Are you on the hunt for a truly special bake that embodies the spirit of the festive season? A delicious treat that marries the luscious creaminess of white chocolate with the exhilarating, cool burst of peppermint? Your search ends here. We’ve developed the definitive White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies Recipe, guaranteed to fill your home with the wonderful aroma of Christmas and your biscuit tin with sheer delight. These biscuits are delightfully soft and chewy, brimming with festive flavour, and destined to be the star of your holiday baking. While a comforting main like our Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta Recipe makes a fantastic supper, these cookies provide the unforgettable sweet finish.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• The Ultimate Festive Flavour: There’s a reason the blend of decadent white chocolate and invigorating peppermint is a festive classic. It truly captures the essence of Christmas in every single bite.
• Irresistible Texture: We have fine-tuned this recipe to achieve the perfect textural contrast: a lightly crisp border that yields to a wonderfully soft and chewy middle.
• Wonderfully Simple to Make: You certainly don’t need to be a seasoned pastry chef to get brilliant results. Our clear, step-by-step guide makes this a fabulous recipe for baking with the family.
• Visually Stunning: Finished with a drizzle of white chocolate and a festive scattering of crushed candy canes, these cookies are a feast for the eyes. They’re perfect for gifting or impressing your guests.
• Prepare in Advance: The cookie dough can be made ahead and kept in the fridge or freezer, which is a real time-saver during the bustling holiday period.

Ingredients

To achieve that perfectly chewy texture, accuracy is paramount. We find that using digital kitchen scales yields the most reliable results. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 250g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 170g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 150g caster sugar
• 50g light brown soft sugar
• 1 large free-range egg, at room temperature
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 200g high-quality white chocolate chips or a chopped bar
• 50g candy canes or peppermint sweets, crushed

For the Topping (Optional)

• 50g white chocolate, for melting
• 25g candy canes or peppermint sweets, crushed for sprinkling

How to Make Our White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Creating these scrumptious cookies is a thoroughly enjoyable and straightforward affair. We’ve organised the method into easy-to-follow stages to take you from preparation to perfection. Let’s begin!

Step 1: Prepare Your Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, and salt together. Pre-mixing these dry components ensures the leavening agent is spread evenly through the dough, promoting a consistent rise and bake for every cookie. Set this bowl aside.

Step 2: Cream the Butter and Sugars

Using a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter until it is smooth. Add both the caster and light brown soft sugars, and cream everything together on a medium-high speed for 2–3 minutes. The mixture should become noticeably paler, lighter, and fluffier. This process aerates the dough, which is vital for a light cookie texture.

Step 3: Add the Egg and Extracts

Introduce the large egg, peppermint extract, and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture. Beat on a medium speed until just combined. It’s a good idea to pause and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure every last bit is incorporated.

Step 4: Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients

Add the prepared dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Using a low speed, mix only until the flour is no longer visible. It is very important not to overmix at this point. Doing so can overwork the gluten, which leads to tough, rather than tender, cookies.

Step 5: Fold in the Chocolate and Peppermint

With a spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold in the 200g of white chocolate and 50g of crushed candy canes. As the cookies bake, the candy cane fragments will melt slightly, creating delightful little bursts of peppermint flavour throughout your Peppermint Cookies.

Step 6: Chill the Dough

This is arguably the most critical step for achieving cookie perfection! Cover the bowl with cling film and place it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours, though overnight is even better. Chilling the dough solidifies the fat, preventing the cookies from spreading too thinly in the oven, and also allows the flavours to mature and intensify.

Step 7: Bake Your Cookies

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C Fan / Gas Mark 4). Line a pair of large baking trays with baking parchment.

Take portions of the chilled dough (around 1.5 tablespoons each) and roll them into uniform balls. Arrange them on the lined trays, ensuring you leave plenty of space between each one to allow for spreading.

Bake for 10–12 minutes. The cookies are ready when the edges are a light golden brown, but the centres still appear slightly underdone. They will finish baking on the hot tray after being removed from the oven.

