A simple sugar cookie with crushed peppermint candy both in the dough and rolled on the outside, along with sparkly white sugar, these cookies have an awesome crunch, festive color, and refreshing flavor. Let’s get to it!
Ingredients needed
Crushed Peppermint – from candy canes, peppermint candies, or pre-crushed peppermint.FlourButter – I prefer salted but unsalted will also work.SugarEggSaltBaking Powder
How to make Peppermint Cookies
Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the egg. Mix in the salt and baking powder, and finally the flour. Stir in some crushed peppermint pieces. Measure out cookie dough into balls, and press gently into a bowl with more crushed peppermint and white sugar. Bake, cool, and enjoy! Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
How to crush peppermint candies or candy canes
Just put them in a zip-top bag and bang them with a rolling pin. Easy! You can make it a softer, lower impact by buffering with a kitchen towel if you like. I am remembering a story suddenly of my paternal grandmother backing over a bag with her car to crush something, rather than using a rolling pin… well, that’s certainly an alternative to try out, hah!
Should I really NOT chill the dough?
I don’t recommend it. I tried it both ways, and the peppermint and sugar stuck way better to the room temperature dough, not to mention it was much easier to scoop. Just dive right in – no chilling needed!
How do I get the candy cane pieces to stick?
This can be a little tricky. I recommend pressing the cookie dough balls down into the crushed peppermint and sugar mixture with your hands or with the back of a glass – not too much, but enough to smush the candy into the surface of the dough. If a cookie looks a little bare, you can sprinkle some of the candy and sugar on top before baking.
How do I get the cookies to be a perfect circle?
These peppermint cookies spread out while baking quite a bit, partly because the dough isn’t chilled and partly because they are smushed down before baking. To reshape them into a circle after baking – immediately after they come out of the oven when they’re still hot – use a wide glass or circle cookie/biscuit cutter to shape the cookies. Place the circle around the cookies and twirl the cookie around to shape into a circle. Here’s what it looks like:
Can I freeze them?
Definitely! I’ve got a batch in the freezer now waiting to make an appearance at a Christmas party in a few weeks. I recommend flash freezing the cookies by placing in a single layer on a baking sheet and sticking in the freezer for 30 minutes – an hour or two. Then transfer to a zip top bag. This will prevent them getting bent or stuck together.
Other holiday cookie recipes
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