Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
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Published Dec 09, 2021, Updated Dec 02, 2024
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These chocolate peppermint cookies are soft, chewy and topped with crushed candy canes for the perfect holiday treat. They’re flourless, naturally sweetened and come together quickly in just one bowl!
I know some people hate the combo of chocolate and mint, but I’ve always loved it. While I’ll gladly eat mint chip ice cream all year long, chocolate peppermint treats are the perfect flavor pairing for winter! So obviously I had to create a recipe for chocolate peppermint cookies this holiday season. And if you’re as into this flavor combo as I am, my easy peppermint bark is another must-try; it’s so easy to make and just as festive!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Perfect holiday cookie – Festive, chocolatey, and pepperminty—everything you want in a December treat!
- One-bowl recipe – Fewer dirty dishes mean more time to enjoy baking.
- Kid-friendly – Super easy to make, and the perfect way to get your kids involved in holiday baking.
- Great for make-ahead – These cookies freeze beautifully, so you can prep them now and enjoy whenever the craving strikes.
Ingredients Needed
This cookie recipe is flourless, grain-free and vegan so we’re replacing the eggs, butter, sugar and flour you’d find in a traditional recipe with almond butter, maple syrup and a flax egg.
- drippy almond butter – I used Wild Friends almond butter but any brand will work. Just make sure the almond butter is drippy and that the ingredients are just almonds and salt.
- flax egg – to make a flax egg just mix 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 Tablespoons water and set aside to allow the mixture to gelatinize.
- maple syrup – the natural sweetener in these cookies.
- unsweetened cocoa powder – the main source of chocolate flavor in these cookies!
- baking soda – helps the cookies rise.
- salt – if your nut butter has salt, you can skip this!
- vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
- peppermint extract – a must for chocolate peppermint cookies!
- chocolate chips – I used Lily’s chocolate chips because they are low in sugar and calories!
- peppermint candies or candy canes – for the peppermint candy topping! If you’re not a fan of the peppermint candy topping or don’t have any on hand you can skip them. These cookies are still just as delicious without the candies on top!
Substitutions
- Almond butter: You can use any drippy nut or seed butter for this recipe. Peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter (for a nut-free option) all work well. Just make sure it’s natural and creamy.
- Flax egg: If you don’t need these cookies to be vegan, you can also use one regular egg. I’ve tested these cookies with both a flax egg and regular egg and both versions turned out perfectly!
- Maple syrup: I haven’t tried, but you should be able to swap for a different liquid sweetener like honey or agave if needed. I also have tested these cookies with coconut sugar and I preferred the maple syrup version better. The cookies made with coconut sugar were more crumbly and dry than with the maple syrup.
- Peppermint extract: If you don’t have peppermint extract, you can skip it and just rely on the crushed candy canes for a hint of peppermint flavor.
How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
With simple ingredients and easy steps, you’ll have soft, chewy cookies packed with rich chocolate and peppermint flavor in no time. Let’s get baking!
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients: cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
Step 2: Add the wet ingredients (almond butter, flax egg, maple syrup, vanilla, and peppermint extract) to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Step 3: Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 1 ½ inches apart, and press them down slightly.
Step 4: Bake for 12 minutes. While baking, crush the peppermint candies, then sprinkle them on the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven. Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the tray.
Brittany’s Tips
- Use drippy nut butter: A natural, creamy almond butter works best for this recipe. If your almond butter is too thick, give it a good stir or slightly warm it to get that drippy consistency.
- Don’t skip the parchment paper: It prevents sticking and makes cleanup super easy. If you don’t have parchment paper, a silicone baking mat works just as well.
- Measure ingredients accurately: Especially with cocoa powder—scoop and level it to avoid adding too much, which could make the cookies dry.
- Pro tip: Don’t mix the crushed peppermint candies into the batter before baking otherwise you’ll end up with a gooey, sticky mess! Trust me, it happened to me when testing this recipe.
How to Store Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
After allowing the cookies to cool completely, store them in an airtight container. They will keep 3-5 days at room temperature, up to 1 week in the refrigerator and can be frozen for longer storage. I recommend storing in between layers of parchment paper to keep the peppermint candies from sticking!
Frequently Asked Questions
This might happen if the dough is too cold or if the nut butter is too thick. Make sure your almond butter is drippy and press the dough balls down slightly before baking to help them spread.
The cookies should look set around the edges but still soft in the center. They’ll continue to firm up as they cool, so don’t overbake!
You can leave it out, but the cookies will have less of that classic peppermint flavor. The crushed peppermint candies will still add a festive touch!
