Peppermint chocolate chip cookies are soft on the inside, chewy on the outside, and are a beautiful and festive cookie for the holidays!

I'm not sure why, but this week has been creeping along so slowly for me! Even two neighbors and I were lamenting on Tuesday afternoon that it already felt like it should be Friday.

On Tuesday! You know that's bad...

Maybe I'm just ready for the weekend. (When am I not ready for the weekend?!)

I'm hoping to finish up all of my Christmas shopping this weekend. Ambitious, perhaps, but I've gotten a good start. Amazon is my best friend.

I'm also taking my 7-year-old daughter to see the Nutcracker on Sunday. It'll be our third year going and it's become such a fun tradition for the two of us!

But let's dive in to today's new recipe!

We’ve been on a cookie bender here on the blog, in case you haven't noticed. It's cookie season, after all!

I shared my old fashioned soft molasses cookies and bourbon chocolate chip cookies over the past week. And today it’s these beautiful peppermint chocolate chip cookies.

They are just perfect for the holidays, aren’t they?!

So last week I mentioned that I use my son’s preschool bake sale to test out new cookie recipes, which is where this one came from as well.

His preschool hosts a dinner and all the parents bring bake sale goodies to sell to raise money for the school.

They also have games, Christmas crafts and Santa comes to visit, which is the highlight of course.

It’s been a holiday tradition of ours for seven years now, starting when my daughter was at the school as a baby.

This past Monday night was our last one and we had a really good time playing and talking with friends and getting in the Christmas spirit. I’m sure going to miss it next year. ❤️

Cause it would be weird for us to go when we no longer have kids in school there. Right?!

Sigh…

But I digress and that’s not OK cause we’re here to talk cookies.

You don’t come between someone and a cookie. That’s just bad form.

So, let’s gush over how pretty and perfectly festive these peppermint chocolate chip cookies are!

They are soft on the inside, chewy on the outside and full of melty chocolate chips. And they are studded with crushed up peppermint pieces that make such a pretty topping for the cookies.

Plus, peppermint and chocolate are such a delicious combination in a cookie!

I will say, it took me several attempts to get this cookie recipe just right.

(If you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories, you saw the behind the scenes failed attempts. )

The first batch, I mixed the crushed peppermint into the batter along with the chocolate chips. They were really good.

However, the peppermint pretty much melted away and the cookies came out looking like regular chocolate chip cookies.

I wanted pretty cookies and I wanted to show off the peppermint!

So then I started topping the cookies with the peppermint, but I went through several batters to get the cookie base to be just right.

On round #2 (or was it #3), my 5-year-old son told me "Oh mommy, those look so much better!" ❤️

I finally nailed it and these babies are so delicious and irresistible!

(I took some to the bake sale earlier this week and they were all already gone when we got there! Success! )

Notes on peppermint chocolate chip cookies:

I use white whole wheat flour in all of my baking, but you can substitute regular all-purpose flour here if that’s what you have and use.
You could also substitute in some colored candy canes to make these multi-colored instead.
Also, you could substitute white chocolate chips in this recipe if you want to use those. That would be really pretty as well and I really want to try it!
You’ll want to watch your baking time and take these cookies out when they are golden brown and almost done. They’ll continue baking as they cool and you don’t want them to be overdone.

A few other tips for peppermint chocolate chip cookies:

- I highly recommend you use parchment paper or a silat. If any of the peppermint melts through the cookie or over the sides, it would make a melted on mess on your pan.

- You’ll need to crush your peppermints to use in this recipe. You can use either round mints or candy canes. (I always have candy canes this time of year so it’s what I use. Five regular-sized candy canes is perfect for this recipe.)

- To crush your peppermint pieces or candy canes, simple unwrap them and put the pieces into a ziptop bag. Close the bag and use a rolling pin to smash the pieces in the bag until they are broken up.

- You don’t want all powder but you don’t want any large pieces either.

- Don’t make your cookies too big on the baking sheet or they’ll spread out and all stick together. (I guess it would be kinda fun to have one giant cookie, but that’s probably not what you’re going for.)

Whether it’s a bake sale, holiday cookie exchange, or you just need a new cookie to share with friends and family, I hope you’ll give these peppermint chocolate chip cookies a try.

Happy baking!

XO,

Kathryn

Yield: About 20 cookies

Peppermint chocolate chip cookies

Name: Peppermint chocolate chip cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 20
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour (or regular all-purpose flour); 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened; 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed; 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 1 large egg; 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips; 1/3 cup crushed peppermint (about 5 candy canes)

Peppermint chocolate chip cookies are soft on the inside, chewy on the outside, and are a beautiful and festive cookie for the holidays!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups white whole wheat flour (or regular all-purpose flour)
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
⅓ cup crushed peppermint (about 5 candy canes)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.
In a separate medium bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars using a stand or hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and egg and stir to combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Don't overmix.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Place the dough in small rounds onto the prepared pans, using about 1 ½ tablespoons of dough per cookie. Leave about 2 inches between cookies.
Sprinkle the crushed peppermint pieces onto the top of each cookie. I use my fingers and just place a small mound on the top of each cookie.
Bake the cookies at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown and almost done.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an air-tight container in the pantry for up to 1 week.

Notes

I use white whole wheat flour in all of my baking, but you can substitute regular all-purpose flour here if that’s what you have and use.

You could also substitute in some colored candy canes if you wanted these to be multi-colored instead.

Also, you could substitute white chocolate chips in this recipe.

You need crushed peppermint for this recipe. You can use either round mints or candy canes for this recipe. (Five regular-sized candy canes makes the perfect amount for this recipe.) To crush your peppermint pieces or candy canes, simple unwrap them and put the pieces into a ziptop bag. Seal the bag and use a rolling pin to smash the pieces in the bag until they are broken up. You don’t want all powder but you don’t want any large pieces either.