Fudgy Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
To me, no Christmas cookie platter is complete without something chocolate and peppermint. The combination of flavors always reminds me of colder weather and the holiday season. These cookies have a texture more like a fudgy brownie than a typical cookie, and I opted to use dark chocolate ingredients to up the decadence. The rich texture and chocolate flavor is balanced with peppermint extract and a cream cheese icing drizzle. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, these might become your new go-to chocolate cookie!
Prepare the Dough
The rich chocolate flavor of these cookies comes mainly from melted dark chocolate with an assist from dark cocoa powder. To start, melt the chocolate (chopped baking chocolate or chocolate chips both work fine) in a large bowl in the microwave at 50% power, stopping every 15-30 seconds to stir. Allow the chocolate to slightly cool before moving on to the next step.
Next, add vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract to the bowl of melted chocolate and whisk to combine. Add eggs one at a time, whisking to fully combine between each addition.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a mixer to fully combine. This will be a thick dough, so I don’t recommend mixing this step by hand. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours.
Form and Bake the Cookies
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Once the dough has chilled, roll it into balls using a heaping tablespoon portion for each. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. You should get 22 to 24 cookies out of one batch of dough depending on how big you make them.
Bake for 13-15 minutes until the cookies begin to crisp around the edges and the tops just begin to crack. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. If you try to move them when they are too warm, the cookies may fall apart.
Make the Icing and Decorate the Cookies
These cookies get their festive look from a red and white cream cheese icing drizzle. To make the icing, whisk together softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, meringue powder, and 1 tablespoon of milk in a medium bowl until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add an additional tablespoon of milk.
Transfer half of the icing to another bowl and stir in red food coloring. Drizzle the icing over the cookies in your preferred pattern or design. Sprinkle with coarse sugar immediately after icing.
When made this way, this icing will harden like a traditional royal icing - the cream cheese just adds additional flavor. If you do not have meringue powder you can omit it from the recipe, but the icing may not completely harden. I recommend using the meringue powder if mailing or otherwise transporting these cookies to preserve the decoration.
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. These cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Fudgy Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 oz (1/2 cup) dark baking chocolate (chopped) or dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- 1-2 tbsp milk
- red food coloring
- coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate in a large bowl in the microwave at 50% power, stopping every 15-30 seconds to stir. Allow to slightly cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract to the bowl of melted chocolate and whisk to combine.
- Add eggs one at a time, whisking to fully combine between each addition.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a mixer to fully combine. This will be a thick dough. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Once chilled, roll the dough into balls using a heaping tablespoon portion for each. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes until the cookies begin to crisp around the edges and the tops just begin to crack. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, meringue powder, and 1 tablespoon of milk until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add an additional tablespoon of milk.
- Transfer half of the icing to another bowl and stir in red food coloring.
- Drizzle the red and white icing over the cooled cookies in your desired pattern. Immediately sprinkle with coarse sugar. The icing will harden as it sets.
Notes
- Storage Instructions: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. These cookies can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
- Meringue Powder: If you do not have meringue powder you can omit it from the icing, it will just not harden as much.
