Like chocolate crinkle cookies and mocha cheesecake brownies combined, these soft-baked cookies have been dubbed “the best thing to happen to Christmas cookies.” And that’s a direct quote from a taste tester! Peppermint mocha cookies are soul-warming and pepperminty and I guarantee you’ll love them even more than your peppermint mocha beverage. 🙂
These Peppermint Mocha Cookies Taste Like Brownies
If you closed your eyes and took a bite of these peppermint mocha cookies, you’d be surprised to find a cookie instead of a brownie in your hand. These cookies taste just like fudgy brownies! We can thank my basic chocolate cookie dough for that, a go-to base I use when making double chocolate chip cookies and chocolate crinkle cookies too. There’s a reason my team and I turn to this cookie dough often (and why so many readers love it as well)… it WORKS! The magical dough creates rich, thick, and chewy chocolate cookies that stay soft for days. We’re talking soft cookies even on day 7. (If in the very strange event that your chocolate cookies last that long. Who are you?)
How to Make Peppermint Mocha Cookies
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through the recipe so you understand each step before you get started.
Cream the wet ingredients together. As detailed in the recipe below, cream the butter and sugars together before adding the egg, vanilla, and peppermint extract. Mix the dry ingredients together. This includes the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt. Combine both and add the chocolate chips. The dough will be very thick and sticky. Chill the cookie dough. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Roll cookie dough into balls. Use about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per ball. A medium cookie scoop is helpful for this! Bake. Let the cookies cool completely. Melt the white chocolate. Dip each cookie halfway into the white chocolate. Place each cookie onto a parchment or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle crushed candy canes on top of the chocolate. Repeat this process with the rest of the cookies. Refrigerate the cookies to set the chocolate.
Secret Ingredient: Espresso Powder
Espresso powder gives the cookies their unbelievable mocha flavor. I use just two teaspoons and the flavor is unreal. If you can’t find espresso powder in stores, you can use instant coffee instead. You’d need a little more instant coffee since it isn’t as strong or rich as espresso powder. I find espresso powder at my regular grocery store, but you can also find it online. I don’t recommend using ground coffee because it’s not as flavorful as espresso powder or instant coffee, both of which have super concentrated flavor. Peppermint extract is another power player here. Always be careful when using peppermint extract! It’s very potent—a little goes a very long way. And just like when you make peppermint snowball cookies, make sure you are using peppermint extract, not mint extract. The latter tastes like spearmint toothpaste. It’s not good.
Everything You’ll Love About Peppermint Mocha Cookies
As if you need more reasons to bake these cookies:
They’re super chocolatey and taste like brownies. Sometimes I add mini chocolate chips to the cookie dough for extreme chocolate flavor. You’ll love the combination of white chocolate + regular chocolate. They’re totally festive and stand out on holiday cookie trays. The bites with the white chocolate and candy cane crush are the best. The candy canes add a soft crunch—perfect if you love texture like me! If you enjoy them here, you’ll also love these chocolate fudge cookies with candy cane buttercream. Peppermint + mocha = perfection. (It’s a winning combo in these peppermint mocha cupcakes, too!)
Whenever I go to a cookie exchange I always make these cookies; they’re really unique and everyone goes wild for them! They add beautiful variety on a platter next to sugar cookies, peanut butter blossoms, and spritz cookies. Or if you prefer frosting on top of your cookies, you’ll love these peppermint frosted chocolate cookies. And if you need even more holiday baking inspiration, here are 75+ Christmas cookies with all my best success guides & tips.
