Peppermint Chocolate Sugar Cookies (no chill!)

What stands out: Peppermint chocolate sugar cookies are a fun take on a traditional sugar cookie – reliable for the chocolate lover! These cookies roll out so easily and you don’t have to chill the dough first.

How long it takes: 15 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowl, mixer, rolling pin, cookie cutter, baking sheet, oven
Servings: makes 60 small star cookies

peppermint Chocolate Cookies

Peppermint + chocolate! If you like the combination of mint and chocolate, these cookies are for you! Soft dark chocolate sugar cookies with just a hint of mint, are sparkling with flavor.

No chilling required. Although we have a cut out sugar cookie recipe that we make every year, we were looking for another cut-out cookie recipe that didn’t require chilling time. Our fellow blogger, Katrina, has a sugar cookie recipe that doesn’t require any chilling. We took out the almond extract, added cocoa powder and peppermint extract. Voila! A unique sugar cookie with loads of chocolate and mint flavor!

EASY! These cutout cookies are SO straightforward to mix, they hold their cut out shape well when baked, and look pretty on a cookie platter.

What goes in

• Butter: We always use unsalted butter for baking, unless otherwise directed. Make sure the butter is softened (at room temperature) before you get started. If you forget to take it out ahead of time, soften the butter in the microwave at low power (10%) for a minute or two, or until it’s soft but not melted.
• Sugar: Just regular white granulated sugar is all you need. You’ll use it for the cookie dough and to coat the cookies before baking for a nice sparkling finish.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: Provides a nice flavor.
• Peppermint Extract: Don’t be tempted to add a lot more. Peppermint extract is pretty potent and can be overpowering.
• Egg: Just one large egg helps the dough bind together.
• Baking Powder: provides leavening so the cookies aren’t overly dense and hard.
• All-Purpose Flour: If you prefer, white whole wheat flour can be substituted or you can use a combination.
• Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder can be found in the baking aisle of your market. You can also use it to make hot cocoa, chocolate cake, brownies, and chocolate cream cheese frosting. It’s actually pretty high in antioxidants and doesn’t have sugar. We often make these triple chocolate banana muffins and don’t feel a bit guilty about giving them to our kids for a snack.

How it comes together

Preheat the oven. You can get your oven preheating right away because it won’t be long before you’ll have a batch of cookies ready to bake! You always want to bake cookies in a preheated oven to prevent burnt bottoms. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together. Begin by creaming together the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. You can do this with a stand mixer, with a good hand mixer, or by hand. We've done it all three ways and they all work fine. Add the egg and the extracts and beat well.

Whisk dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Whisk it well. If your cocoa powder has lots of dry hard lumps, you may have to sift it.

How To Measure Flour Accurately

Use a measuring cup that’s meant for dry ingredients. It shouldn’t have a pouring spout. Always spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level the cup with a knife. If you use the measuring cup to scoop the flour, it will be compacted and you’ll end up with too much flour in your cookies.

Make dough. Add the dry ingredients gradually to the creamed butter mixture. If it gets too stiff for your mixer, just mix the dough by hand. The dough will seem a little dry at first but persevere. Once you get the flour mixed in, the dough will have a reliable consistency, almost like Play-Doh.

Roll out dough. Scrape the dough into a ball. Dust your countertop and your rolling pin with cocoa powder. Usually we use flour to coat the rolling surfaces but the white flour doesn’t look so great on the dark brown cookie dough. Your cookies will look sort of spotty. If you’re worried about the cocoa staining your counter, put a sheet of parchment paper down first.

Roll the dough out fairly thick, about one-quarter inch. If you like a crispier cookie, then roll the dough more thinly, about one-eighth inch. If it’s sticking a bit, dust the surface with more cocoa powder.

Cut out shapes. Use a star cookie cutter to cut out as many stars you can, or use another cookie cutter to cut the cookies into any shape you like. Sometimes we use a biscuit cutter and make simple round cookies. Make some big stars and some little stars if you want. Re-roll the scraps so you get as many cookies as possible.

If you’re not planning on decorating the cookies, dip the cookies in granulated sugar before you bake them, for a sparkling look.

