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Chocolate peppermint candy cane cookies, the ultimate holiday treat. Chocolate peppermint candy cane cookies combine the rich, fudgy decadence of chocolate crinkle cookies with the festive flavor of peppermint. These chewy, chocolatey cookies are rolled in powdered sugar for a snowy finish, then topped with a creamy candy cane frosting for a holiday-ready touch. Perfect for cookie exchanges, holiday parties, or enjoying by the fire with a mug of cocoa, this recipe will become a seasonal favorite.
The Chemistry of Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Creating the perfect balance of chewy texture, deep chocolate flavor, and festive peppermint frosting requires attention to the details in both the cookie and the frosting:
The Cookie Base
- Cocoa Powder – Unsweetened cocoa powder provides an intense chocolate flavor and helps create the slightly crisp exterior that makes crinkle cookies iconic.
- Brown and Granulated Sugar – Brown sugar adds moisture for a chewy texture, while granulated sugar ensures structure and sweetness.
- Chilling the Dough – Chilling the dough allows the flavors to meld and ensures the cookies don’t spread too much in the oven.
- Powdered Sugar Coating – Rolling the dough in powdered sugar creates the crackly, snow-dusted appearance that is both beautiful and classic.
The Candy Cane Frosting
- Unsalted Butter and Powdered Sugar – These form the creamy base of the frosting, creating a smooth, spreadable consistency.
- Peppermint Extract – A small amount of peppermint extract goes a long way, giving the frosting a bright, festive flavor without overpowering the chocolate cookie.
- Crushed Candy Canes – Stirring crushed candy canes into the frosting adds texture and holiday flair.
Chocolate Peppermint Candy Cane Cookie Ingredients
Cocoa Powder
Provides a rich, sweet chocolate flavor. Creates a dark brown color in your treat. Absorbs water in your batter or dough at the same rate as flour. That means, if you add too much, you could end up with a dried, crumbly finished product.
Brown Sugar
Is granulated sugar with a little molasses mixed in. Molasses is a somewhat smoky flavored natural sweetener, which makes brown sugar a bit sweeter than granulated sugar. Brown sugar draws more moisture into your treat, keeping it softer for longer. It’s also more acidic, which means it will help activate your baking soda.
Granulated Sugar
Adds sweetness, provides a caramelized flavor and crisp texture. Sugar assists with rising when creamed with butter. It helps add moisture to your treat and helps it evenly spread as it melts into a liquid in the heat of the oven. Sugar also helps with naturally preserving your baked treat.
Eggs
Adds both a protein (egg whites) and fat (egg yolks). The egg whites help with rising because, when foamed, little air pockets get trapped inside the egg white mixture. The water content in egg whites encourages steam while baking, which helps with gluten formation, resulting in nice and thick treats. Egg yolks have emulsifying properties that bring batters and doughs together and help them from collapsing. Unless otherwise specified, always use large eggs.
All-purpose Flour
Builds structure as it absorbs liquids and expands. All-purpose flour falls in the middle of bread flour (high in gluten) and cake flour (low in gluten). It’s exactly what it is named, all-purpose, the most universal flour that can be used in most baked goods.
Baking Powder
Puffs up your batter or dough instead of spreading it out. Baking powder contains a little bit of baking soda, an acid & cornstarch. Because of this, it only needs a liquid to react. It also consists of two different acids, so it’s double reacting. It reacts as soon as it’s mixed with a moisture and then again when it’s heated up.
Baking Soda
Elevates the pH level of your batter or dough. It increases the spread in your treat and encourages browning, which gives the crispy outside and soft inside texture that everyone loves. Baking soda needs both an acid and a liquid to react. Things that will activate your baking soda are: vinegar, fruit juice, molasses, brown sugar, tartar, buttermilk and sour cream. Baking soda only reacts once, which is right when it’s mixed into your batter or dough. The soda creates little air bubbles all throughout your treat. When the air bubbles get heated up in the oven, they expand.
Fine Sea Salt
Enhances flavor, adds balance, masks any bitter flavors. Salt is the most powerful and oldest preservative. Always make sure to use fine sea salt so it melts down at the right speed in the heat of the oven. If you use larger granule salt, it will not melt down fully when baked and will leave salt crystals throughout your treat, making it crunch like you dropped it into sand. All of my favorite salts are from Redmond and I have a discount code for you to get 15% off.
Powdered Sugar
Coats the cookie dough, creating the signature crackly appearance.
Unsalted butter
Often the main ingredient of frosting, it adds structure to your buttercream. It also adds a smooth and velvety texture. Butter melts at body temperature, so it will make your frosting have a melt-in-your-mouth sensation.
