It’s officially Christmas cookie season which means you definitely need to make these fudgy peppermint brownie cookies. These easy brownie cookies are dense, incredibly chocolatey, and have just enough mint to get you in the holiday spirit.
It’s officially Christmas cookie season which means you definitely need to make these fudgy peppermint brownie cookies. These easy brownie cookies are dense, incredibly chocolatey, and have just enough mint to get you in the holiday spirit.
It’s my favorite time of the year—cookie season. There is no better feeling than staying inside all wrapped up in cozy clothes, fuzzy slippers, and baking trays of all my favorite holiday cookies.
Fudgy peppermint brownie cookies are basically Christmas in cookie form. Think soft, fudgy centers, crackly crust, slightly chewy edges, and intensely chocolatey brownies but in individual serving-size cookie form. I mean what can be better than that?
Packed with rich chocolate flavor. Made with melted dark chocolate chips and rich Dutch cocoa powder these goody, fudgy peppermint chocolate cookies are made for chocolate lovers.
Perfect Holiday Cookie. Beautifully, soft and fudgy brownie cookies with a sprinkle of red and white crushed candy canes, make the perfect show stopping dessert for your holiday parties.
Easy to make! These easy brownie cookies only require a few easy steps and do not require any chill time. Just think, you’ll have these delicious fudgy peppermint chocolate cookies in your belly in under 30 minutes!
Kitchen Equipment
For this easy fudgy peppermint brownie cookies recipe, you will need all the following kitchen equipment. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale for the most accurate measurements.
Kitchen Scale: a kitchen scale is absolutely NECESSARY if you want to have foolproof bakes. This will ensure you have the exact measurements for each ingredient. My little pink kitchen scale is as aesthetic as it is precise.
Mixing Bowls: This is one of my main kitchen essentials for almost all of my recipes. They allow me to keep an organized kitchen. These durable glass nesting bowls are also really sturdy and dishwasher-safe!
Rubber spatula: you will use a rubber spatula to scrape down the edges and bottom of the mixing bowl.
Cookie Scoop: using a cookie scoop will ensure that you have evenly sized brownie crinkle cookies.
Parchment paper orSilicone mat: You can either line your baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat. A Silpat is seriously the best invention for baking that ever existed. It is reusable, and sustainable and will 100% guarantee that the brownie cake cookies will easily slip off the tray.
Half-Sheet Baking Trays: I have been using my Nordicware Aluminum half-sheet baking trays for years and it has never let me down.
Large cookie cutter: For perfectly round fudgy chocolate cookies, I recommend using a large cookie cutter and swirling the warm cookies on the baking tray to create perfect circles.
Ingredients
You can find all of the ingredients for these brownie peppermint cookies at your local grocery store in the baking aisle.
70% Cocoa Chocolate: this is the key to making puffy, not flat chocolate brownie cookies. 70% cocoa chocolate means there is 70% cocoa and only 30% other ingredients i.e. fat. The more fat means the cookie will spread and become flat unless you add more flour.
Unsalted butter: the main reason behind using unsalted butter is so that you can control the amount of salt going into your fudgy brownie cookies.
All-Purpose Flour:all-purpose flour creates a tender yet hearty crumb for the fudgy chocolate cookies Make sure to measure your flour with a scale! If you don’t have a scale, make sure to fluff up the flour before spooning it into your measuring cup and lightly leveling it off with a knife. Do not pack the flour into the cup!
Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder: I cannot stress this enough, use Rodelle’s cocoa powder. You’ll thank me later.
Salt: a pinch of salt balances and enhances the other ingredients. All baked goods need salt. Salt pushes a baked good from good to great.
Baking Powder:Baking powder aids in the rise of the brownie peppermint cookies.
Eggs: binds the fudgy chocolate cookie together and gives the cookie its soft, tender texture.
Brown sugar and granulated sugar: every solid cookie recipe is made with a mixture of brown sugar and white granulated sugar. This recipe uses 3x as much brown sugar as white sugar to have a richer molasse-y taste.
Vanilla Extract:vanilla extract is a MUST to add to the flavor profile of the cookie.
Peppermint Extract:peppermint extract gives these fudgy brownie cake cookies their peppermint flavor. A touch of peppermint extract goes a LONG way.
Candy Canes: crush up your candy canes for a touch of peppermint garnish.
