Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Christmas, North American

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 10

Chill Time: 30

Total Time: 1

Servings: cookies

Calories: 192kcal

Author: Lord Byron's Kitchen

Love the combination of peppermint and chocolate? Who doesn't!? Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are loaded with peppermint flavour from both the extract and the crushed candy canes. These already pack a deep chocolate flavour, but they're dipped in chocolate anyway for even more chocolatey goodness! Christmas is for giving and sharing, but you might want to keep this one all to yourself!

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Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (If you use salted butter, do not add the extra salt.)
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening or coconut oil
1 cup crushed candy canes

Instructions

Add the softened butter and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar to a large mixing bowl. Beat the two together for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is light and creamy. Be sure to scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula half way through beating.
Add the extract and eggs. Beat into the butter mixture until well incorporated.
Next, measure out the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Dump these ingredients into the butter and egg mixture. With your beater on a low speed, beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just mixed through. The dough will form a ball. Once done, place the bowl of cookie dough into the fridge for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside. Next, prepare the candy canes if you are making your own crushed candy canes at home. Set the candy canes in a bowl and set aside. Place the sugar into a separate bowl and set that aside too. Finally, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Once the cookie dough is chilled, portion dough into slightly heaping tablespoons. Roll into a ball into the remaining half cup of sugar and place on the prepared baking sheet. Leave two inches of space between each cookie.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the tops of each cookie with a scant teaspoon of the crushed candy canes. Allow cookies to cool for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
When the cookies have completley cooled, place the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl, along with the vegetable shortening. Whenever you microwave chocolate, you should microwave on medium power for 30 seconds. Then, if it’s still not silky smooth, microwave in increments of 5 or 10 seconds, depending on your microwave, stirring with a rubber spatula after each increment.
Dip each cookie straight down into the bowl of chocolate, coating just half of the cookie. Lift the cookie out of the chocolate and gently shake it up and down to shake off the excess chocolate. Next, lightly drag the bottom of the cookie over the edge of the bowl, essentially wiping off any chocolate that would pool, ruining the look of your cookie.
Lay the cookie onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Immediately sprinkle over more crushed candy canes and allow the chocolate to set until hardened.

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