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These 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!
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?! (Make sure to try these Cosmic Brownie Cookies too!)
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.
- 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
Step 1: Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
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.
Step 3: Beat in the eggs and extract until fully incorporated.
Step 4: Add the 1/3 of the flour mixture at a time along with the crushed candy canes and beat until mixed in.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
Other Cookie Recipes
Cookies
Cosmic Brownie Cookies
Cookies
Brownie Crinkle Cookies
Christmas
Chocolate Crinkle Blossom Cookies
Cookies
Brownie Mix Cookies
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Peppermint Mocha Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups plus 2 Tbsp flour (270 g)**see notes doubling recipe!
- ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp dutch processed cocoa powder (67g)
- 2 tsp espresso powder
- 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)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp peppermint extract
- 2 Tbsp finely crushed candy canes, or peppermint candies
Dark Chocolate Espresso Ganache
- 4 oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate , high quality baking chocolate works best, but chocolate chips can work
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ tsp espresso powder
- crushed candy canes or sprinkles for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Prepare the cookies: Add the flour, espresso powder, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
- 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 and beat until incorporated.
- Add the 1/3 of the flour mixture at a time along with the crushed candy canes and beat until mixed in. Make sure not to over mix at this time.
- 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. Bake for about 7-10 minutes , or until edges are set and the tops are nice and puffy.(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.
- 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 and then 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.
- 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!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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The grams don’t change in the recipe when you double it, only the cup measurements. Just a word of warning as I accidentally made cookie soup as I always weigh my ingredients.
Oh shoot!! I usually add the options down below but I was under the impression that the weights would double as well now from a recent update. I apologize—I know groceries are not cheap these days!
So rich and delicious! Absolute hit. I didn’t have peppermint extract but amped up the candy cane bits and it was fine. Used semi-sweet chips for the ganache but added more espresso to subdue the sweetness. Will be making this again!
Kate!! This makes me so happy to hear! I always worry when I post a brand new cookie until someone makes it. Thank you!!!
This has been the holiday cookie on repeat this season for us–it is the cookie I will be showing up to every cookie exchange with–can’t wait to hear what you think!