Substitutions and Additions
These are your brownie peppermint cookies, you can customize them however you please with whatever mix-ins you want! Here are some ideas on how to customize your fudgy chocolate cookies.
Chocolate Chips: if you want to make this a triple chocolate brownie peppermint cookie, go ahead and add whole chocolate chips to the batter. You can use milk, semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips.
Nuts: if you want to add a bit of texture to your peppermint cookies, go ahead and add some walnuts or pecans to your batter.
M&Ms: for a fun Christmas pop of color, add the red and green Christmas M&Ms to your fudgy brownie cookies.
Espresso Powder: for an even richer, fudgy chocolate cookie flavor add 1-2 teaspoons of espresso powder to your batter.
How to Make Peppermint Brownie Cookies
I will show you step-by-step how to make these fudgy peppermint brownie cookies. I recommend reading the instructions and tips section before you begin.
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 176°C. Preheat the oven to 350°F or 176°C and place the rack in the center of your oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Mix together with a whisk and set aside.
Melt the chocolate. Add the chocolate chips and butter into a medium heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Don’t let the bowl touch the water below. Stirring occasionally, allowing the chocolate and butter to melt completely until smooth. Set aside to slightly cool.
Mix the eggs and sugar. In the bowl of your stand mixer with a fitted attachment, mix the eggs, brown and white sugars, vanilla and peppermint extract on medium high speed for 5 minutes. The mixture will be pale, fluffy, and shiny.
Add chocolate. Slowly pour the cooled melted chocolate mixture into the eggs while the mixer is on low and beat until fully combined.
Add dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredient mixture and beat on low until combined. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl and mix to combine.
Assemble and bake. For the shiny crinkled tops, don’t let the dough sit! Immediately, scoop the brownie batter onto the prepared baking trays with a cookie scoop leaving 2 inches between each scoop. For cookies without a hump in the middle, use a flat-bottomed cup and gently press the cookies to about 1/2 inch. Bake in the oven for 9-10 minutes until the tops slightly puffy, glossy and cracked.
Top with crushed candy canes. When the cookies are still hot, top them with crushed candy canes. Leave the brownie cookies on the tray for 5 minutes to cool before removing them to cool on a wire rack completely.
Tips for the Best Peppermint Brownie Cookies
Measure your flour with a scale! Adding too much flour to the best monster cookie dough will make it taste…like flour. The best way to measure flour is by using a scale. The second best is to fluff the flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into a measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
Whip the eggs and sugar until pale and aerated. This step is key to creating the crinkle tops and the airy, brownie cake cookie texture. You must use an electric mixer to achieve this. Also, make sure the eggs are at room temperature for an even bake.
Work quickly! I recommend measuring out all of the ingredients before you begin. To ensure that your fudgy chocolate cookies, get their signature crackly top finish, bake them in the oven as soon as you finish mixing them all together.
Use high-quality chocolate. The flavor of these fudgy peppermint brownie cookies stems directly from the quality of your chocolate. For the best flavor, use Rodelle cocoa powder and either Ghiradelli, Guittard, or Lindt chocolate.
Use an oven thermometer! Not all ovens are created equally and you cannot entirely rely on the oven monitor to tell you the truth when it comes to the temperature. The best way to know the most accurate temperature is to place an oven thermometer in your oven and adjust your oven accordingly.
The cookies are done when they begin to crackle. These are in essence brownie crinkle cookies. Once the tops of the cookies begin to crack and the center is puffed and slightly gooey in the middle, pull them from the oven. The cookies will continue to cook as they cool on the sheet pan.
Use a cookie cutter for round cookies. For perfectly round cookies, I recommend using a large cookie cutter and swirling the warm cookies on the baking tray to create perfect circles.
Storage Instructions
These fudgy peppermint cookies will stay moist, and tender for up to 1 week in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
You can alternatively store these chocolate brownie crinkle cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Q’s & A’s
What is the difference between a brownie and a brownie cookie?
Brownies have a thinner, shinier, and glossier batter than fudgy brownie cookies. Brownie batter has less flour than brownie cookie batter but the same amount of chocolate and butter. Brownie cookies need a tad more flour to hold their cookie shape but still have the soft tender texture of a brownie.
Why are my brownie peppermint cookies flat?
Okay, there are a few reasons why your peppermint cookies may be flat
1) Check the expiration of your baking powder to make sure that it is still fresh.
