My favorite Christmas-time coffee creamer flavors are chocolate and peppermint. These cookies remind me of walking into my kitchen with a cup of peppermint mocha in one hand and a baking sheet in the other. They have a soft chocolate cookie base with a light espresso flavor that brings the cocoa to life. A sprinkle of crushed candy canes over a free-hand white chocolate drizzle adds a little sparkle to the holidays. If you want a cookie that feels festive for Christmas, these are the ones you will reach for again and again.
These cookies are everywhere, but what inspires me to make them year after year is finding mascarpone with espresso. I mean, really, are you kidding! I hunt and wait every season until it finally shows up in the stores. Once it does, it is time to bake.
I wanted a deep chocolate taste in my cookies, so I mixed regular cocoa powder with dark cocoa powder to build a rich flavor. My go-to cocoa powders have always been Hershey's. What can I say? I like supporting my local chocolate factory here in Hershey, PA. But this year I decided to use both Dutch-processed cocoas, and the result was a deep chocolate taste that pairs beautifully with the peppermint. You truly cannot go wrong with either choice.
Ingredients
- Butter unsalted
- Espresso mascarpone
- Sugar white
- Vanilla extract
- Peppermint extract
- Eggs
- Espresso coffee
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Kosher Salt
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- White chocolate wafers
- Crushed peppermint candy
Tips for Ingredients!
- I used the Brach's Crushed Candy Cane that I found at Target, but I saw they are at Walmart also. You can make your own. Buy your favorite candy canes and add them to a strong zip lock baggie. Make sure it is sealed tightly. You can use a rolling pin, a meat pounder, or anything solid and start to crush the candy canes. Just be careful that you don't end up with a bag of peppermint dust. It happens fast.
- The Bel Gioioso Espresso Mascarpone is only in store during the holiday season, and it sells out quickly. But no fear, if you can't find it, add 2 Tablespoons of Delallo Instant Espresso powder instead of only one tablespoon to the cookie dough and use the regular mascarpone.
Step-by-Step Instructions
I always like to have all my ingredients ready for the mixer bowl instead of stopping and doing it during the mixing phase.
Prep
Weigh or measure the sugar and set it aside. Next, weigh or measure the flour. Add to the flour the baking powder, salt, and regular and dark cocoa powders, run a whisk through to blend.
Mixing
Cube the butter into a mixer bowl. This help with creaming the butter and also to bring it to room temperature a little faster.
Cream the butter for a minute or two on a medium mixer speed.
Add the sugar to the creamed butter and mix on a medium mixer speed for 3 minutes. It will look chunky because there is more sugar that butter. Now, add the mascarpone with espresso and mix for a minute or until everything is incorporated.
Now add the vanilla and peppermint extracts along with one of the eggs. I break my eggs into a small bowl first to make sure there are no shells before adding to my cookie dough. Mix the first egg into the cookie dough before adding the second egg.
Time for the expresso powder to be added and mixed into the dough. This does not take long, about a minute or less.
Scrape down the bowl and turn the mixer to a low speed. Add about a third of the flour mixture at a time and blend. Try not to over mix. Scrape down the sides and across the bottom to make sure everything is fully combined.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Bake
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line your cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.
Take a medium cookie scooper and roll the cookie dough into balls. I did get twelve balls on my half sheet parchment-lined cookie sheet pan. Bake at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool on the pan for a minute before moving them to a cooling rack. Let the cookie cool completely before adding the white chocolate and peppermint candy.
White Chocolate and Peppermint
Melted white chocolate wafers are fantastic, but you have to work quickly if you want to add anything on top. The chocolate hardens fast, and once it sets, whatever you put on it will stay right where it lands.
My microwave has a convenient melt setting. But if yours does not, no fear. Place the wafers in a microwave-safe dish and heat them for thirty seconds. Stir the chocolate, then heat it again for ten seconds. You may need one or two more ten-second bursts, but do not keep heating the white chocolate. If it overheats, it will turn lumpy, hard to stir, and dry-looking. If there are only a few wafers left to melt, stir to see if they will melt on their own without any more heat.
I lay parchment paper on my counter and add the cookies. This make it easier to do clean up after you are done adding the topping.
I take a spoonful of white chocolate and move it back and forth across the tops, working on about six cookies at a time. Then I stop and sprinkle the crushed peppermint onto the chocolate. The topping sets quickly. After all the cookies have the drizzle and peppermint on top, I move them back to the cooling rack so the topping can finish hardening.
Enjoy!
FAQs
I use one of those Take-Away containers that has a snap on lid. It keeps them air tight and will last for 5-7 days.
Yes, you can use your favorite brand of unsweetened cocoa along with a dark cocoa. The combination of the two give a rich chocolate taste that works with the peppermint taste.
Other Mint Cookies
Recipe
Peppermint Mocha Cookies
Barbara HallWould you like to save this recipe?
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Ingredients
- ½ cup (113.5 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- 8 ounces Mascarpone Espresso
- 1 ½ cup (300 g) Sugar white
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons Peppermint extract
- 2 Eggs room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon Espresso coffee
- 1 ¾ cups (218.75 g) All-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ cup (43 g) Unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup (21.5 g) Unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 5 ounces White chocolate wafers
- 4 ounces Crushed peppermint
Instructions
Making the Cookies
- Weigh or measure the sugar and set it aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, salt, baking powder, regular cocoa, and dark cocoa. Run a whisk through the mixture to blend everything together.
- Cube the butter into the mixer bowl. Cream the butter on a medium mixer speed for about a minute. Add the mascarpone to the sugar-butter mixture and blend for another minute. Next, add the vanilla and peppermint extracts. Add one egg at a time, mixing after each addition to make sure it is fully incorporated.
- Add the espresso powder and blend for about thirty seconds. Scrape down the mixer bowl, then turn the mixer to a low speed and add about a third of the flour mixture at a time. Mix for about one minute. If some flour is still not incorporated, finish mixing with a spatula. Cover the bowl loosely and chill the cookie dough for at least one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper. Using a medium cookie scooper, add the cookie dough to your hand and roll it into a ball. I get twelve balls on a sheet pan with about two inches between each one. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. After baking, leave the cookies on the pan for one minute before moving them to a cooling rack. Add the topping after they have completely cooled.
Topping for Cookies
- I place three sheets of parchment paper side by side on my counter and lay the cooled cookies on top. This makes cleanup easy after the toppings are added.
- Add the white chocolate wafers to a microwave-safe bowl. Use the melt cycle on your microwave if it has that feature and follow the instructions for your model. If not, heat the wafers for thirty seconds, then stir. Return the bowl to the microwave for another ten seconds and stir again. If only a couple of wafers are not completely melted, stir for a minute to see if they will melt on their own. You can do one or two more ten-second burst if needed. Be careful not to overheat the white chocolate. You want it smooth.
- Take a spoonful of white chocolate and move it back and forth over the tops of about six cooled cookies at a time. Sprinkle the crushed peppermint onto the white chocolate before moving on to the next six cookies. When you are finished, move the cookies back to the cooling rack to let the toppings set.
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Notes
NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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