Peppermint Chocolate Chunk Cookies

in Chocolate, Christmas, Cookies and Bars

Peppermint Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Christmas baking is pretty standard around here. I make a Red, White, and Green Biscotti every year – it’s fool-proof, the raw dough tastes awesome, and everyone loves them. With every passing year, I’ve pretty much had to double the previous year’s output. Supply and demand doesn’t lie!

Then there are the Fleur de Sel Caramels. Last years batches were spiked with pretty flecks of Tahitian vanilla bean. I also think that we might actually enjoy them more than the recipients but they’re definitely one of our holiday favorites.

Peppermint Chunk Cookies

And then there’s the annual, revolving-door Chocolate + Peppermint combo. I’ve made Swirly Peppermint Bark and a decadent hot chocolate mix with peppermint marshmallows before. But this year, I decided to slap a bow on an oldie-but-goodie and call it a Christmas cookie. And with my holiday chocolate order arriving, I have plenty of chocolate hanging around.

I recently stumbled across an old recipe that I used to make in my pre-Foodie Bride days, forever known as “The Emergency Cookies.” There aren’t many cookies out there that I’d say taste better cold than fresh-from-the-oven warm but these are one of them. Straight out of the gate, these cookies are fall-apart tender but I love sneaking two of these for breakfast the next morning. The cooled and crackly chocolate leaves a very chewy cookie that borders on confection and the peppermint extract provides a Christmasy hint of mint among all that chocolate.

Peppermint Chunk Cookies

Rich, chocolatey cookies spiked with peppermints make a wonderful holiday treat.

Ingredients

  • 8 oz semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs, room temp
  • 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp peppermint extract (or more to taste)
  • 12 oz chocolate, roughly chopped (or 1 package chocolate chunks)
  • 12 peppermint candies, roughly chopped for garnish

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment or silpat.
  2. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 25-second increments, stirring in between, until just melted. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
  3. In the bowl of your mixer, beat eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, and peppermint extract on high speed until the sugar has completely dissolved (4-5 minutes). Reduce speed to low and add the melted (and by now, cooled) chocolate. Mix until uniform. Add the flour mixture until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chunks.
  4. Let dough sit 10 minutes - this will allow the chocolate to cool and prevent the cookies from spreading.
  5. The dough should be very stiff and hold the round shape when scooped. If it's too loose, let it sit at room temp for a while or stick it in the fridge for 10 minutes.
  6. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet still soft in centers, 10 to 12 minutes. Lightly press the candy pieces onto the cookies hot from the oven. Cool on sheets 10 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Notes

Yields: 2 dozen cookies

Adapted from The Emergency Cookies

Estimated time: 45 minutes

7 comments… add one
  • Your photos are beautiful. This is such a pretty cookie. Where are the rest of them? hehe

  • Yum! I will try this recipe for sure.

  • What a beautiful cookie! I’m sure they were absolutely delicious!

  • Lanette

    I have tried making three batches of these cookies and they are going flat in the oven. I find that the dough is not really thick as well. I have been following the recipe and they are not looking anything like it!! What might I be doing wrong? Is there only suppost to be 2/3 of flour?
    Thank you

  • Lanette – the dough should definitely be thick and a little difficult to scoop. I just made a batch of these for a cookie exchange this weekend and had forgotten how stiff the batter actually gets. It could be that the chocolate is too warm. After melting and mixing the chocolate and butter, let it sit on the counter a bit and thicken.

  • Jennifer Underwood

    I have a batch of these in the oven and they smell AWESOME! I was worried about my batter being too thin, but I forgot to add the chuck chocolate 🙂 It is super thick now and the cookies are holding their shape fine.

  • Rebecca

    I baked these in Boulder, so about 6,000 ft up. I used almost a full cup of flour and the first baked batch turned out so incredibly perfect (and not at all flat), but the second batch into the oven got a little too toasty because the flour had absorbed a bit by then. Still good, but the first batch are the presents for neighbors, the second got resigned to family munching.

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