These double chocolate Peppermint Mocha cookies are soft and brownie-like, with sprinkles of crushed peppermint over the top. They are easy to make and are a hit at holiday cookie exchanges!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
The Best Flavor! These cookies taste like your favorite holiday coffee drink! The rich chocolate and fresh peppermint flavors taste like it's the holidays!
Soft Texture - These soft and chewy cookies are like fudgy brownies but in a thick cookie form.
No Refrigeration - Most cookie dough needs to be refrigerated before baking, but not these! There is no chill time needed for this dough. Just mix it up and bake them right away!
Great for Cookie Exchanges - Not only do these cookies taste amazing, but they are beautiful and look so festive! So everyone loves them at cookie exchanges! They are also a perfect addition to a holiday cookie tray.
My other favorite cookies to serve during the holiday season include iced thumbprint cookies, snickerdoodles, caramel brownie cookies, and cardamom shortbread!
Key Ingredients
Looking for the full recipe? The recipe card at the bottom of this post includes the complete list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions.
Butter – Make sure that your butter is almost to room temperature. It must be soft so that it mixes fully with the ingredients. The softened butter also helps the cookies spread properly.
Espresso Powder – This enhances the chocolate flavor and also adds a subtle coffee flavor, which helps these cookies taste like a peppermint mocha! If you do not have espresso powder then 1 teaspoon of instant coffee granules can be used instead.
Peppermint Extract – Peppermint is a very powerful flavoring so a little goes a long way! Make sure that you use peppermint as we use in this holiday whipped cream recipe, and not mint extract, as the mint will make your cookies taste like spearmint gum.
Chocolate Chips – I think semi-sweet chocolate chips give the perfect amount of sweetness and balance the cocoa powder. But for less sweet, richer flavor dark chocolate may be used. You can also use chocolate chunks instead of chips.
Peppermints – Crush candy canes or round peppermint candies by placing them in a large Ziploc bag and hitting them with a rubber mallet or crush with a rolling pin. You can also use already crushed candy pieces, peppermint crunch, or chopped peppermint Andes mints.
Instructions
Step One: Sift Dry Ingredients
- I recommend sifting to break up the cocoa powder so that there aren’t any clumps. If you want to skip the sifting then take care to mix the cocoa powder in well and break up any large pieces.
Step Two: Cream Wet Ingredients
- That's right - when baking, sugar is considered a wet ingredient. So go ahead and beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, using the paddle attachment of your electric mixer.
- Creaming the sugar and butter helps aerate the dough which impacts the texture of the cookie. Beat them until they are fluffy.
- Then scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and the egg and extracts.
Step Three: Combine Dough
- Be careful not to overmix after you have added the flour mixture.
- Stir the flour and the chips in using the low speed of your mixer.
- The batter will be pretty thick. If you see some streaks of butter remaining just mix a little more by hand.
Step Four: Bake
- After portioning the cookies onto your cookie sheets, gently take your finger and smooth any dough that sticks out.
- I like to bake these for 7-9 minutes, which slightly underbakes them. This gives you soft cookies with a brownie-like center. You can bake them for up to 12 minutes for more of a cake-like texture.
- Sprinkle the peppermints over the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven. The residual heat from the cookies will melt the candies just a little, which helps them stick to the cookie.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Expert Tips
- Set your butter and egg on the counter for about an hour to bring them almost to room temperature.
- If the batter is too cold it may not spread well. You can help it spread by banging the cookie sheet on the counter about halfway through baking, then returning them back to the oven.
- For the prettiest cookies, press some pieces of peppermint candy stripe-side up.
- For an extra-festive touch, drizzle the cookies with white chocolate. You could also dip half of the cookie into melted white chocolate before sprinkling the candies over the top.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. And as fast as they are enjoyed in my house, a bigger batch is the way to go!
Place the cookies in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 5 days. If you need to stack the cookies, I recommend separating them with parchment paper so they do not stick to each other.
Yes, I recommend portioning the dough into balls before freezing. Place them on a parchment-lined tray and freeze them for 2 hours, then transfer them to an airtight freezer container and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, place the cookie dough at room temperature to thaw for an hour before baking.
More Cookie Recipes
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Recipe
Peppermint Mocha Cookies
Recipe by:Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 130 grams
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 50 grams
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter 113 grams, softened
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar 55 grams
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100 grams
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- ½ cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips 85 grams
- ¼ cup crushed peppermint candy (about 3 candy canes or 15 peppermints)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl, then set aside.1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons espresso powder
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium-high speed using an electric stand or hand mixer. Beat until it becomes light in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes.½ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup packed brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar
- Scrape the sides of the bowl, then add the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Beat an additional minute.1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- Add the dry ingredients to the large mixing bowl and mix on low speed until the flour is fully incorporated into the butter, and there are no visible streaks.
- Stir in the chocolate chips on low speed. The batter will be thick.½ cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
- Portion the cookie dough balls using a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop (#20) and place the dough 2 inches apart on your prepared baking sheets. Smooth any protruding edges.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until the edges of the cookie are firm and there are cracks on the top of the cookies. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle crushed peppermints over the cookies. If desired, you can also press additional chocolate chips into the cookies.¼ cup crushed peppermint candy
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Notes
- For the best appearance, add a few chocolate chips on top of the baked cookies before sprinkling with the candies. Then strategically place some of the peppermint pieces with the red stripe visible.
- The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- If you make the dough ahead of time, store it in the refrigerator and then remove it to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
- Baked cookies should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
The nutritional facts provided are only estimates. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Hanaelle says
HI, I baked your cookies and they tasted so good but if I bake for 7 to 9 min I don't get the crackly tops but the inside is perfect. I put the batter in the fridge, is that the reason why they came out without cracks on the top?
Thank you!
Erin says
For cracks on the top make sure you've beaten the butter mixture until the sugar dissolves into the butter, then beat the eggs into the mixture thoroughly. Then when you remove the cookies from the oven gently press a few chocolate chips into the top of each cookie. That movement of pushing the chips into the cookie will help form the cracks.
Spillt User says
SO GOOD!!! Not too pepperminty or sweet. We bought this “peppermint crunch” which was a little softer and crumbly to use instead of the peppermint candies on top which was nice
Erin says
That sounds like a great topping!