Description
These peppermint sugar cookies feature crisp edges, soft and chewy middles, and a beautiful peppermint candy design in the center wrapped in chocolate dough. Inspired by popular holiday slice-and-bake cookies, they deliver a refreshing peppermint flavor with a festive look, perfect for cookie exchanges or Christmas boxes.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Dough
- ¾ cup butter (softened slightly)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 2 cups all purpose flour (240g)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (dutch processed)
Coloring and Decorations
- Red gel food coloring (as needed)
- White gel food coloring (optional)
- ¼ cup coarse sugar (for coating)
- 2 tablespoons crushed peppermint candies (or crushed candy canes)
Instructions
- Mix Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together the softened butter and granulated sugar just until combined; avoid overbeating as it should not become light and fluffy.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Incorporate sea salt, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and the large egg. Mix just until combined, even if the mixture looks a little split.
- Add Flour: Sift the all purpose flour directly into the bowl and mix with a mixer or spatula until a dough forms.
- Divide Dough: Cut off about one third of the dough and set it aside to work with separately.
- Color Red Dough: Take half of the smaller dough section and add red gel food coloring one drop at a time until a vibrant red color is achieved. Roll into a thick log about four inches long on parchment paper and freeze until completely frozen, about 20 minutes.
- Color White Dough: Take the remaining half of the smaller dough section and optionally add white gel food coloring a few drops at a time, mixing well. Shape into a log similar in size to the red log and freeze for 20 minutes until frozen solid.
- Prepare Chocolate Dough: Add cocoa powder to the larger portion of the dough and mix well to create chocolate cookie dough. Set aside at room temperature.
- Cut Colored Logs: Remove the frozen red and white logs, cut each in half lengthwise, then cut each piece in half lengthwise again, and then cut each piece in half one more time yielding eight wedges per color.
- Assemble New Logs: Alternate and stick together red and white wedges to build two new logs, pressing well and smoothing any gaps with fingers.
- Join Logs: Press the two newly built logs together end to end, smoothing the join with fingers. Wrap in parchment and freeze for 10 minutes to firm up.
- Wrap with Chocolate Dough: Flatten chocolate dough into a rectangle approximately the length of the colored logs. Remove the frozen colored logs and place onto the chocolate dough. Wrap the chocolate dough around the colored logs, adjusting thickness evenly and rolling on parchment to smooth the surface.
- Coat with Sugar and Peppermint: Mix coarse sugar and crushed peppermint candies. Sprinkle on parchment paper and roll the coated log over this mixture to liberally coat the sides. Wrap in parchment and freeze until completely chilled, about 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat Oven and Slice: Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Remove chilled log and cut into ½ inch slices using a sharp knife.
- Bake Cookies: Place cookies onto a parchment lined or non-stick cookie sheet spaced 1-2 inches apart and bake for 11 minutes or until tops stop being shiny but middles remain soft and slightly underbaked.
- Cool Cookies: Remove cookies from oven and use a spatula to transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before serving. Repeat baking remaining slices.
Notes
- These cookies have crisp edges and chewy middles for a pleasing texture contrast.
- The peppermint design is easy to create and makes for festive holiday cookies.
- You can omit the white gel food coloring if you prefer; the peppermint and red colors still create a striking look.
- Freezing the dough logs solid before slicing keeps the shape intact and makes slicing easier.
- Use crushed candy canes or peppermint candies for that classic holiday flavor and decorative finish.
- These slice and bake cookies are perfect for making ahead of time and freezing until ready to bake.
- Baking until the tops lose their shine ensures the cookies have a soft center without overbaking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 174 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 129 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.4 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 29 mg
