Name: Peppermint Mocha Cookies
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 2 cups plus 2 Tbsp flour (270 g); ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp dutch processed cocoa powder (67g); ½ tsp baking soda; ½ tsp baking powder; ½ tsp sea salt ((you can use ¼ tsp salt if using salted butter and worried they may be too salty for your liking)); 1 cup salted butter (227g), room temperature*; 1 cup white sugar (200g); ½ cup light brown sugar (110g); 1 tsp vanilla extract; ¾ tsp peppermint extract; 2 large eggs (room temperature); 2 Tbsp finely crushed candy canes (or peppermint candies); 4 oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate (high quality baking chocolate works best, but chocolate chips can work); 1/3⅓ cup heavy whipping cream; ¼ tsp espresso powder; crushed candy canes or sprinkles for topping (optional)

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This rich, chewy and delicious peppermint mocha cookies are made with a no-chill fudgy peppermint cookie base with tiny candy cane crystals for extra peppermint flavor. Topped with a dark chocolate espresso ganache and crushed candy canes for a festive touch. These look like they take a lot of work, but they are simple to prep and the perfect cookie for any holiday cookie platter!

Peppermint mocha cookies on parchment with espresso beans and crushed peppermint candy.

Why We Love These PepPermint Mocha Cookies
Ingredient Notes
Ways To Vary This Recipe
Step-By-Step Instructions
Recipe Tips
Storage
Other Cookie Recipes
Peppermint Mocha Cookies Recipe
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I am obsessed with peppermint and chocolate all holiday season and through the winter. These Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies have been my must make cookie recipe every Christmas, but these peppermint mocha cookies may be my new all time favorite.

Chewy, fudgy chocolate cookies topped with an espresso infused ganache–I mean, can you even?!

Love mint chocolate too? Try these other favorites: No Bake Peppermint Oreo Cheesecake, Peppermint Bark Brownies, Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies, or this Christmas Puppy Chow.

Why We Love These PepPermint Mocha Cookies

These new Christmas cookies may very well be my very favorite of all time–not joking.

I LOVE a peppermint mocha to drink, so why not take the flavors and add them to a rich cookie that is bursting with holiday flavors!

These peppermint mocha cookies are:

super elegant looking but so easy to bake
the perfect cookie recipe to WOW your party guests
so rich and fudgy–and that espresso ganache?! Yum!
great for gifting
easy to decorate with festive holiday colors

I hope you are as in love with these cookies as we are! Enjoy!

Ingredient Notes

See full list of ingredients below in recipe card with exact measurements.

Flour, eggs, cocoa powder, espresso powder and other ingredients arranged on surface. — (heavy cream not pictured but included in recipe–forgot to add it to the image!)

For best results, use dutch processed cocoa powder versus regular cocoa powder. The acidity in each is different so the texture and color of the cookies will be different if you use regular cocoa powder. The dutch processed cocoa powder with the recipe’s amount of baking soda and powder brings about a chewy, fudgy, dense cookie. If all you have is regular cocoa powder you can still make these cookies, but just note they won’t look quite the same.
I used salted butter and the full amount of sea salt. My husband said they were a touch too salty for his liking however I loved them. You can use unsalted butter if preferred or half the amount of salt when making these cookies if you are worried they may be too salty for you!
If you can’t find espresso powder, you can use finely ground instant coffee granules. If it’s a dark roast, you should be able to substitute it 1:1, but if it’s not, you can add up to double the amount of espresso powder.

Ways To Vary This Recipe

vary the toppings: we use crushed candy canes or peppermints, but you can add sprinkles, flakey sea salt, white chocolate shavings, and more.
add frosting instead of ganache! You can top these with a chocolate butter cream or a cream cheese butter cream if desired instead.
top with just melted chocolate instead of ganache: spoon it over top, drizzle it, dunk half the cookie into the chocolate, you name it–use a good quality chocolate or white chocolate for this!
omit the peppermint for a classic mocha flavor.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Cocoa powder mixed with flour, espresso powder and leavening agents.

Step 1: Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

Creamed butter and sugars in mixing bowl with eggs added to the bowl.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and regular sugar until light and fluffy (this should take about 3-4 minutes). Add the eggs, vanilla extract and peppermint extract.

Egg, butter, sugar and peppermint extract combined in bowl.

Step 3: Beat in the eggs and extract until fully incorporated.

Dry ingredients and crushed candy canes added to bowl with wet ingredients.

Step 4: Add the 1/3 of the flour mixture at a time along with the crushed candy canes and beat until mixed in.

Peppermint mocha cookie dough in bowl with spatula.

Step 5: Make sure not to over mix at this time–just beat until no more flour streaks. No need to chill the cookie dough!

Rolled chocolate cookie dough balls on parchment lined cookie sheet.

Step 6: Use a 1 ½ Tbsp cookie scoop to scoop cookie dough and roll into balls. Place cookie dough onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart.

Cookies fresh from the oven on cookie sheet.

Step 7: Bake for about 7-10 minutes , or until edges are set and the tops are nice and puffy–you don’t want to over bake these cookies. (8 minutes is my magic number) Remove the cookies from the oven and use a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter to scoot the cookies into nice even circles–totally optional but makes them so pretty! Cool for several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Hot cream added to chopped chocolate in bowl.

Step 8: Make the ganache: Chop the dark chocolate and place in a small bowl with the espresso powder. Warm the heavy cream up in the microwave in 20 second increments until hot, but not boiling. I heated for about 40 seconds. Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for a few minutes.

Dark chocolate espresso ganache in bowl with spoon.

Step 9: Stir it until the chocolate is melted and its smooth. If your chocolate won’t completely melt, pop it in the microwave for another 5-10 seconds and then stir.

Ganache spread on chocolate peppermint mocha cookies on cooling rack.

Step 10: Spoon the ganache onto each of the cooled cookies. I used roughly 3/4 teaspoon for each and had enough for all of the cookies. Sprinkle over crushed candy canes or favorite toppings. Allow the cookies to set for about 1 hour–or eat them immediately like I did!

Parchment paper with peppermint espresso cookies.

Recipe Tips

Room temperature butter is not as soft as some people think it is. It will still hold it’s shape well and make just a small imprint when pressed. It will be about 65°F-67°F–I leave mine out for just an hour. Making sure the butter isn’t overly warm is imperative to the right texture in these peppermint mocha cookies.

Don’t over bake these cookies. To keep a fudgy cookie center, you want to almost slightly underbake these. Otherwise they will dry out.

Storage

Once the ganache fully sets, store these cookies in an airtight container in a single layer or with parchment or wax paper separating layers. Store at room temperature for about 3-4 days.

To freeze, allow them to cool and set completely. Place in freezer safe container, again with something in between each layer. Freeze for up to 3 months.