These candy cane peppermint cookies are a fun Christmas cookie! They are easy to make with crushed candy canes and white chocolate chips stirred into an easy cookie recipe. With crisp edges and chewy centers these white chocolate peppermint cookies are a delicious holiday treat.
One of the best things about the holiday season is making Christmas cookies! Whether it is traditional old world cookies like Speculoos or fun flavor ideas like Andes Mint cookies or a Kitchen Sink cookie there are an almost endless variety of cookies to make and eat.
These festive holiday cookies combine candy canes with white chocolate chips for a tasty peppermint Christmas cookie that is sweet, crispy and chewy.
White Chocolate and Peppermint
White chocolate and peppermint are a flavor combination that goes fantastically well together. I will confess that I am not a big fan of either peppermint or white chocolate by themselves.
I can have boxes of candy canes in my house and never be tempted to indulge. And a white chocolate bunny or candy bar does nothing for me – I want milk chocolate or dark chocolate every time.
But combine the two together and it tastes amazing! I thought these cookies would be easy for me to resist but I was wrong, they actually were kind of addictive.
It is cool how sometimes ingredients combine to make something that is better than each individual ingredient. So even if you, like me, aren’t a huge peppermint fan don’t dismiss these cookies!
How to Crush Candy Canes
This recipe uses crushed candy canes. There are a few different ways you can find these
- Buy a bag of crushed candy canes – This is the quick and easy way, although it isn’t the most cost effective choice. Most grocery stores will stock bags of these around the holidays.
- Crush the candy canes in a food processor – Put the candy canes in a food processor and pulse them until they are a fine consistency. With this method you have to be careful you don’t turn them to dust, you still want it to be obvious there are candy cane pieces in the finished cookies.
- Smash the candy canes with a rolling pin or hammer – Put the unwrapped candy canes in a plastic bag and smash them with a rolling pin or hammer.
Brachs Peppermint Crushed Candy Canes, 10 Ounce
Brachs 12- 6oz. Peppermint Candy Canes
My kids love to smash stuff, so we always do it that way. Ok, I kind of like doing this too. Sometimes breaking stuff is satisfying, even if it is only candy canes!
The crushed pieces won’t be as uniform as they will be if you used a food processor, but that is part of the charm. My kids and I crushed about 8 standard sized candy canes to get the 1/2 cup of crushed candy cane needed for this recipe.
How to Make Candy Cane Peppermint Cookies
This recipe is really just a recipe for drop cookies with white chocolate chips and candy canes stirred in at the end. This means they are super easy to make and the recipe should seem familiar to anyone who has ever made homemade cookies.
You simply combine the butter, sugars, egg and vanilla in a mixer until they are light and fluffy. Then add flour, salt and baking soda and mix until the dough is just combined.
By hand gently mix in the crushed candy canes and the white chocolate chips and the dough is ready for baking.
Baking the Peppermint Cookies
The candy canes don’t really melt as the cookies bake, but they do get sticky. So it is best to cover your cookie sheets in parchment paper or a silapat non-stick baking sheet.
Silpat Premium Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat, Half Sheet Size, 11-5/8Wilton 417-1112 Stainless Steel Cookie Scoop, Silver
Then use a medium cookie scoop, about 1 inch in diameter, to scoop out the dough. Since I like my cookies to be a nice, round, uniform size I then rolled all the balls in my hands to shape them.
If you really love peppermint, or just got overly enthusiastic while candy cane crushing, you could roll the balls in more crushed candy canes before baking. I decided mine would be pepperminty enough as is.
These cookies are fairly fragile after baking. When I tried to take them off the cookie sheets before they were cool some of them crumbled and broke. So let these cookies cool on the cookie sheets and then remove them to wire racks.
Do You Need to Chill the Dough
You don’t have to chill the dough before baking the cookies, but it would make it a little easier to handle. So if you have time I’d advise chilling it even if just for half an hour or so. However I was in a rush, so I didn’t chill it at all and the cookies were still delicious!
Can I Freeze These Candy Cane Peppermint Cookies?
Yes, you can freeze these cookies, either before or after baking.
Freezing before Baking
If you decide to freeze them before baking it is best to scoop them out first and freeze them as little balls of dough. Freeze the cookie balls on a tray and then put them in a freezer bag
Then you can take as many as you need out of the freezer and bake them. They will need another 2 minutes or so of cookie time if you are baking them from frozen. Cookie dough can be kept quite a while in the freezer, up to 6 months.
Freezing them after Baking
Or once the cookies are baked and cooled you can freeze them. Freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet and then store them in a freezer bag. Baked cookies should only be kept frozen for about month.
Peppermint Christmas Cookies
These easy to make cookie are a delicious holiday treat. They have crisp edges and chewy centers with a slightly sticky texture. The peppermint bits add crunch and an interesting texture to the cookies.
So whatever Christmas cookies you are making this year try these tasty candy cane peppermint cookies. They will melt in your mouth!
Candy Cane Peppermint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup crushed candy canes about 8
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a mixer combine the butter with the white and brown sugar at high speed until pale and fluffy.1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix until well combined.1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- In a small bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Add to the mixer on low speed and mix until combined.1 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- Stir in the chocolate chips and crushed candy canes.1/2 cup crushed candy canes, 1 cup white chocolate chips
- Scoop the cookies into balls about 1 inch round and roll until nicely round. Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a silcone mat.
- Baking for 10 minutes until the cookies are brown on the edges.
- Leave the cookies on the baking sheets until cool.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
Well mine don’t look nothing like the picture, I followed the recipe, maybe I should have chilled the dough. Or maybe too big of balls, they are really flat and stuck together. The taste is good