More Minty Treats
More Cookie Recipes to Try
- Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles
- Molasses Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
Be sure to check out my full collection of healthy Christmas cookies as well as all the cookie recipes here on EBF.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup drippy almond butter, I used Wild Friends
- 1 flax egg, or one regular egg
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt, skip if your nut butter has salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips, I used Lily's
- a few peppermint candies or candy canes, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- In a large bowl combine all ingredients, except for the chocolate chips and crushed peppermint candies.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Scoop out the cookie batter using a small/medium cooking scoop or a Tablespoon and place on baking sheet giving about 1 ½ inches between each cookie. Press cookies down slightly.
- Bake for 12 minutes.
- While cookies are baking, crush your peppermint candies or candy canes by placing unwrapped candies in a plastic bag, using the back of a wooden spoon to crush the candy into small bits.
- Remove cookies from the oven and immediately sprinkle crushed peppermint candies over cookies.
- Let cookies cool completely before touching or removing.
Video
Notes
- Almond butter: I would imagine these cookies will turn out just fine with another nut or seed butter, but the flavor might be slightly different. Just be sure it’s a natural and drippy nut butter.
- Maple syrup: I tried these with coconut sugar and they turned out, but the cookies were more crumbly and dry than with the maple syrup so I don’t recommend replacing this with a granulated sugar. Honey should work if you don’t need the cookies to be vegan.
- Storage: Let the cookies cool completely, then store them in an airtight container. They’ll last 3-5 days at room temperature, up to 1 week in the fridge, or longer in the freezer. Use parchment paper between layers to prevent the peppermint candies from sticking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Brought these to a family party and they were devoured. People were shocked that it had no sugar. I just used peppermint bark on top instead of pieces of peppermint and it worked so well
Super easy and delicious
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies were a hit! Thanks for making my recipe and for coming back to leave a review. I appreciate it!
Wow, these were delicious and making more! I used peppermint oil (only a couple of drops because it is much stronger than extract) and it was perfect. I try to find recipes to share with my gluten-free friends and these were a hit. I didn’t put the candy canes on the top because I didn’t have them but it didn’t matter. I used almond butter and the texture was perfect and actually, I was pleasantly surprised with the texture. I also kept them cold in between batches because I like more of a fluffy cookie. If you freeze these, they taste like Girl Scout thin mints…bonus. These will be a staple year round for me…delicious!!
Yay! So glad these cookies were a hit! Thanks for making them and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I can’t find peppermint extract anywhere here in germany! Do you think the candy cane’s would give them a nice enough flavor? Any advice?
Hi Gabi – You could try using an edible peppermint oil, that would be a great substitute. I don’t think the candy canes will give off enough peppermint flavor that you’ll want in this recipe. Hope this helps.
So good! You would never know these were a “healthier” cookie. My son is allergic to almonds, so I used cashew butter!
YUM! I am so glad you gave these a try and they are a hit, even with the cashew butter, Jillian. Thank you for coming back and sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
Just made these and they are fantastic! Honestly was not expecting the texture to be as good as it was! They baked great in the oven and are thick, fluffy and chewy all at the same time. Will definitely be one of my favorites from now on!
WOO! All the best textures in one cookie. I am so glad you are loving this recipe, Taylor. Thank you so much for sharing your review & star rating, I really appreciate it!
These were just what I hoped for! I will absolutely make again. I used sunflower seed butter instead of almond but otherwise stuck to recipe as is. They stayed a bit soft and crumbled somewhat easily compared to a normal cookie. Which I figure is normal for a cookie without flour. Thanks for an all around great v/gf/df recipe!
WOO! I am pumped to hear that you are loving this recipe, Roxy. Thank you so much for sharing your review & star rating, it means so much to me.
I have made these multiple times! Hands down my favorite cookie recipe!!! The amount of peppermint is just right and they are so moist and chocolatey! I love too that they are a healthier dessert!
AH YAY! I am so glad that you are loving this recipe, Tanya. Thanks for coming back and sharing your review + star rating, it means so much to me.
Love these! I modified by leaving out the chocolate chips and melting an Andes mint on top instead. People never guess these are gluten free and I make them any time of the year.
OH! That sounds delicious, Emily! Thank you so much for sharing. I am glad to hear that you are loving this recipe. I appreciate your star rating + review. It means so much to me.
Amazing cookies! Not too sweet, not too minty, not too chocolaty. Everything was absolutely perfect! Making these for every holiday party this year! Thanks for sharing <3
Happy to hear you enjoyed these cookies, Patricia! Thanks so much for trying them out and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
Made these for my book club holiday gathering and not only did they demolish them – but everyone wanted the recipe! These are ah-mazing!
Thanks for another great recipe, Brittany!