Coming in hot with the last new recipe of 2022 – chocolate peppermint shortbread cookies!
These cookies have the most delicious chocolate shortbread, which are then half dipped in melted chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes. Only the best for you, my friends!
These were a last minute addition to my cookie boxes this year and I’m so glad I made them. Chocolate and peppermint is such a classic holiday combination and these cookies give you the best of both, without being overwhelming.
I’m going to tell you now, this shortbread dough is crumbly and will feel like it’s never going to come together, but trust me, it will. Shortbread doesn’t have any eggs, so we don’t have a binding agent like we do in other cookies that helps the dough come together seamlessly. For these, you’ve really got to work for it, but the end result is so worth it.
We start off the dough making process by mixing our dry ingredients together, then setting them off to the side. After that, we cream together the butter and sugar. You really want to cream these together well, that’ll give you the best chance of bringing your dough together. Once that’s nicely creamed, we slowly add in the flour, then some vanilla extract (measure this with your heart, you can’t go wrong). Once the dough has come together, divide it in half, roll it into two logs and refrigerate it. You want it to sit in the fridge for at least an hour.
Then we cut our dough logs into little coins and bake them. Let them cool, then dip them in melted chocolate and top with crushed candy canes. That’s it! I’d recommend letting the chocolate set before digging in or you’ll get chocolate all over yourself, but do you 🙂
Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Melted chocolate, for dipping
- Crushed candy canes
Directions
- Step 1 Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt
- Step 2 set aside.
- Step 3 Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add in the flour mixture until just combined. Add vanilla and mix well.
- Step 4 Lightly flour your work surface and divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a log, about 1″ in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until firm.
- Step 5 Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Step 6 Slice cookie logs into 1/4″ rounds and place on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cookies will be slightly soft to the touch.
- Step 7 Allow to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
- Step 8 Line your work surface with parchment or wax paper.
- Step 9 Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, then place on parchment. Before the chocolate hardens, sprinkle each cookie with crushed candy canes.
