Homemade Peppermint Sandwich Cookies: Your Ultimate Chocolate Mint Holiday Treat
Prepare to fall in love with these incredible Peppermint Sandwich Cookies! Imagine your favorite store-bought chocolate sandwich cookie, but elevated to a whole new level of homemade perfection, featuring a refreshing peppermint cream filling. These cookies are a delightful symphony of rich chocolate, smooth creaminess, and invigorating peppermint, creating a truly irresistible treat.
Many of us have a soft spot for classic chocolate sandwich cookies like Oreos. While convenient, there’s an undeniable magic that comes with a homemade version. When you craft these cookies from scratch, you’re not just making a dessert; you’re creating a memorable experience, a taste that everyone can agree is something truly special. This recipe transforms a beloved concept into a luxurious, artisanal delight that’s perfect for any occasion, especially during the festive season.
Our recipe features a deeply flavored dark chocolate cookie that strikes the perfect balance between soft and crunchy. This robust chocolate base is then paired with a luscious, homemade peppermint cream filling, creating a harmonious blend of flavors and textures. If you’re a devoted fan of the chocolate and peppermint combination, you absolutely cannot miss out on these incredible cookies. For more decadent chocolate mint delights, be sure to explore my Homemade Peppermint Patties or my rich Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake. They are truly sensational treats for any special occasion or simply to satisfy a sweet craving!
Why You’ll Love These Homemade Peppermint Sandwich Cookies
There’s something uniquely satisfying about homemade cookies, and these peppermint sandwich cookies are no exception. They offer a superior flavor and texture compared to their store-bought counterparts. The rich, dark chocolate cookie isn’t overly sweet, providing a perfect contrast to the vibrant, cool peppermint cream. This recipe is designed to be approachable, making it a fantastic baking project for both seasoned home bakers and enthusiastic beginners. Plus, the aroma of fresh chocolate and peppermint filling wafting through your kitchen is simply divine, making these cookies an instant favorite for holiday gatherings, potlucks, or simply a cozy evening treat.
Essential Ingredients for Your Peppermint Sandwich Cookies
Before you begin, gather these key ingredients. You’ll find the complete, printable recipe card with precise measurements at the very bottom of this post.
- All-Purpose Flour: The structural backbone of our cookies, providing the perfect tender-crisp texture.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Crucial for that deep, rich dark chocolate flavor in the cookie. Opt for a good quality cocoa for the best taste.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps with the cookie’s texture, contributing to its slight crunch.
- Brown Sugar: Lends moisture and a subtle caramel note, making the cookies wonderfully soft and chewy.
- Salt: A pinch of salt enhances all the other flavors, particularly the chocolate, balancing the sweetness.
- Baking Soda: Our leavening agent, helping the cookies to spread slightly and achieve their characteristic texture.
- Butter (Unsalted is recommended, but salted works too): Essential for both the cookie dough and the creamy filling, providing richness and flavor. Ensure it’s softened for optimal blending.
- Egg: Acts as a binder, holding the cookie dough together and adding richness.
- Vanilla Extract: A fundamental flavor enhancer that complements both the chocolate cookie and the peppermint filling.
- Peppermint Extract: The star of our filling! This provides the refreshing, cooling mint flavor. Adjust to your taste.
- Powdered Sugar (Confectioners’ Sugar): Creates the smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture for the peppermint cream filling.
- Milk (or Heavy Cream): Used in the filling to achieve the perfect consistency. Start with a little and add more as needed.
One of the best parts about these homemade sandwich cookies is their surprising ease of preparation, thanks in large part to the food processor doing most of the heavy lifting! While many traditional cookie recipes rely on creaming butter and sugar together with a mixer, this particular method is different. Here, we’re cutting the softened butter into the dry ingredients (sugar and flour) similar to how you would for a shortbread cookie. This technique contributes to the unique, slightly crumbly yet tender texture of our dark chocolate cookie rounds, making them the ideal base for our creamy peppermint filling. It’s a simple process that yields professional-quality results every time.
Crafting Your Peppermint Sandwich Cookies: Step-by-Step Guide
Making the Chocolate Cookie Dough
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In the bowl of your food processor, add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse a few times to thoroughly combine these dry ingredients.
- Incorporate Butter: With the food processor running, gradually add the softened butter, piece by piece, through the feed tube. Continue to pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. This step is crucial for developing the cookie’s unique texture.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Next, add the large egg and vanilla extract to the food processor. Pulse again until a cohesive dough starts to form. It might look crumbly at first, but keep pulsing until it comes together into a ball.
- Form and Chill: Transfer the dough onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Gently shape the dough into a log or rope, approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap this dough log tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 60 minutes. Chilling is essential as it firms up the butter, prevents excessive spreading during baking, and makes the dough much easier to slice.
Baking the Cookies
- Preheat Oven: While the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 350° F (175° C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Slice and Arrange: Once chilled, remove the dough log from the refrigerator and unwrap it. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the dough into uniform disks, about 1/4 inch thick. Place these cookie disks onto your prepared baking sheet, ensuring they are spaced approximately 2 inches apart to allow for slight spreading.
- Bake to Perfection: Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are set and the cookies appear dry. The cookies will be firm to the touch but still slightly soft in the center. Avoid overbaking to maintain a tender crumb.
- Cool Completely: Remove the baked cookies from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. It’s imperative that the cookies are fully cooled before adding the filling to prevent melting and mess.
Preparing the Peppermint Cream Filling
- Beat Butter: In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter until light and fluffy. This usually takes about 1-2 minutes.
- Add Flavorings: Mix in the vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and salt until well combined. The peppermint extract is potent, so you can adjust the amount based on your preference for mint intensity.