Powdered Sugar
Is just finely ground granulated sugar. It will absorb moisture in your batter or dough. It dissolves easily, ensuring a smooth texture without grittiness. Because it is so fine, it can melt quickly in the oven and spread cookies out more. Powdered sugar also stabilizes and thickens the frosting, thanks to the small amount of cornstarch it contains.
Peppermint Extract
Adds a festive, minty flavor.
Crushed Candy Cane
Provide texture, flavor, and decoration.
Step by Step Instructions for Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Cookies
- Prepare the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream 1/2 cup room-temperature unsalted butter with 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup brown sugar. Mix until light and fluffy. Add 1 cup cocoa powder and mix until combined.
- Incorporate wet ingredients. Mix in 4 eggs, one at a time, followed by 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing just until a dough forms.
- Chill the dough. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to overnight.
- Prepare for baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line light-metal colored cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Shape and coat. Scoop the dough into large balls using a cookie scoop. Roll each ball in powdered sugar until fully coated.
- Bake. Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the tops are slightly dull and set. Cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Frosting
- Prepare the frosting base. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat 1 cup room-temperature unsalted butter until creamy. Add 3 cups powdered sugar and mix until combined.
- Add flavor and texture. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract and 1 tablespoon heavy cream. Mix on high for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Gently fold in 1/2 cup crushed candy canes.
Assemble
- Frost the cookies. Once the cookies are fully cooled, add a scoop of frosting to each cookie. Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting evenly.
- Decorate and serve. Sprinkle additional crushed candy canes on top for extra festivity, if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Storage Tips
Room Temperature – Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Refrigeration – Store frosted cookies in a single layer in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freezing – Freeze unfrosted cookies or dough balls for up to 3 months. Thaw and frost before serving.
Making Chocolate Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies Ahead of Time
- Dough– Refrigerate the cookie dough up to 3 days in advance. Dough balls can also be frozen for more extended storage. Bake directly from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
- Frosting– Prepare the frosting up to 2 days in advance and store in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature and whip before using.
Recommended Products
How to Keep Chocolate Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies Soft
Avoid over-baking the cookies. They should appear slightly underbaked when removed from the oven, as they will continue to set as they cool.
Chocolate Peppermint Candy Cane Cookie Customizations
- If you aren’t a frosting fan, you can skip it. While the frosting adds a festive touch, the cookies are delicious on their own as a chocolate crinkle cookie. You can drizzle melted white chocolate, and still sprinkle candy cane over the wet chocolate on them for a simpler decoration
- You can add dark chocolate chips or white chocolate chips to the dough for extra chocolatey or contrasting flavors.
Chocolate Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies: A Festive Holiday Cookie for All Occasions
The holiday season is my favorite time to bake, and these chocolate candy cane cookies always make an appearance. They’re a hit with everyone- from kids to grandparents- and their festive look and taste never fail to impress. I love the contrast of the fudgy chocolate cookie and the cool peppermint frosting, and the crushed candy canes on top add the perfect crunch. These cookies are a must-have for spreading holiday cheer.
These chocolate candy cane cookies combine the best parts of holiday baking – rich chocolate, cool peppermint, and festive decorations. Perfect for cookie trays (make sure to add a few other of my cookie recipes like gingerbread and kitchen sink Christmas cookies), gifts, or simply indulging, they’re sure to bring holiday cheer to anyone who tries them. Happy baking!
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Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Candy Cane Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1/2 cup crushed candy canes
Instructions
- In a standing mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, add the 1/2 cup of room temperature unsalted butter with 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar. Mix until combined. Once combined, beat on high speed for
- Add the 1 cup of cocoa powder and mix until combined again.
- Fold in 4 eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla.
- In a separate bowl combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of baking powder and 1/2 tsp of fine sea salt.
- Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour in the dry ingredients.
- As soon as a dough forms, turn the mixer off and scoop the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap the dough up and place in the fridge for 1-3 hours to chill.
- When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare light metal colored cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop the dough with a large cookie scoop onto the prepared cookie sheets.
- Roll all the cookie dough balls in the 1 cup of powdered sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are set and a little dull on top.
- Remove and allow the cookies to rest on the pans for 5-10 minutes before removing and allowing to fully cool.
Candy Cane Frosting
- In the bowl of a standing mixer combined 1 cup of room temperature unsalted butter and 3 cups of powdered sugar. Mix until combined.
- Add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream and 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract. Mix until combined.
- Once combined, turn the mixer on high and whip for 1-2 minutes.
- Gently fold in the crushed candy canes.
Assemble
- Once the cookies are cooled, add a scoop of frosting on top and spread with an off-set spatula.
Nutrition
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