Description
These Peppermint Bark Cookies are a festive and delicious treat combining rich cocoa cookies, creamy peppermint buttercream frosting, and a crunchy homemade peppermint bark topping. Perfect for holiday celebrations, each jumbo cookie is topped with luscious chocolate layers infused with peppermint and finished with a swirl of peppermint buttercream.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookies:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Peppermint Bark:
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup white chocolate chips or chopped baking bar
- 1 tablespoon crushed peppermint candies
Buttercream Frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
- 3–4 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugars: In the bowl of a stand mixer or using an electric hand mixer, cream together the unsalted butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar until the mixture is fluffy and well combined.
- Add egg and vanilla: Mix in the egg and vanilla extract thoroughly so the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
- Combine dry ingredients: Add the all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined to avoid overworking the dough.
- Chill the dough: Cover the dough and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes to firm up, which will help in shaping the cookies.
- Preheat oven and prepare pan: When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Shape cookies: Divide the dough into 6 equal portions and form each portion into a ball. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet keeping some space between them.
- Bake the cookies: Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. After baking, let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the peppermint bark base layer: Line a separate baking sheet with parchment paper. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until smooth and fully melted. Spread the melted chocolate evenly on the parchment paper.
- Add the white chocolate layer: In a separate bowl, melt the white chocolate chips using the same microwave method. Spread the melted white chocolate evenly over the semi-sweet chocolate layer.
- Top with peppermint candies: Sprinkle the crushed peppermint candies evenly over the white chocolate layer.
- Set the peppermint bark: Refrigerate the bark for 30 minutes or until completely set. Before breaking into pieces, let the bark sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to ease breaking.
- Make the peppermint buttercream: Using a mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer, whip together softened butter, confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Add more milk as needed to reach desired frosting consistency.
- Pipe the frosting: Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag with a round tip or a prepared freezer bag with the tip snipped off. Pipe swirls of the buttercream onto each cooled cookie.
- Assemble the cookies: Top each cookie with pieces of the peppermint bark. Optionally, add more crushed peppermint candies on top for extra festive decoration.
Notes
- This recipe yields 6 jumbo cookies. For smaller cookies, divide the dough into 12 portions and reduce the baking time accordingly; monitor closely as smaller cookies bake faster.
- Pre-crushed peppermint candies or crushed candy canes are often available during holidays. To crush your own, place candies in a freezer bag and crush gently with a rolling pin or the smooth end of a meat tenderizer.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 jumbo cookie
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 32g
- Sodium: 120mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 13g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 52g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