- Gradually Add Powdered Sugar: Slowly add the powdered sugar, about half a cup at a time, beating on low speed until fully incorporated. Once all the sugar is added, increase the speed and beat until the filling is smooth and creamy.
- Achieve Desired Consistency: Finally, add milk (or heavy cream) one tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition, until the filling reaches your desired light and spreadable consistency. It should be thick enough to hold its shape but soft enough to pipe or spread easily.
Assembling the Sandwich Cookies
- Fill and Sandwich: Once the cookies are completely cool, spoon or pipe a generous amount of the peppermint cream filling onto the flat side of one cookie. Gently place another cookie on top, pressing down lightly to spread the filling evenly to the edges. Repeat with the remaining cookies and filling.
- Serve and Enjoy: Your homemade peppermint sandwich cookies are now ready to be enjoyed! These are best served fresh, but also store well.
Expert Recipe Tips for Perfect Peppermint Sandwich Cookies
- Chill Time is Crucial: The recipe calls for a minimum of 60 minutes of chilling, but this is truly the bare minimum for the dough to firm up enough for slicing. For best results and easier handling, you can let the dough chill overnight. This also allows you to make the dough ahead of time and bake in stages, perfect for busy holiday schedules. A well-chilled dough ensures your cookies hold their shape and don’t spread too much.
- Uniform Slicing: As these cookies will spread only slightly when baked, it’s important that your dough disks are sliced to approximately the size you desire for your finished cookies. Aim for consistent 1/4-inch thickness for even baking and a beautiful presentation. Using a ruler can help achieve uniformity.
- Flavor Variations: Not a fan of peppermint, or looking for a different twist? The beauty of this recipe is its versatility! Feel free to substitute the peppermint extract with other extracts you love. Consider almond extract for an amaretto-like flavor, orange extract for a chocolate-orange combination, or even a touch of coffee extract for a mocha delight. The possibilities are endless!
- Cooling is Non-Negotiable: This is perhaps one of the most important tips. Ensure your chocolate cookies are completely cooled to room temperature before you attempt to add the peppermint filling. If the cookies are still warm, even slightly, the filling will melt and become a messy, runny disaster. Warm cookies are also more prone to breaking or crumbling when you press down on them to create the sandwich. Patience here will be rewarded!
- Softened Butter for Filling: For the smoothest, most lump-free peppermint cream filling, make sure your butter is truly softened to room temperature. This allows it to whip up light and fluffy with the powdered sugar.
- Piping vs. Spreading: For a neat and professional look, piping the filling onto the cookies using a piping bag with a round tip works wonders. If you don’t have a piping bag, a small offset spatula or even a butter knife can be used to spread the filling evenly.
- Storage: Once assembled, these cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week. For longer storage, they freeze beautifully! Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet to freeze solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 2-3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
More Delightful Christmas Cookie Recipes
The holiday season is synonymous with delicious cookies. If you’re looking to expand your baking repertoire beyond these fantastic Peppermint Sandwich Cookies, here are some other festive favorites that are sure to bring joy to your table. These recipes are perfect for cookie exchanges, gifting, or simply enjoying with your loved ones:
- Peppermint Patty Fudge Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Shortbread
- Cranberry Icebox Cookies
- Avalanche Cookies
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Peppermint Sandwich Cookies
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Ingredients
Cookie
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Instructions
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In a food processor, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse several times to ensure all dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Then, add the softened butter, a few pieces at a time, with the food processor running. Continue to pulse until the butter is fully incorporated into the mixture, creating a crumbly texture. Finally, add the egg and vanilla extract, pulsing until a cohesive dough starts to form into a ball.
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Transfer the dough from the food processor onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Gently shape the dough into a uniform log or rope, approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Carefully wrap the entire dough log tightly in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. Place it in the refrigerator to chill for a minimum of 60 minutes. This chilling period is essential for the dough to firm up, making it easier to slice and helping the cookies maintain their shape during baking. You can chill it overnight if preparing ahead.
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Preheat your oven to 350° F (175° C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat for non-stick baking.
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Once the dough is adequately chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the dough into uniform disks, each about 1/4 inch thick. Arrange these sliced cookie disks on the prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie to allow for slight expansion during baking.
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Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the cookies appear dry. Be careful not to overbake, as this can make them too hard. Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack. It is crucial that the cookies are entirely cool before proceeding to the next step, otherwise the filling will melt.
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Meanwhile, while the cookies are cooling, you can begin to prepare the delicious peppermint cream filling.
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To prepare the filling, in a medium mixing bowl, beat together the softened butter, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and a pinch of salt using an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, about half a cup at a time, beating until it is fully incorporated and the filling is smooth and creamy. Finally, add milk (or heavy cream) one tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition, until the filling reaches your desired light and spreadable consistency.
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Once the cookies are completely cool and the filling is ready, it’s time to assemble! Spoon or pipe a generous amount of the peppermint cream filling onto the flat side of one chocolate cookie. Gently top with another cookie, pressing down lightly but firmly to spread the filling evenly to the edge of the cookies, creating a delightful sandwich. Repeat this process with the remaining cookies and filling until all are assembled.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Additional Information for Your Holiday Baking
These homemade peppermint sandwich cookies are not just a treat for your taste buds but also a wonderful addition to your holiday baking traditions. Their striking appearance, with the dark chocolate cookie and vibrant white filling, makes them a beautiful centerpiece for any dessert platter. They also make thoughtful homemade gifts for friends, family, and neighbors during the festive season. Package them in decorative boxes or bags, and you’ve got a gift that’s both personal and incredibly delicious!
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