Arrange on baking sheet. Place the cookies on a baking sheet. You can put them quite close together because they shouldn’t spread. Make sure the sides aren’t touching each other though – that would be too close!

Bake the cookies. In our oven, the cookies take about seven to eight minutes, depending on how large and/or how thick they are. It’s a little tricky to tell when these cookies are done because you won’t see a golden brown color develop. They are already a nice dark brown! If the cookies feel set and fairly firm to the touch, they are probably done. If you’re not sure, bake them an extra minute or two. The longer you bake them, the crispier they will be.

Cool. Cool them on the pan for a few minutes, then use a spatula to carefully transfew them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. They should be totally cool before you frost them.

Decorating options. Peppermint cutouts are beautiful with a drizzle of melted white chocolate or white icing and sprinkled with chopped peppermint candy or colored sugar. You may even want to leave some plain. They look like little star-shaped brownies and are wonderful with a bowl of ice cream.

Wasn’t that fun? We just love how straightforward these cut-out cookies roll out and how great they always turn out. We can’t wait for you to try them!

Straightforward Recipe Variations

• Crispier cookies: Roll the dough out thinner and/or bake the cookies an extra minute or too.
• Mexican hot chocolate cookies: Omit peppermint extract, increase the vanilla to 1 ½ teaspoons, and add 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon to the flour mixture. You’ll love the flavor of these cookies!
• Dark chocolate cookies: Omit the peppermint extract and increase the vanilla to 1 ½ teaspoons. Drizzle with melted chocolate chips and sprinkle on chocolate jimmies for the ultimate chocolate lover’s cookie.
• Don’t have cookie cutters? Try chocolate peppermint kiss cookies or peppermint flavored Lofthouse cookies.

Make-Ahead Ideas

Make the dough ahead. Although the dough doesn’t HAVE to be chilled, it can be. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days. Take it out of the refrigerator at least a half hour before rolling it so it has a chance to soften up.

To freeze dough: The dough can be frozen for up to one month. Shape it into a flat disk and wrap it well with foil before placing it in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then take it out of the fridge at least a half hour before rolling it out and baking.

Keeping leftovers

Storing baked cookies: Once the cookies have completely cooled and the icing has set, store in an airtight container with wax paper between layers, for up to a week. For longer storage, freeze for up to one month. If you prefer, store the cookies undecorated and decorate them after thawing.

Leftover Love

While we're not sure there is such a thing as “leftover” cookies, if you find you have too many cookies, share them! Spread a little cheer in your neighborhood or senior community center. Leave a plate for that overworked delivery man or postal worker with an appreciative note. Cookies are guaranteed to bring a smile!

• Yield: 30
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 7 minutes
• Total: 22 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (or white whole wheat flour)
• ½ cup cocoa powder, plus extra for rolling out cookies

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until well combined. Add vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and egg. Beat to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, combine baking powder, flour, and cocoa powder. With the mixer on low, add dry ingredients gradually until combined.
4. Coat countertop with cocoa powder and also rub some on rolling pin. Roll out cookies fairly thick (¼-inch works well) and cut into desired shapes. Use your favorite cookie cutters. Re-roll scraps to use all the dough.
5. If you don’t plan to frost the cookies, dip them in granulated sugar to add sparkle.
6. You can place these fairly close together on baking sheet because they won’t spread.
7. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes and let cool for 2 to 3 minutes on baking sheet before removing and placing on a cooling rack to cool completely before storing, frosting, or eating.

Notes

Yield: Yields 60 small star cookies. Serving size: 2 cookies. Yield will depend on the size of the cookie cutter you use and how thick you roll the dough.

Storage: Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week or frozen for one month. Refer to post for make-ahead tips.

To decorate cookies: Drizzle the stars with white frosting or melted white chocolate and top immediately with crushed peppermint candies or colored sugar.

Crispier cookies: Roll the dough thinner and/or bake an extra minute or two.

Mexican hot chocolate cookies: Omit peppermint extract, increase the vanilla to 1 ½ teaspoons, and add 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon to the flour mixture.

Dark chocolate cookies: Omit peppermint extract and increase vanilla to 1 ½ teaspoons. Drizzle with melted chocolate chips and sprinkle on chocolate jimmies for the ultimate chocolate lover’s cookie.