Patty Peppermint Chocolate Cookie

My sister texted me at 3 PM in December asking if I could make something festive for her office party that evening. I had about an hour before I needed to leave, so I grabbed cocoa powder and peppermint extract from the back of my cabinet and threw together these cookies. They came out so fudgy and minty that she texted me back a photo of the empty plate with just "?????" Three years later, people still ask her to bring them.

I made a double batch one snowy morning and brought them to my neighbor who'd just moved in with a toddler. She had no idea what hit her—the smell alone had her kid pressing his nose against the door within minutes. We ended up sitting on her kitchen floor with mugs of coffee while her little one dunked cookies in milk, and she told me it was the first time she'd felt welcomed since the move.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour (2 cups): This is your structure—it keeps the cookies from spreading into one giant blob, so don't skip measuring by weight if you can.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder (½ cup): Use the unsweetened kind, not hot cocoa mix, or you'll end up with weird sweetness and lumps that won't blend.
• Baking soda (1 teaspoon): This is what makes them chewy instead of cakey, so measure it straight—too much tastes metallic, too little and they stay thick.
• Salt (½ teaspoon): A pinch of salt makes the chocolate and peppermint sing, even if you can't taste the salt itself.
• Unsalted butter (1 cup): Softened butter creams into the sugar like silk and traps air bubbles that keep cookies tender; cold butter will fight you the whole way.
• Granulated and brown sugar (1 cup each): The combo of both sugars creates this perfect balance—granulated keeps them crisp at the edges, brown sugar adds chew in the middle.
• Eggs (2 large): Room temperature eggs blend in smoother than cold ones and help the dough come together without overworking it.
• Vanilla extract (1 teaspoon): This quietly deepens the chocolate flavor and keeps it from tasting one-note.
• Peppermint extract (1 teaspoon): One teaspoon is the sweet spot—more than that and your cookies taste like toothpaste, I learned that the hard way.
• Semisweet chocolate chips (1 cup): These balance the cocoa powder and add little pockets of richness without being too heavy.
• Crushed peppermint candies (½ cup): Use candy canes or hard peppermint discs crushed into uneven chunks; the texture contrast against the chewy cookie is what makes people pause and ask what's in them.

Instructions

Heat your oven and prep your workspace:

Preheat to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper so your cookies don't stick and you don't waste time scraping them off later. This temperature keeps the edges set while leaving the centers soft, which is the whole point.

Mix your dry team:

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until there are no cocoa lumps hiding anywhere. Cocoa powder clumps easily, so take an extra 10 seconds to make sure everything is blended.

Cream butter and sugars into clouds:

Beat softened butter with both sugars for 2–3 minutes until the mixture looks pale and fluffy, like you're building a sweet cloud. This step adds air that makes cookies tender, so don't rush it or your cookies will be dense bricks.

Marry the eggs and extracts:

Add eggs one at a time, beating after each one so they really blend in instead of sitting on top as yellow puddles. Once they're combined, add vanilla and peppermint extracts and stir until you see the peppermint oil disperse through the batter.

Fold in the dry ingredients gently:

Add the flour mixture slowly to the wet mixture and mix just until the streaks of flour disappear—overworking here makes cookies tough and dense. You want to stop mixing the moment everything is barely combined.

Tuck in chocolate and peppermint:

Fold in the chocolate chips and half of the crushed peppermint candies so they're evenly scattered throughout. Hold back the other half of the peppermint for topping so you get that festive sparkle on top.

Scoop and shape:

Drop tablespoon-sized portions onto your prepared sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them so they have room to spread without touching. Gently flatten each one slightly with the back of your spoon so they bake evenly.

Crown them with peppermint:

Sprinkle the remaining crushed peppermint candies onto each flattened cookie so they stick to the dough and stay put during baking. This is what makes them look festive and taste like you knew what you were doing.

Bake to soft-centered perfection:

Bake for 10–12 minutes until the edges look set but the centers still have a tiny jiggle when you gently tap the sheet. They'll firm up as they cool, so resist the urge to bake them until they look fully done or you'll end up with hockey pucks.

Cool with patience:

Let cookies sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes so they firm up just enough to move without breaking, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. This two-step cooling keeps them tender instead of hard.

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My dad, who normally ignores my baking experiments, came into the kitchen while these were cooling and ate three straight from the rack without asking. He just stood there chewing, then looked at me and said, "These are dangerous." That's the highest compliment I've ever gotten in my house.

Why the Chocolate and Peppermint Work So Well Together

Peppermint extract on its own tastes sharp and medicinal, but when it hits warm chocolate, something magical happens—the mint becomes brighter and the chocolate becomes richer, like they're lifting each other up. The cocoa powder in the cookie dough adds depth that prevents the peppermint from tasting artificial, and the chocolate chips give you little moments of fudgy indulgence between bites. I used to think chocolate and peppermint was just a holiday thing, but now I make these year-round because the flavor balance is just too good to save for December.

The Texture Game: Chewy Centers and Crispy Edges

The real art here is getting the edges to set while the centers stay soft, and it all comes down to pulling them out a minute or two before they look fully baked. Brown sugar is your secret weapon—it holds moisture and keeps the center tender even as the edges firm up. I once over-baked a batch out of paranoia and ended up with cookies so hard I had to dunk them in milk, which honestly made me love them even more, but soft-centered is definitely the intended experience.

Making Them Yours

These cookies are a blank canvas for whatever festive mood strikes you. White chocolate drizzle on cooled cookies adds sweetness without overwhelming the peppermint, and switching to dark chocolate chips takes them from "holiday treat" to "sophisticated dessert." Crushed candy canes are traditional, but I've used crushed white peppermints, a sprinkle of sea salt on top, and even a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper for a secret kick that nobody can quite identify.

• Dark chocolate chips create a richer, almost bittersweet vibe that makes them feel fancier than they are.
• A drizzle of melted white chocolate after cooling adds sweetness and makes them look like they came from a bakery.
• Store them in an airtight container and they'll stay chewy for up to 5 days, though they've never lasted that long in my house.

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These cookies have become my signature move for bringing something warm and festive to people at exactly the moment they need a little brightness. Once you make them once, you'll understand why they're worth keeping on rotation.

Recipe Questions & Answers

→ How do I keep cookies chewy?

Use softened butter and avoid overbaking. Bake until edges are set but centers remain soft.

→ Can I use dark chocolate instead of semisweet?

Yes, substituting dark chocolate chips will provide a richer, more intense cocoa flavor.

→ How does peppermint extract affect the flavor?

Peppermint extract adds a refreshing, cool mint note that complements the chocolate's richness.

→ What baking tools are recommended?

Mixing bowls, electric mixer, measuring spoons, baking sheets, parchment paper, and wire rack are essential.

→ How should these treats be stored?

Keep in an airtight container at room temperature to maintain freshness for up to 5 days.