When the holiday season hits, so do the invitations for cookie exchanges and festive parties.
And, as a professional baker and recipe developer, I’m always looking for creative spins on the classics.
So, every year, I make a big batch of these peppermint crunch cookies — and anyone who tries them asks me for the recipe.
Here’s how to make them at home.
Grab all of the ingredients.
For these cookies, you’ll need:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup oats.
- 4 ounces of good-quality baking chocolate
- 14 mini or four regular-sized peppermint candy canes.
Before starting the dough, chop the chocolate on a cutting board and crush the candy canes into small, fine pieces.
You can crush up round peppermint candies instead if preferred.
Start by creaming the softened butter with the sugars.
To make these cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl and set it aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until the mixture is well-combined and fluffy.
Then, mix in the egg and peppermint extract.
Add the dry ingredients to finish the dough.
Gradually mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until the cookie dough comes together.
Next, mix the oats into the cookie dough.
Mix in the chocolate and crushed peppermint.
To finish off the dough, mix in the chopped chocolate and the crushed candy canes until well incorporated.
Transfer the dough to the fridge and let it chill for 15 minutes. This quick step will help to produce the ideal cookie texture.
Scoop and bake the dough.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper to ensure the cookies won’t stick while baking.
If you don’t have parchment paper, spritz your sheet with a light coating of cooking spray.
Use a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to scoop balls of dough. Roll enough balls until smooth, flatten gently, and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
If you don’t have a scoop, which helps create uniform balls of dough, eyeball it and grab sections with your hands.
Bake the cookies until the edges start to turn golden.
With 12 balls of dough evenly spaced out on the cookie sheet, place it in the oven. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges turn golden.
Take the cookies out of the oven and let them sit on the hot baking sheet on top of the oven for five minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
This will help to create a wonderfully chewy center.
The finished cookie is delicious.
These cookies are perfect for bringing to any holiday gathering.
They’re soft, chewy, and incredibly flavorful, thanks to the chunks of chocolate and crushed candy canes.
Plus, you can always experiment with the fixings to create a custom cookie that’s perfect for you.
This story was originally published on December 12, 2024, and most recently updated on December 22, 2025.
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