Chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies are a pretty and festive treat! The name comes from the way the cookies crack in the oven while baking.
Photography by Kelly Neil
It’s hard not to get excited about holiday baking recipes! Chocolate crinkle cookies are a longstanding family favourite, and dare we say, made better with the addition of peppermint extract? Chocolate and peppermint are such a classic winter duo—fresh yet rich, light yet decadent, and all around delicious.
This recipe makes about 16 chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies. It doubles well, and the cookies freeze well after baking, so go ahead and get that freezer stocked baby! The main key to success is to make sure you have a good coating of powdered sugar on the cookie dough balls before you bake them. The bright white sugar emphasizes the cracks on the cookies, giving this holiday darling its traditional crinkled look.
Also, for some unknown reason, sometimes the powdered sugar stays perfectly white on the outside of the cookies, and sometimes it gets absorbed into the cookies. If you’re not afraid of a little added sugar, try rolling the cookie dough balls in regular white granulated sugar before you roll them in powdered sugar to help prevent this!
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Ingredients
- Chocolate—Choose semi-sweet or dark chocolate here. Milk chocolate is a bit too sweet for this recipe. We recommend using a chocolate bar or baking chocolate because they melt better than chocolate chips.
- Eggs—We use large eggs in our recipes.
- Peppermint Extract—Widely available in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.
- Powdered Sugar—Also called icing sugar or confectioners sugar.
Method
Melt the butter and add the chopped chocolate. Mix. Add the sugar and cocoa to the bowl.
The mixture will be dark and look slightly lumpy. Add the eggs and peppermint extract to the bowl.
Whisk until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl.
Switch to a wooden spoon and stir by hand. Continue to stir until the flour is just mixed in.
Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough into the powdered sugar. Roll to coat. Shape the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.
Tips & Notes
For some unknown reason, sometimes the powdered sugar stays perfectly white on the outside of the cookies, and sometimes it gets absorbed into the cookies. If you’re not afraid of a little added sugar, try rolling the cookie dough balls in regular white granulated sugar before you roll them in powdered sugar to help prevent this!
If you don’t own, or don’t want to use a microwave, simply melt the butter in a small pot on the stove top and transfer to a heatproof mixing bowl.
Add the chopped chocolate to the butter while the butter is still warm or even hot for better melting.
You can make smaller or even larger cookies if you want, however, the baking times will change, This recipe has been tested using a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop which produces about 16 cookies between 32-37 grams each.
Use a handheld mixer or stand mixer if you don’t want to make cookies by hand.
We recommend using an oven thermometer to achieve accurate temperatures for baking.
How To Freeze Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
Once the cookies have cooled completely, store them in a zipper-top freezer bag. Squeeze out as much excess air as you can, then store in the freezer for up to one month.
Substitutions
You can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate for this recipe. Really, you can use any chocolate you like, however, the two aforementioned have a good intense chocolate flavour.
You can swap out the peppermint extract for any flavour extract you like. Orange would be good. If you want a straight up classic chocolate crinkle cookie, substitute the peppermint for vanilla extract.
Substitute the powdered sugar for regular granulated sugar or even cocoa to roll the cookie dough balls in.
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies
Hazelnut Orange Linzer Cookies
Honey & Oat Cookies
Chocolate Shortbread Sandwich Cookies
Vegan Carrot Cake Cookies
Brown Butter Sesame Seed Cookies
Recipe
Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
Description
Equipment
- baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowl must be microwave safe
- Whisk
- Wooden spoon or rubber spatula
- Wire rack
- Fine mesh sieve
- Shallow bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup butter, melted
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate, not chips
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Place an oven rack in the top third of the oven and preheat to 350ºF (180ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Heat the butter on medium power until it is fully melted. Add the chopped chocolate to the melted butter and stir. If the chocolate does not melt after stirring, reheat the entire bowl for 10-15 seconds.
- Add the sugar and cocoa to the bowl. Whisk smooth. Add the eggs and peppermint extract, and again, whisk until smooth.
- Sift the flour into the bowl of chocolate and add the baking powder and salt. Switch to a wooden spoon or rubber spatula and fold the wet and dry ingredients together until the flour is just mixed in.
- Sift the powdered sugar into a separate shallow bowl. Use a 1½ tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough directly into the powdered sugar. Use a spoon to roll the scoops of dough around in the sugar until they are well coated on the outside. Use your hands to quickly and gently roll the dough portions into balls. Re-dip any bare spots of chocolate into the sugar. Place 12 of the dough balls, evenly spaced apart, on the prepared baking sheet.
- Slide the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Remove the baking tray from the oven and transfer the sheet to a wire cooling rack. Leave the cookies on the sheet to cool before serving or storing.
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