This is the holiday version of my favorite white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. Here, the crunch and Christmas Spirit come from the crushed candy canes, which add a nice “crunch” to this otherwise traditional cookie. I like to double the recipe and store about 3/4 of the dough in the freezer for later use. That way I have some portion control in the present and freshly baked cookies to look forward to in the future. Does anyone else do that?

Pro Tips for the best Peppermint Cookies!

If you’re not a peppermint fan just scale back or omit the peppermint extract and or candy cane.
Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
To store the cookie dough roll out into a log, wrap well with plastic wrap then place in a sealable plastic bag and freeze.
pressing the cookie balls into the crushed candy cane is the easiest and neatest way to apply it.
You can totally add nuts to this recipe for some amazing crunch. I would suggest macadamia, pecans, or walnuts.

Crush some candy canes! You’ll be using about 3/4 a cup in total. You can place the candy canes in a zip lock back and smash them with a rolling pin to contain the mess OR you can buy crushed candy canes online 🙂

How to Make White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

1. Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder together in a bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.

2. Cream the room temperature butter in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment then add the sugar mixing on high until light and fluffy.

3 .Add the eggs one at a time while the mixer is running. Mix until incorporated. Mix in the vanilla and peppermint extracts.

4. Add the dry mixture in and mix until almost combined. Next add in the white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of crushed candy canes. You can mix on low for a few seconds or finish it off by hand, which is what I normally do. Chilling the dough in a plastic bag for 20 minutes will make it easier to scoop and handle.

5. add in the white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of crushed candy canes. You can mix on low for a few seconds or finish it off by hand, which is what I normally do. Chill the dough in a plastic bag for at least 20 minutes. This will make it easier to scoop and handle.

6. Use a small ice cream scoop to gather about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cookie dough. Roll in your hands to round off and then dip in crushed candy canes. Place on a cookie sheet peppermint side up and bake at 350F for about 6-7 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet until the cookie sets enough to handle.

I wiped my ice cream scoop with vegetable oil so the cookie dough would release more easily, and dipping the cookie dough in crushed candy canes ensures the top will have all of that holiday sparkle. Not going to lie, I ate more than one cookie’s worth of dough pre-baking… Worth it

I wanted my cookies to have some height so I rolled them after scooping them out and then chilled them for a few minutes. Six and a half minutes in the oven and they were done!