2) Check the percentage of cocoa solids that you have in the chocolate that you melted. Make sure that your chocolate has at least 70% cocoa solids. Too much fat in the chocolate will cause it to spread faster and not rise.
3) Did you use a scale to measure your dry ingredients? This is key to having the perfect ratio of flour to butter. Too much butter and not enough flour will cause the fudgy chocolate cookies to spread into thin discs.
Why don’t my fudgy brownie cookies don’t have crinkle tops?
There are a million different theories about brownies and crinkle tops on the website. Here are a few reasons why you did not achieve the signature crinkle top.
1) The sugar was not dissolved enough when you whipped the eggs. Make sure to whip the eggs and sugar for at least 5 minutes until the eggs are very pale, light, and fluffy. The eggs also must be at room temperature.
2) You did not bake them fast enough. Another secret to shiny crinkle tops is to bake the brownie crinkle cookies as soon as you mix all the ingredients together.
3) It could also be due to the chocolate you used. Not all chocolate is made equally. Higher-quality chocolate will yield shinier and more beautifully crinkled tops.
How do I know when my peppermint brownie crinkle cookies are done?
Do NOT overbake these peppermint cookies. Once they have baked in the oven for 10 minutes, the cookies should look slightly puffy and gooey in the center and slightly cracked.
It’s officially Christmas cookie season which means you definitely need to make these fudgy peppermint brownie cookies. These easy brownie cookies are dense, incredibly chocolatey, and have just enough mint to get you in the holiday spirit.
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 176°C. Preheat the oven to 350°F or 176°C and place the rack in the center of your oven. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Mix together with a whisk and set aside.
Melt the chocolate. Add the chocolate chips and butter into a medium heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Don’t let the bowl touch the water below. Stirring occasionally, allowing the chocolate and butter to melt completely until smooth. Remove the bowl from the top of the saucepan. Set aside to slightly cool.
Mix the eggs and sugar. In the bowl of your stand mixer with a fitted attachment, mix the eggs, brown and white sugars, vanilla, and peppermint extract on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. The mixture will be pale, fluffy, and shiny.
Add the melted chocolate. Slowly pour the cooled melted chocolate mixture into the eggs while the mixer is on low and beat until fully combined.
Add dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredient mixture and beat on low until combined. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl and mix to combine. The dough will be soft.
Assemble and bake. For the shiny crinkled tops, don’t let the dough sit! Immediately, scoop the brownie batter onto the prepared baking trays with a cookie scoop leaving 2 inches between each scoop. For cookies without a hump in the middle, use a flat-bottomed cup and gently press the cookies to about 1/2 inch. Bake in the oven for 9-10 minutes until the tops slightly puffy, glossy and cracked.
Top with crushed candy canes. When the cookies are still hot, top with crushed candy canes. Leave the brownie cookies on the tray for 5 minutes to cool before removing them to cool on a wire rack completely.
Notes
Measure your flour with a scale! Adding too much flour to the cookie dough will make it taste…like flour. The best way to measure flour is by using a scale. The second best is to fluff the flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into a measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
Whip the eggs and sugar until pale and aerated. This step is key to creating the crinkle tops and the airy, brownie cake cookie texture. You must use an electric mixer to achieve this. Also, make sure the eggs are at room temperature for an even bake.
Work quickly! I recommend measuring out all of the ingredients before you begin. To ensure that your fudgy chocolate cookies, get their signature crackly top finish, bake them in the oven as soon as you finish mixing them all together.
Use high-quality chocolate. The flavor of these fudgy peppermint brownie cookies stems directly from the quality of your chocolate. For the best flavor, use Rodelle cocoa powder and either Ghiradelli, Guittard, or Lindt chocolate.
Use an oven thermometer! Not all ovens are created equally and you cannot entirely rely on the oven monitor to tell you the truth when it comes to the temperature. The best way to know the most accurate temperature is to place an oven thermometer in your oven and adjust your oven accordingly.
The cookies are done when they begin to crackle. These are in essence brownie crinkle cookies. Once the tops of the cookies begin to crack and the center is puffed and slightly gooey in the middle, pull them from the oven. The cookies will continue to cook as they cool on the sheet pan.
Use a cookie cutter for round cookies. For perfectly round cookies, I recommend using a large cookie cutter and swirling the warm cookies on the baking tray to create perfect circles.
🥡 Storage Instructions: These fudgy peppermint cookies will stay moist, and tender for up to 1 week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can alternatively store these chocolate brownie crinkle cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
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