Chocolate Candy Cane Sandwich Cookies

Chocolate and peppermint are a holiday match made in heaven! These chocolate candy cane sandwich cookies are both fun and delicious.

I’ve combined my soft and chewy chocolate cookies with a peppermint variation of my favorite fluffy buttercream striped with red food coloring to make the ultimate chocolate candy cane dessert. They’re adorable, easy to make, and quite delicious.

Want to know how to give your frosting that red swirl? It’s so easy! You just paint stripes of gel food coloring on the inside of your piping bag and as you pipe out the frosting— voila! You’ve got a pile of frosting that looks like a candy cane.

These are perfect for a holiday party, cookie exchange, or even for Santa on Christmas Eve (I can vouch that Santa loves these cookies 😉).

Let’s get baking, shall we?

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Butter
• Eggs
• All-purpose flour
• Granulated sugar
• Powdered sugar
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Heavy cream
• Vanilla extract
• Peppermint extract
• Red gel food coloring

How to Make These Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

1. Prepare cookie dough. These are standard drop cookies, no chilling required!
2. Bake cookies. Bake cookies until tops just start to crack, but error on the side of under baked to ensure cookies are soft.
3. Prepare peppermint frosting. Be sure to beat the frosting long enough to make it light and fluffy.
4. Prepare piping bag. To get the red-striped candy cane look, use a paintbrush to paint gel food coloring on the inside of the piping bag. Then scoop the frosting into the piping bag.
5. Assemble sandwich cookies. Pipe frosting onto one upside-down chocolate cookie, then place another cookie on top.

Then, enjoy!

Tips for this recipe

• Be sure you know how to measure flour correctly. Too much flour and these cookies will be cakey and not spread enough.
• Gel food coloring is required for this recipe as liquid food colorings won’t stick to the side of the piping bag. Look for gel food coloring at specialty food or craft stores, or purchase online.
• If you don’t have a piping bag and tip, follow this tutorial for how to use a plastic ziplock bag instead.
• These pre-cut parchment sheets are perfect for cookie baking.
• I like to use a cookie scoop for portion out dough so that all cookies will be the same size.
• If cookies come out slightly misshapen, use a spatula to press them back into a circle right after they come out of the oven. See more of my tips for how to bake pretty cookies.
• These cookies will keep at room temperature for about a week, but are best within a few days of baking.

More Chocolate Peppermint Desserts

If you love these chocolate candy cane sandwich cookies, then you have to try these other festive treats!

• Chocolate Peppermint Bars
• Peppermint White Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Peppermint Bark Cookies
• Peppermint Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

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This recipe was originally published December 2015.

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Chocolate Candy Cane Sandwich Cookies

Servings: 15 sandwich cookies

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 40 mins

Chocolate and peppermint are a holiday match made in heaven! These cookies are fun and delicious.

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5 from 5 votes

Ingredients

Cookies:

• ¾ cup unsalted butter , at room temperature (170 grams)
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300 grams)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (270 grams)
• ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (56 grams)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt

Frosting:

• 3 cups powdered sugar , sifted (340 grams)
• ¾ cup unsalted butter , at room temperature (170 grams)
• Pinch salt
• 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
• Red gel food coloring

Instructions

To make the cookies:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• In the bowl of stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until pale and creamy.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each, followed by the vanilla.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the butter mixture all at once and mix until incorporated.
• Shape into rounded tablespoons and place on prepared sheet pan. Bake until surface is cracked and edges are dry, about 10 minutes.
• Repeat with remaining cookie dough. Let cookies cool completely.

To make the frosting:

• Beat the powdered sugar, butter, salt, heavy cream, and peppermint extract on low speed until it comes together.
• Increase speed to high and beat for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy.
• Use a clean paintbrush to paint the red gel food coloring up the sides of a large piping bag fitted with a plain or star tip, making 4-6 lines total. Fill bag with frosting.

To assemble cookie sandwiches:

• Pipe frosting onto the bottom of one cooled chocolate cookie and place another chocolate cookie on top.
• Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 7 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 432kcal, Carbohydrates: 61g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Cholesterol: 75mg, Sodium: 164mg, Potassium: 92mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 44g, Vitamin A: 643IU, Calcium: 18mg, Iron: 2mg

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Annalise

Have you tried this recipe?I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review below or take a photo and tag it on Instagram @completelydelicious with #completelydelicious.

Disclosure: This recipe was originally created for Go Bold With Butter, a brand I still love and partnership with. Thank you for supporting partnerships with brands and campaigns I believe in, which make it easier for me to bring you new and creative content. All opinions are always my own.