Peppermint White Chocolate Chip Cookies
These peppermint white chocolate chip cookies are super soft and chewy, and full of flavor. Dress them up with sparkling sanding sugar or a drizzle of white chocolate, either way they’re sure to be your new favorite holiday cookie!
We’ve reached that part of the holidays where I’m ready to blow off all responsibilities and just bake cookies and watch Christmas movies all day. First on my list are always my favorite peppermint white chocolate chip cookies!
This recipe has been on my site since 2013 and they’ve made an appearance every holiday season since then. I look forward to baking them every year! They have a very soft and chewy texture, with so much great flavor from white chocolate chips, peppermint bits, and peppermint extract.
One batch— even one bite!— is all it’ll take for these white chocolate peppermint cookies become one of your favorites too.
Table of Contents
- Why you’ll love these cookies
- Ingredients you’ll need
- How to make peppermint white chocolate chip cookies
- Tips for this recipe
- More holiday cookie recipes
- Get the recipe
Why you’ll love these cookies
- They’re so soft with just a little bit of delicious chewiness.
- White chocolate and peppermint are a match made in heaven. These cookies taste like the holidays!
- Peppermint crunch baking chips hold up beautifully during baking, unlike candy canes which melt and don’t hold their shape well.
- No chilling required, aka this recipe couldn’t be easier!
- You can leave these cookies as-is and they’ll be amazing, or you can fancy them up a bit with sanding sugar or a drizzle of white chocolate.
Let’s get baking, shall we?
Ingredients you’ll need
- Butter
- Cream cheese— It’s the secret ingredient! It makes the cookies very soft and tender.
- Granulated sugar and brown sugar— The combo ensures these cookies have the perfect chewy texture and slightly caramelized flavor.
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Peppermint extract— Really gives these cookies a punch of holiday flavor.
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda and salt
- White chocolate chips— I prefer white chocolate that’s made with cocoa butter (and not a substitute like palm oil), but any kind will do.
- Peppermint crunch baking chips— These are a MUST! They’re my favorite peppermint chips to bake with. They can be hard to find in stores these days, but you can always find them on Amazon. And it’s definitely worth the purchase!
- Sanding sugar or more white chocolate— for garnish and decoration (optional).
How to make peppermint white chocolate chip cookies
- Beat butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and creamy.
- Mix in eggs and flavorings.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until the dough starts to come together.
- Add white chocolate chips and peppermint crunch chips and mix just until they’re incorporated into the dough.
- Portion dough with a cookie scoop and roll cookie dough balls in sanding sugar, if you’d like.
- Bake on parchment-lined baking sheet pans at 375°F just until cookies are cracked and edges start to look brown. Don’t over bake!
- Let cookies cool and drizzle with melted white chocolate, if desired.
Then, enjoy! I hope you’ll love these cookies as much as I do! They’re just so dang good. And they always disappear in a flash when I take them to potlucks or parties.
baking tip:How to bake pretty cookies
While they will taste great no matter what, cookies sometimes need a little extra TLC to look as great as they taste:
- Only mix half of the chocolate chips/chunks called for in a recipe in with the dough.
- Portion the dough with a cookie scoop, then roll into balls by hand.
- Give them plenty of space. I only bake 6-8 cookies at a time on my sheet pan, depending on size.
- Before baking, strategically place and press the remaining half of the chocolate chips/chunks into the tops of the dough balls.
- As soon as the cookies are pulled from the oven, and while they are still hot and pliable, use a spatula to push any uneven edges back into a perfect circle.
- Let them cool completely before packaging or storing.
Tips for this recipe
- If you don’t have peppermint crunch baking chips, you have a few options. You can use crushed candy canes, though they will melt in the oven and change the texture of your cookies. You could leave them out of the cookie dough and instead sprinkle them on top of the baked cookies (I think this would look really good with a drizzle of white chocolate too). Also, have a look in the seasonal aisle of the grocery store, as manufacturers release seasonal baking items that may be similar.
- Butter should be at room temperature and soft enough that a pressed finger will leave an indent, but not soft enough that your finger can press all the way through. Butter should not be shiny or melty at all. Are your cookies spreading too much? This could be why!
- Cream cheese should also be at room temperature and soft. Here’s a few tips for quickly bringing cream cheese to room temperature, if needed.
- Be sure to measure flour correctly! All of my recipes are tested using the spoon and level method (more info through that link). Are your cookies dry and cakey? This could be why!
- These pre-cut parchment sheets are perfect for cookie baking.
- Cookie dough freezes really well. I like to keep a stash of portioned cookie dough balls in the freezer for fresh-baked cookies on demand.
- These cookies will keep at room temperature for about a week, but are best within a few days of baking.
More holiday cookie recipes
Get the recipe
This recipe was originally published December 2013.
Peppermint White Chocolate Chip Cookies
White chocolate chip cookies with a hint of peppermint, making them perfect for holiday baking. Cream cheese is also a fun secret ingredient that gives the cookies a little something extra.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , softened to room temperature (1 stick, 113 grams)
- 3 oz full fat cream cheese , softened to room temperature (85 grams)
- 1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar (210 grams)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (300 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips (170 grams)
- 1 cup peppermint crunch baking chips , see Notes (140 grams)
- Coarse or sanding sugar , for sprinkling
- ½ cup white chocolate chips , for drizzling (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a bowl with a hand-held mixer, beat together the butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, and sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each, followed by the vanilla and peppermint extracts.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the mixer and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Mix in the white chocolate chips and peppermint chips.
