‘Tis always the season for chocolate candy cane cookies, am I right? I am. If you loved my Peppermint schnapps hot chocolate recipe, you will love these! These cookies are absolutely delicious!! I have adapted this recipe from Cupcake Jemma’s black forest cookies which are designed to mimic the famous Levain Bakery. You can check out her incredible recipe here! I highly recommend trying her Nutella stuffed cookies…. Game. changer.
What makes these chocolate candy cane cookies so incredible?
Cold butter: This right here is the key to getting super tall, cakey cookies. If you let your butter get too warm you will end up with basic, flat cookies. No one wants that.
Candy canes: Crushed up candy cane pieces give these cookies incredible flavor and texture. The crunchiness creates a great contrast with the rest of the melt-in-your mouth components.
Semi-sweet chocolate: I have found this is the best chocolate to use in these cookies. These cookies are really rich so I’ve found milk chocolate makes them a little too sweet and dark chocolate makes them a tad too rich. You can use whichever chocolate you prefer though!
Peppermint extract: Peppermint extract adds a little more flavor to these cookies which pairs so, so well with the dark cocoa powder.
Mixing method
- Combine the butter and sugar: This is how most cookie recipes start out, but this one differs because you want cold butter. The reason I’ve used cold butter is because it will help these cookies keep their tall, round shape. Traditional cookies cream together the butter and sugar which results in a flatter cookie because the butter spreads more.
- Add your dry ingredients: I know this seems so strange for a cookie recipe, but I need you to trust me on this one! Bringing together the flour and butter helps tenderize the flour and prevent strong gluten development. Too much gluten development can result in a tough cookie. This is the same method I use in my Spiced Rum Cupcake recipe and several others!
- Bind it together with eggs: Again, not your traditional cookie recipe! The eggs will just barely bring the dough together when you squish it in your hands. This will prevent the butter from fully incorporating into the dough.
- Freeze: Do not skip this step!!! Please! I know it’s so tempting to bake these immediately, but you will not regret waiting for them. I promise. Freezing these cookies helps the dough relax so all the flavors can come through. It also helps prevent these cookies from overspreading when baked.
- Bake on a hot baking sheet: These cookies are baked at a hotter temperature than most cookies. This combined with preheating your baking sheet will give these cookies a crispy outside and super soft, fudgy inside.
Storage
If freshly baked, these cookies can last for up to 4 days. My favorite way to preserve these cookies is to keep the dough balls in the freezer and bake them off a couple at a time. This dough will last in the freezer for 2-3 months.
If you love these you’ll also love…
Peppermint Schnapps Hot Chocolate
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
The Best Bailey’s Irish Cream Brownies for Every Chocolate Lover
Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Ingredients
- 180 g Cold butter, cubed 1 stick + 5 Tablespoons
- 135 g Granulated sugar 1/2 cup + 3 Tablespoons
- 135 g Brown sugar 2/3 cup
- 360 g All purpose flour 3 cups minus 2 Tablespoons
- 60 g Cocoa powder 3/4 cup
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 300 g Semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 3/4 cups
- 75 g Crushed candy canes About 5 full size candy canes
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon Peppermint extract
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Cut your butter into tiny cubes about 1/2 thick. Set butter in freezer to let chill for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, combine granulated sugar and brown sugar into a large mixing bowl. Use a fork, your hands, or the paddle attachment on a stand mixer to combine.
- Add your chilled butter to the mixing bowl. Use your hands, a fork, or the paddle attachment to coat the butter chunks in sugar. You want to break up the butter into pea-sized chunks, but you do NOT want to completely cream the butter and sugar together.
- Next, add your crushed candy canes and chocolate chips to the mixing bowl. Mix until evenly disbursed.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, mix together your flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Once mixed, add your flour and cocoa mixture to the large mixing bowl with the other ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, combine your eggs, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Use a fork to beat together until the egg yolks have broken apart.
- Pour your egg mixture into the large mixing bowl. Use your hands, a fork, or the paddle attachment to bring the dough together. If using your hands, squish the dough together to incorporate the egg mixture throughout the dough. Mix until there is little to no dry ingredients remaining at the bottom of the bowl.
- Use a 1/3rd measuring cup to scoop out the dough. Cup your hands around the dough, one on top of the other and gently pack your dough into a sphere shape. Do NOT flatten your dough!! This will ruin the fluffy texture.
- Repeat this step until you use all your dough.
- Place cookies on a parchment-lined sheet pan and freeze for at least 2 hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F for 20 minutes with the baking sheet inside.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the top no longer looks wet and shiny.
- Let cool for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer. The longer these set, the better they are!
