindsey Goldschmidt

Servings

12

Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Unsalted Butter

• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar

• 1/3 cup Cane Sugar (or granulated sugar)

• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

• 1 Egg

• 1.5 cup All Purpose Flour

• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

• 1/4 tsp Baking Powder

• 1 tsp Kosher Salt

• 2/3 cup Chocolate Chunks

• 1/3 cup chopped Candy Canes

Directions

• Begin by melting 3/4 cup unsalted butter. Once the butter has fully melted and cooled slightly, in a mixing bowl, combine the butter with one egg, vanilla, cane sugar and brown sugar.
• whisk the wet ingredients until they have fully combined.
• Next, add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a separate mixing bowl and whisk together to combine the dry ingredients.
• Then, add your dry ingredients to the bowl with the egg, butter, vanilla, and sugars. Fold ingredients together with a spatula to combine into your cookie dough.
• Then, add in your chocolate chunks and candy cane pieces (please see note above). Cover and refrigerate cookie dough for at least one hour.
• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking pan with parchment paper or silpat baking mat.
• Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and scoop onto your cookie sheet, and bake for 12-13 minutes, until cookies are lightly browning around the edges.
• Take the cookies out of the oven, let them cool, and enjoy your perfect, festive cookies!!

If you made this recipe, I’d love to see it! Let me know in the comments or tag me on IG at @simply_unbeetable 🙂