- Roll cookie dough into rounded tablespoons (dough will be sticky) and place on the prepared sheet pan about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with coarse sugar, if using. Bake until edges just begin to turn golden, about 9-11 minutes. Let cool on the sheet pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
NOTES:
- I like to use Andes brand peppermint crunch baking chips for these cookies. You can find them in some stores around the holidays, but you may have to hunt for them. You can also buy them online. You can find other similar products that work fine, and in a pinch you can use crushed candy canes.
- To melt white chocolate chips, place in a heat-proof bowl and microwave in 30 second increments. Stir until smooth.
- Nutrition information is an estimate.
Calories: 244kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 29mg, Sodium: 127mg, Potassium: 58mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 23g, Vitamin A: 188IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 46mg, Iron: 1mg
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.
So festive! These look great!
These are such a gorgeous idea and so perfect for Christmas. I can’t get enough peppermint at the moment.
This recipe comes with such a perfect timing! I was thinking of a holiday-themed cookie and these are exactly what I had in mind!
xo, Elisa
I love these cookies! Nothing better than peppermint and white chocolate! The perfect holiday combo!
These sound wonderful! Car problems are the worst…especially just a week before Christmas!
Thinking of doing this with chocolate cookie dough. Think it will work?
What an awesome holiday cookie, Annalise! So glad your date night wasn’t a dud thanks to your car problems. Sounds like you still made some good, delicious memories from that night!
These came out awesome and are very tasty! I used 6 or 7 crushed candy canes instead of the peppermint baking chips and the cookies were still great.
These look lovely and so festive! I have a bag of peppermint chips in my pantry that I have been meaning to use and these look like the perfect cookies to add them to!
These are amazing! I made them for a Christmas party and they were a huge hit. I couldn’t find the Andes peppermint baking chips, so instead I used a bag of Hershey’s peppermint kisses and chopped them up in a nut chopper. Delish!
Can you sub. peppermint chips with broken up candy canes?
Yes, you can 🙂 Someone posted that they used 6 or 7 crushed up candy canes and it still tastes great. That’s what I plan on using!
I used crushed up candy canes and I love the crunch they add to the cookie.
EXCELLENT recipe! Mine made way more than two dozen. I baked half tonite and put the balance of the dough in the freezer to bake next week. Hopefully those will turn out as well
Do i need to refrigerate the dough prior to baking?
Nope, no need to refrigerate.
These were a huge hit at my daughters birthday. Thanks! I didn’t have cream cheese so I sustituted 1/3 skim milk and 4 more tablespoons of butter. Fantastic but required about 15 minutes in the frig for the dough to set up.
These are delicious! Mine didn’t come out looking like these though… Mine were more puffy and less flat and cracked, anyone have any idea what may have caused this??
Hi Noreen! Lots of things could affect how your cookies turn out and without being there with you while you baked them I couldn’t say for sure. It could be the way you measure flour and perhaps you added too much? I’m sorry I’m not more help!
These are so festive and look so perfect! Love the little crinkle on the top:) Need to add these to our cookie tray for Santa
There’s nothing that says Christmas like peppermint. To make these cookies even more “Christmasy”, I’m going to eat them with eggnog ice cream!
What a wonderful pair! I love it. 🙂
Do the baked cookies need to be stored in the refrigerator?
No, they should last at room temperature for several days.
I dont see anything with nuts…baking for my toddler’s holiday party…are these considered nut free…and do you think they would work with cookie cutters???
These do not have any nuts in them. However, I think you’d have to confirm that none of your ingredients have come in contact with nuts in order for it to be safe for people with nut allergies. Maybe check that the white chocolate and peppermint chips? I’m not sure, I’m not an expert! And no, since these have chips mixed in, they can’t really be rolled and cut.
I made these cookies, but they did not look like the cookies pictured. But they tasted exactly what I imagined. I could not find Andes Peppermint Crunch at a reasonable price , so I purchased Hershey’s Peppermint Kisses and chopped them. Worked just fine. I did not think my husband would even try these since he is not fond of peppermint, but he did and said that they were “NOT bad”. Will definitely make these again.
I’m happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed them!
These look beautiful and delicious! Looking to make ahead as much as possible for the holidays. Have you frozen the dough balls or the baked cookies? Any preference?
I always prefer to freeze cookie dough balls and bake fresh when we want them!
They will keep for several days in an airtight container. Hope this helps!
Making these at the moment. Hubby and son said delicious!! I think they are pretty and taste wonderful..
These tasted fine but the dough was VERY sticky. I also used crushed candy cane. Maybe that added to the overall stickiness. I had to wet my hands to roll, they were difficult to get off the cookie sheet, and the candy cane pieces got stuck in my teeth. I thought these would be more light and fluffy, but they turned out very flat and crispy.
Yes, the dough is quite sticky! That’s normal. But crushed candy canes are not at all the same as the peppermint baking chips used in this cookie recipe, and will effect how the cookies turn out.