Soft and chewy, just like a chocolate chip cookie should be--these Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies are your new favorite Christmas Cookie! Take these to the cookie exchange--or save them for yourself--loaded with candy canes and lots of chips, they will make Santa extra happy!
- Originally posted December 2018. Photos updated November 2020. -
As soon as the holiday season hits, all I want is chocolate and peppermint--and I will take it just about any way I can get it.
These peppermint chip cookies, fully of crushed up candy canes have become a tradition the past several years, and it wouldn't be Christmas without them.
Why we love these so much:
- They take a classic and give it a holiday kick! Who can resist a chocolate chip cookie? And giving them a little bit of Christmas cheer just makes them more fun over the holiday season.
- These are super kid friendly. Get the kids in the kitchen. Oh what fun it is to CRUSH UP CANDY CANES! I can't promise things won't get messy though.
- They are delish! I mean, isn't that the reason we bake cookies??
These Peppermint Chip Cookies are bound to become a family favorite in your house very soon. Grab some milk and get ready!
What you will need:
- butter: I use unsalted butter.
- brown sugar: light brown sugar is what we use.
- sugar
- egg
- flour
- baking soda
- sea salt
- vanilla
- candy canes (or peppermint candies if not in season)
- dark and white chocolate chips--or any combo you prefer!
How to make this recipe:
- Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat to incorporate.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the salt, flour and baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix only to incorporate. You don't want to over mix at this point.
- Once the flour is incorporated, fold in the chocolate chips and crushed candy canes.
- Chill until ready to bake or scoop onto parchment lined baking sheets and bake!
Check out some of my cookie baking tips and FAQs here before you start baking these cookies!
Notes and Pro-Tips:
- Too much candy cane near the edges of the cookie will run. Now this is the only issue I have with these cookies and I have been able to figure out a way for the most part to help keep the candy cane from running in all directions. When you scoop the cookies onto the cookie sheet, check around the edges to see if there are any big pieces of candy cane. If there are, either pull them out or try to press them into the dough. Having the candy cane run doesn't ruin the cookie--it just doesn't look quite as pretty!
- When in doubt, crush the candy canes REALLY SMALL. This will alleviate most issues with candy canes running. Just skip the big chunks--you will still love these!
- Chilling cookie dough is always a great idea. It helps to solidify the fats in the cookie so that when baking it takes longer for them to soften. No time to chill? Not the end of the world, but there will be a difference in the chewiness of the cookie.
- Always, always ALWAYS make sure that your baking soda is fresh. Old or expired baking soda can make your cookies flat. No one wants a flat cookie!
- I tried to make these simple to double the batch if you are wanting to make more to share with the people you love! I have made double the batch several times with great results!
- To melt or not to melt? I melted the butter in the first batch and used softened, cool butter in the second. Honestly I loved them both. There was a different chewiness to the melted butter version that I really enjoyed however in this recipe I went with the room temperature butter because that feels safer for some reason. But if you like to make cookies with melted butter, by all means, do it!
- All the chips! The key to the best chocolate chip cookies is extra chips, right? Add whatever you like! I always end up throwing extra in and so can you! I loved the chocolate chunks I found at the store to add some extra texture. Chips are great as well!
- Candy canes are great, but peppermint candies will work fine if it is not candy cane season.
Enjoy these Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies and all of your favorite treats this season and beyond!
Try these other Holiday Baked Goods and Treats:
- Nutella Stuffed Ritz Cracker Cookies with Peppermint White Chocolate
- Cream Cheese Snowball Cookies
- One Bowl Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Christmas Golden Oreo Truffles
- Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Stuffed Crescent Wreath
- Dark Chocolate Candy Cane Pretzel Bark
- Dark Chocolate Peppermint Puppy Chow
- Individual Cranberry Orange Crisps
- Maple Vanilla Spiced Pecans Recipe
- Nutella Crumble Bars
DID YOU MAKE ONE OF MY RECIPES? LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW! I ALSO LOVE TO SEE YOUR LEMONS + ZEST RECIPES ON SOCIAL MEDIA–TAG ME @LEMONSANDZEST ON INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK!
Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dark and white chocolate chips, and candy canes make these Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies such a perfect treat to celebrate the holidays!
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Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 152kcal
Ingredients
- ½ c unsalted butter, softened and room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ c flour
- ½ c sugar
- ⅓ c brown sugar, packed firmly
- 1 ½ tsp Vanilla
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ c white chocolate chips
- ¾ c dark or regular chocolate chips
- 5 candy canes, crushed into fine pieces about 1/4 cup plus a tablespoon
Instructions
- Using a hand or standing mixer, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar until nice and creamy. Add in vanilla and egg and beat until incorporated. You don't want to over do this part or cookies will be stiff. Just enough until the egg is mixed in (about 20 seconds.)
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, sea salt and baking soda. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips and candy canes.
- If chilling dough, seal tightly and chill up to 3 days before baking. (Allow to sit out 10-15 minutes before you bake them)
- If baking, preheat oven to 350°F. Roll dough into balls or use a cookie scoop and line on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies look slightly golden. The key here is NOT to over bake these! They may not look done but they are!
- Allow to cool for several minutes before transferring to your mouth--er, a cooling rack.
Notes
- Too much candy cane near the edges of the cookie will run. Now this is the only issue I have with these cookies and I have been able to figure out a way for the most part to help keep the candy cane from running in all directions. When you scoop the cookies onto the cookie sheet, check around the edges to see if there are any big pieces of candy cane. If there are, either pull them out or try to press them into the dough. Having the candy cane run doesn't ruin the cookie--it just doesn't look quite as pretty!
- When in doubt, crush the candy canes REALLY SMALL. This will alleviate most issues with candy canes running. Just skip the big chunks--you will still love these!
- Chilling cookie dough is always a great idea. It helps to solidify the fats in the cookie so that when baking it takes longer for them to soften. No time to chill? Not the end of the world, but there will be a difference in the chewiness of the cookie.
- I tried to make these simple to double the batch if you are wanting to make more to share with the people you love! I have made double the batch several times with great results!
- Candy canes are great, but peppermint candies will work fine if it is not candy cane season.
Nutrition
Calories: 152kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 141IU | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you try this recipe? I would love to see it! Mention @LemonsAndZest or tag #LemonsAndZest!
Most excellent, soft and tasty holiday cookie! I made these with Bob's gluten free flour and a vegan egg product and they were amazing. Really appreciate the advice not to overbeat the butter & sugars as I did not know that before and think it really helped.
So good to know the gluten free flour worked well! Thanks so much for sharing this Cindy!!
These are delicious. I found out the second time making them that using Starlight Mints rather than candy canes is easier as they lie flat and are easier to crush.
Great to know!!! I imagine that they are easier to unwrap too. Candy canes can be very tedious. Thanks Delilah!
These were so delicious and worked perfectly! Do you think the dough would freeze well? I’m going to make some for Christmas gifts!
Hi!! Yes! If you roll it into balls and freeze, its super simple. Thaw and bake!
These are amazing! Crushed the candy cane into small pieces and had no running! They came out perfect! These will now be added to our annual Christmas cookies!
This makes me so happy! I just ate my last pre-Christmas one from the freezer so next batch is coming! Thanks Jen!
Can the dough be refrigerated for a couple days prior to baking?
Hi! Yes, that should be fine!
Just made these tonight and followed the recipe exactly....my dough seemed very dry and crumbly. And they didn’t bake up nice and fluffy, they were on the flatter side and the candy canes made them really sticky! Not sure what went wrong...
Hmmm sorry to hear that!! Sounds like there may have been a touch too much flour. Even the slightest amount of extra flour can have an impact.
