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
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!
I cannot WAIT to make these!
Yay! Holiday cookie season is the best!
The peppermint adds a great holiday flavor to these cookies!
Couldn't agree more!
These are the most festive cookies, and I know that Santa really likes them 😉
Good old Santa—he knows his cookies!! ?
Love the candy canes in here! Totally makes a classic cookie way more festive for the holidays!
Yes! Simple and classic!
Such a fun holiday spin on a classic cookie!
Thanks!!
So festive! Love adding mint to the cookies!
Always during this season!
Sounds delicious! Yum!
A favorite holiday tradition over here!
Adapting this recipe, using gluten free flour. Hoping they turn out ??
Let me know how it goes!! Hoping all goes well!
Yum! Just made these for the first time and they are so festive and delicious! Perfect for the holidays. I didn’t have white chocolate chips, so I just omitted them. I used chocolate chunks instead of chips, and doubled the amount to replace the white chips. Turned out amazing!
So so glad you loved them! And I think just the chocolate chips would be perfect as well!
I am an experienced cook, but couldn’t get these to come out. Made them according to the recipe and baked for time according to directions. They are falling apart and are just sticky. The candy cane texture in the cookies is a bit off. It could be the humidity here, but they seem like they need at least 15 minutes of baking. Probably won’t make these again. Too bad.
So sorry to hear that, Bonnie--never fun when baking fails. Quick question--was the cooked cookie sticky and falling apart or the dough? Just trying to dig in a bit more and trouble shoot. Sorry again!
Looks awesome! Does baking the candy make it soft or will it still be crunchy?
It will still have a crunch to it, but it melts them a touch. The only issue I ever have is any candies at the edge will spread.
If you have crushed peppermint, how many cups would 5 candy canes be? Can't wait to make these!
Hi! It’s about 1/2 cup. Enjoy!
Why do we have to chill it for 3 instead of overnight?
Sorry for the confusion—you don’t have to chill for 3 days. The dough will stay good in the fridge for 3 days. Hope that helps!
Very excited to make these cookies! Did you use mini or regular sized candy canes? Thank you!
Hi! I used regular sized. It comes to about 1/2 cup crushed candy canes in case you only have the mini!