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!
I’m not quite sure what happened here. The dough was very runny and when baked, the cookies spread out over the pan and completely ran apart.
Hi Ang! Sorry to hear it. I imagine maybe the dough was too warm. Maybe needed to be chilled.
Could the dough be made in advance and frozen until the day I need to bake them?
Hi! Yes! Freeze the dough in pre-formed balls for best results. Then let them thaw for baking and you are good to go!
These are fantastic! They turned out perfectly. I used 7 mini-candycanes and will increase it to 8 on my next batch. The white chocolate chips really add to the cookie, so I recommend not leaving them out. I chilled the dough for about an hour and they look exactly like the picture. Super yummy! Will be a part of my Christmas cookie collection from now on. Excellent!
So happy to hear this Jeanne!!! Thanks for sharing!
Very good and super easy!
So happy to hear it Christina!
I was so excited for these! I followed the recipe exactly and chilled the dough for about 30 mins. Left them out for approximately 15 mins before I scooped and baked. The dough seemed really moist. They went SPLAT!! Like formed a flat sheet across my baking sheet. I have no idea what went wrong! 🙁
So sorry Amanda! If you chilled them for 30 minutes then there is no need to let them sit out at all before scooping onto the baking pan. The 15 minutes may have softened them up too much. Sorry they didn’t turn out!
I used crushed peppermint candies, chocolate chips, and mnms! They turned out fabulous and looked amazing 🙂 I will definitely use this recipe again!
-Elle
Ohhh, now I will be running out to get some holiday M&Ms STAT!
These turned out so good. They are delicious and they look super festive!!
Yay! So happy t try o hear you love my favorite cookie as well!!
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!
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!
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!