Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies

I have two words for you: Christmas. Cookies.
(I am ridiculously thrilled to start Christmas cookie season. What? That’s not a season? Come on!)
The other night I was talking to Cate online and confessed that while I was excited for Thanksgiving, I was more really super excited for the day after Thanksgiving — and not because it was Black Friday. Why, you wonder? Because the day after Thanksgiving, I give myself permission to indulge in all things Christmas. And I really love the holiday season.
The funny thing is that on Friday, I didn’t really have time for anything Christmas-related. Still, the prospect of decorating for the holiday, putting up my trees and baking scores of Christmas cookies has me giddy with excitement.

I wasted no time in getting started on the cookie baking. I was digging through my archives, looking for a tasty dessert to bring to the Second Annual Food Blogger’s Thanksgiving this weekend and came across my recipe for Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies — a recipe that’s been an annual tradition for the last five years. I had to make it — even if it was a Thanksgiving celebration I headed for.

A little back story: Five years ago, I had just given birth to Paige when Shawn asked me to whip up some Christmas gift baskets for several of his coworkers. I was already creating baskets for my cousins and some family friends and baking for Christmas dessert — so what’s a few more baskets, right? Wanting to create a diverse mix of sweets, I whipped up a variety of biscotti, breads and cookies. But, being slightly obsessed with anything that combines chocolate and peppermint, I created a recipe that celebrated those flavors.

The result is these — Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies, which are my very favorite Christmas cookie. (Psst! You can read the original post on these here.) These are totally a cookie worth sharing.
So what’s so special? The rich, chocolatey cookie is spiked with peppermint and dotted with white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and crushed candy canes. It’s a heavenly holiday combination.
Try them.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 5 peppermint candy canes, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and peppermint extract on medium speed until well mixed (about two minutes). In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. With the stand mixer running on low, add the dry ingredients a little at a time until just incorporated. Stir in the semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and crushed candy canes
- Using a medium cookie scoop (or a tablespoon), drop cookie dough in balls onto the prepared baking sheet leaving about 2-inches between dough balls. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are cooked through. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
The dough will seem pretty dry. Don’t worry! These bake up to fudgy perfection.














I can attest that these cookies are ah-mazing! Rich, chocolatey and perfectly soft inside… just the way I like my cookies! So glad I got to see you last night!
patsy recently posted..Thanksgiving 2012 {Fried Turkey}
Thank you, Patsy!
Christmas and cookies, the very thought brought a smile. And your cookies, they look so tempting! Brilliantly made.
Minnie(@thelady8home) recently posted..Result Menu Finds with Weekend Gala Extravaganza of Dinner Party #10
Thanks, Minnie!
I’ve already been baking like crazy this past few weeks. And I think I’ve decided to be “fudge girl” this holiday season.
Kate recently posted..A very long weekend
I made these earlier tonight for my homeroom’s bake sale tomorrow. They are fantastic! I’ve got a new recipe to add to the holiday collection. Thanks for the inspiration
Am absolutely in love with this recipe!!!!!