Step 8: Cool and Decorate

Allow the cookies to rest on the baking trays for 5 minutes before gently moving them to a wire rack to cool down completely. Once they have cooled, you can add the decorative topping. Melt the final 50g of white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second intervals, stirring between each one. Drizzle this over the cookies and immediately sprinkle with the remaining crushed candy canes. Let the chocolate set fully before you serve them.

Top Tips for the Best Cookies

By following our expert advice, you can ensure your White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are absolutely perfect every single time.

Don’t Skip the Chill Time

We simply cannot overstate this. Chilling the dough is a non-negotiable step. It is the secret to preventing your cookies from becoming flat, crispy discs and is essential for developing a deeper, more complex flavour.

Use High-Quality Ingredients

The final taste of your bakes is directly linked to the quality of your ingredients. We suggest using a good-quality butter, vanilla, and especially white chocolate. Chopping a quality bar of chocolate often gives you more luxurious, molten pools than standard chocolate chips.

Perfecting the Peppermint Flavour

Peppermint extract is incredibly concentrated, so a small amount has a big impact. Adhere to the measurement in the recipe to prevent the flavour from becoming overpowering or medicinal. Achieving the right balance is crucial, much like in our popular Lemon Garlic Chicken, where the harmony between lemon and garlic is key.

Recipe Variations

While we think this recipe is perfect as it is, we encourage you to get creative with these enjoyable alternatives!

• Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies: If white chocolate isn’t your favourite, you can easily swap the white chocolate chips for dark or milk chocolate to create a completely different, yet equally delicious, flavour combination.
• Gluten-Free Version: To make these cookies gluten-free, substitute the plain flour with a high-quality, measure-for-measure gluten-free flour blend. For advice on selecting the best option, we refer to trusted resources like BBC Good Food’s flour guide.
• Classic White Chocolate Cookies: If you’re not in the mood for mint, simply leave out the peppermint extract and crushed candy canes. You’ll be left with wonderfully simple and delicious White Chocolate Cookies.

Storing Your Cookies

To maintain their freshness, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature, where they will keep well for up to 5 days. Alternatively, you can freeze the unbaked dough balls. Arrange them on a tray and freeze until solid, then pop them into a freezer bag. They can be baked directly from frozen—just add 2–3 minutes to the original baking time. This is an excellent trick for having fresh Holiday Cookies whenever you fancy!

FAQ

Conclusion

This White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies recipe is more than just a list of ingredients and steps; it’s an invitation to create wonderful festive memories. The simple pleasure of baking, the delightful scent that envelops your kitchen, and the taste of that first soft, minty, chocolate-laden bite is truly what the holiday season is all about. We’re sure this will become a cherished recipe in your family for many years.

Feeling inspired to bake? Assemble your ingredients, turn up your favourite festive tunes, and let’s make some holiday magic. We would be thrilled to see your beautiful creations! Please share them with us on social media, or leave a comment and a rating below to tell us what you think.

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Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 12 mins
Additional Time: 2 hrs (chilling)
Yield: Approx. 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 250g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 170g unsalted butter, softened
• 150g caster sugar
• 50g light brown soft sugar
• 1 large free-range egg
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 200g white chocolate chips or chopped bar
• 50g candy canes, crushed
• For Topping: 50g white chocolate, for melting
• For Topping: 25g candy canes, crushed for sprinkling

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. Set this aside.
2. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the softened butter with the caster and light brown soft sugars for 2-3 minutes until pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg, peppermint extract, and vanilla extract until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. On a low speed, mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until the flour is just incorporated. Be careful not to overmix.
5. Using a spatula, gently fold in the 200g of white chocolate and 50g of crushed candy canes.
6. Cover the dough with cling film and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or overnight for the best flavour and texture.
7. Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C Fan / Gas Mark 4). Line two large baking trays with baking parchment.
8. Roll the chilled dough into balls (around 1.5 tablespoons each) and place them on the prepared trays, leaving ample space for them to spread.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are light golden brown but the centres still look slightly soft.
10. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking trays for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. Once cool, melt the final 50g of white chocolate and drizzle it over the cookies. Immediately sprinkle with the remaining 25g of crushed candy canes. Let the chocolate set fully before serving.