Chocolate Peppermint Cookies made with Black Cocoa make an unexpected and delicious addition to your Christmas Cookie plate!
The special ingredient in these chocolate peppermint cookies is definitely the black cocoa powder. If you’ve eaten an Oreo, then you already know the wonder that is black cocoa. At the bakery we use the amazing ingredient around Halloween to add a spooky element to some of our treats such as our Black Cocoa and Cream Sweet Rolls. But when you add a little bit of peppermint, these Chocolate Peppermint Cookies made with black cocoa are a crowd favorite. Soft and chewy with the perfect amount of peppermint, they taste like Christmas and look stunning on a cookie platter. Take them to your holiday party and show off a little!
Decorating your Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
There are several ways you can decorate your chocolate peppermint cookies to add a festive flair. My favorite way is to take melted chocolate chips and decorate the cookies with a chocolate drizzle. Before the chocolate hardens, I sprinkle crushed peppermint on top. I love the added crunch and the bright color.
I’ve also finished these cookies by dipping them in melted white chocolate after they have cooled. Dip half of the cookie leaving the other half exposed and sprinkle the still soft chocolate with crushed peppermint candies. If you’re wanting a heartier dessert or a perfect gift for your neighbors, sandwich a scoop of peppermint buttercream between two cookies for a rich and satisfying treat. This special cookie loves to be dressed up a little and will be so delicious no matter how you choose to adorn them.
Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick (113 grams) of butter, room temperature
- 95 grams (1/2 cup) vegetable shortening
- 200 grams (1 cup) brown sugar
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) sugar
- 2 eggs
- 260 grams (2 cups) flour
- 60 grams (1/2 cup) black cocoa*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- melted chocolate chips for decoration
- crushed peppermint sticks for decoration
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add your room temperature butter, vegetable shortening, and sugars. Mix on medium high speed for five minutes.
- Add in your eggs and mix until well blended, about one minute. Add in the peppermint extract and mix for a minute longer.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine your flour, black cocoa, baking soda and salt. Use a whisk to mix together. Add your dry ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl once. You should not see any dry bits of flour.
- Scoop out the cookie dough and form it into a ball about the size of a ping pong ball. Place onto the cookie sheet about three inches apart and bake for 8-10 minutes. It’s a little tricky to determine when chocolate cookies are done, but the middle should be set and no longer shiny.
- Let the cookies cool completely before decorating. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring every 30 seconds, until the chocolate is smooth and shiny. Transfer to a piping bag or zip-lock bag and cut a 1/8-inch tip off. Using a back-and-forth motion, pipe drizzled chocolate on the top of each cookie. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the cookies with crushed peppermint.
- NOTE: * I purchase my Black Cocoa from amazon, it is difficult to find at the local grocery. If you do not have black cocoa, this recipe is still amazing with any Dutch processed cocoa (I can almost always find Ghirardelli brand). Regular cocoa will not work with this recipe and will result in a very dry cookie. Dutch processed cocoa is not equivalent to standard cocoa, and if you’ve never used it trust me, you’re in for a treat!
One response to “Chocolate Peppermint Cookies”
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[…] At the bakery we like to take this recipe up a notch and fill it with a peppermint buttercream. Here is our […]
[…] At the bakery we like to take this recipe up a notch and fill it with a peppermint buttercream. Here is our […]