Description
Luscious chocolate peppermint bark sugar cookies blend festive holiday cheer with classic cookie comfort. Crisp edges and rich chocolate create a delightful dessert that melts in your mouth with peppermint’s cool, sweet kiss.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (227 grams / 8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups (300 grams / 10.5 oz) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp peppermint extract
- 2 ¾ cups (350 grams / 12.3 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (170 grams / 6 oz) semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, melted
- ½ cup (85 grams / 3 oz) white chocolate chips, melted
- ½ cup (60 grams / 2.1 oz) crushed peppermint candies or candy canes
Instructions
- Preparation: Position oven rack centrally and preheat to 350F (175C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats for optimal non-stick performance.
- Dry Ingredient Integration: Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl until uniformly combined.
- Creaming Process: Employ an electric mixer to whip softened butter and sugar, creating a voluminous, pale mixture with enhanced texture and airiness.
- Liquid Ingredient Fusion: Incorporate egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract into the butter mixture, blending until completely smooth and homogeneous.
- Dough Formation: Gently fold dry ingredients into wet components, mixing minimally to prevent toughening and creating a cohesive dough.
- Shaping and Positioning: Form uniform 1½-inch dough balls, spacing them evenly on prepared baking sheets. Gently flatten each sphere using the back of a spoon to create a slight disc shape.
- Baking and Cooling: Bake for 8-10 minutes, watching for subtly set edges. Allow cookies to rest on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack for complete cooling and crisp development.
Notes
- Prevent Overmixing: Stop mixing cookie dough the moment dry and wet ingredients combine to maintain a tender, soft texture and avoid tough cookies.
- Temperature Control: Let butter soften naturally at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before mixing, ensuring even incorporation and smoother dough consistency.
- Extract Quality Matters: Use pure peppermint extract for authentic flavor; artificial extracts can create a harsh, medicinal taste that overwhelms the chocolate notes.
- Strategic Spacing: Leave sufficient room between cookie dough balls to prevent spreading and merging during baking, maintaining individual cookie shapes and crisp edges.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 25
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 90 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg