Peppermint Mocha Cookies

Peppermint is my jam.

When I was a smoker (I know, bad habit, but I quit a long time ago!) I only smoked menthols. I’ve chewed the exact same type of gum for a decade (Five peppermint). Don’t ever hand me a stick of spearmint gum, that’s not my thing.

I love dinner mints and Andes and circular peppermints you find in your grandfather’s house. My favorite ice cream of all time is Braum’s peppermint ice cream. I can’t get enough of mint and every form it takes.

That’s another reason why I love Christmas so much; peppermint takes center stage. I can fill up my candy dish with my favorite peppermint bark candy, and grab a peppermint mocha from Starbucks, and a box of peppermint Jo-Jo’s from Trader Joe’s

I love baking with mint, too, and these cookies might just be the best I’ve made this season. They’re crinkly-and-chewy, kind of like a brownie. The white chocolate dipped end with the crushed candy canes is mangificient; it’s the best mouthful of peppermint you’ll eat all season. And all things considered, these cookies weren’t too terribly difficult to make.

A cookie that both looks and tastes good, now that’s an accomplishment. I get in a hurry in the kitchen and sort of fail on my presentation, but these cookies didn’t end up that way. You’ll not only wow crowds with them, but they’ll be impressed by the taste as well.

I used the mini-candy canes for the crushed end of the cookies. They were easy to crush in their little packages by using a rolling pin over them. It’s okay to have some big chunks mixed in with little chunks; you want a good combination of both.

Pro-tip: I don’t know how many times I’m going to say this, but white chocolate baking bars are the easiest to melt in the microwave. Chips tend to seize, and melting wafers, too. Use bars and follow the instructions on the back of the package to a T! Also, use a thick glass bowl (like Pyrex) to melt the chocolate.

Enjoy!

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt.

In a stand mixer (using paddle attachment), cream together butter and both sugars until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, and then mix in peppermint and vanilla extracts\

Pour in the flour mixture, in three different batches, while mixer is running on low speed. Mix until everything is well combined.

Using a tablespoon, scoop out dough and place onto prepared baking sheets. Bake sheets, one at a time, for 8 minutes.

Let cookies cool on sheet pan for a few minutes before transfering to a wire rack. Let cookies cool completely.

Dip one end of cooled cookie into melted white chocolate. Sprinkle crushed candy cane pieces immediately on top.

Let cookies set on parchment paper either at room temperature (will take a lot of time depending on how warm your house is), in the freezer for 5 minutes, or the fridge for 10 minutes.