Looking forward to making these with my kiddos as part of our annual cookie baking tradition. If I have “pre crushed” candy canes, how much would you recommend using? Is 5 canes about ¾ cup?
about 1/2 cup should do it!
Loved this! i added mini marshmallows, and they turned out great.
Ohhhh, I love the sound of that!
If I don’t have regular chocolate chips, would chocolate chunks work as well as they tend to melt more?
Chunks will work fine too!
These are the perfect Christmas cookie for chocolate and peppermint lovers! They were soft with crispy edges and so delicious!
So so happy to hear this Alyssa! Making one more batch for the season this week---not even sure how many times I have made them now!
I'm so sad! I just made these and I overbaked them and there's no chunks of peppermint, they all melted! Any way to get a softer fluffier cookie and no melted peppermint? 🎄
Hi Chessie! Sorry to hear this. I have had some people just sprinkle the crushed candy cane over top of the cookies toward the end of baking and they have liked that. You could make the pieces slightly bigger but you would just have to make sure they are not toward the edge of the cookie so they won’t run. Does that help?!
Hey I was just wondering, I don't have big candy canes, how many small ones would u say?
Hi! I would aim to do enough to get about 1/3-1/2 cup. I think about 10 or so should be fine!
These are absolutely fabulous! I’ve made them twice and they turned out great! They didn’t last long with my family. We only had mini candy canes, so I used 10 of them. Cooked up really well both times. Thanks!
Thanks so so much Teresa! Just pulled a few from the freezer tonight! Can't get enough!
Hi Lorie!
These are amazing, and will be a Christmas cookie staple from now on!! These are better than Trader Joe’s Peppermint Chocolate Cookie mix.
I’m sure it’s not your recipe but an error on my part. Why are my cookies coming out flat, and not like the cookies pictured? This will not keep me from making them again, I’m just wondering what I did wrong😔
Oh wow! Better than Trader Joe's?!! That is huge. So here are a couple of things. First, chill them for an hour and see if that helps. Warm dough is the biggest culprit. Also, make sure your butter is not too soft when you start out. It should not easily press down like play-do, but rather still have a bit of firmness to it. Check to make sure your baking soda is super fresh as that can cause any baked good to flatten. If all else fails, try adding an extra tablespoon or two of flour. Hope all of this helps!
In the process of baking these right now! These are absolutely wonderful. I saw were the dough can be frozen dough. Good to know! Will the baked cookies also freeze well?
Celebrating a late Christmas and was going to wait til my grandsons (11 & 9) were here...glad I'm not! They would have just eaten the dough!!! Thanks so very much and Happy New Year!!
I freeze the baked cookies all the time. They last a couple months for us—well when we don’t eat them first! So happy to hear you all enjoyed them!
Outstanding. Some of the best cookies I have ever made or even eaten. I think they possibly taste better on the second day when all the flavors have had a chance to meld together. My only change was to skip the candy canes and use Andy’s creme de menthe baking chips in their place. My taste testers were swooning. And, the baker (me) had to stop sneaking more samples. Thank you, thank you.
So so glad to hear this! Where did you find the Andes chips?? I was looking for them not long ago and could not find them anywhere. Maybe I need to look now that the holiday season is over.
I made these 2 times this week. The first time I melted the butter and only used semi-sweet chips. They turned out perfectly! The second time I made them I used white and semi sweet chips. I also just softened the butter to room temp, rather than melted. Both times I chilled the dough for about 10-15 minutes before baking. The second batch flattened into greasy flat cookies! I'm not sure if it was the white chocolate chips, or some other strange phenomenon, but they were a totally different cookie. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Hi Emily! That is so so interesting! One of the biggest things that can make a big difference without you really knowing is flour measurement. Even just a touch too little flour can flatten things out. The difference in using the melted butter versus the softened butter likely impacted it some as well but it surprises me the softened butter turned out so flat. Unless the butter was a bit too soft? I am hoping this was just a random fluke of some sort!