Shortbread is a simple and delicious cookie that is super adaptable! One of my favorite variations are these chocolate peppermint shortbread cookies that are dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes! They make perfect Christmas cookies!
You might also like this chocolate peppermint biscotti or these hot chocolate cupcakes!
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Ingredient Notes
You only need a few ingredients to make these chocolate peppermint shortbread!
Cocoa Powder - My absolute favorite cocoa powder to use in my baking is the King Arthur Flour Triple Cocoa Blend! It's a blend of natural, Dutch, and black cocoa and is perfect for any baking. But you can easily substitute unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa instead!
Peppermint Extract - You can find peppermint extract next to the vanilla at the grocery store or online! Just note that peppermint extract is very strong, so you only need a little bit for great peppermint flavor!
White Chocolate - You can use white chocolate baking bars or white chocolate chips to melt to dip the biscotti in.
Candy Canes - You can use crushed candy canes or crushed peppermints for the topping!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Chocolate Shortbread
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
Then add in the vanilla extract and peppermint extract and mix until fully combined.
Mix in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt until just combined. The dough should come together into a soft but not sticky ball.
Divide in half and press the dough into discs. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or a minimum of at least 2 hours).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
I use a 3 inch shortbread cookie cutter for these chocolate peppermint shortbread cookies but you can cut the cookies in whatever shapes you like!
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough ¼ inch thick and cut into your desired shaped.
Place cutout cookies 1-2 inches apart on your baking sheet (they won’t spread much).
Place the baking sheet in the freezer for a minimum of 20 minutes (or the fridge for 40 minutes) before baking to allow the cookies to firm back up. This ensures the cookies won't spread during baking.
While the cookies are chilling, preheat your oven to 350°F.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are set. Bake on the middle rack of the oven and rotate the pan halfway through baking for the best results.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then remove and let them finish cooling on a cooling rack.
Let the cookies cool completely before decorating.
Dip the cookies halfway (or more, you do you) into the melted white chocolate and place back on the cooling rack. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint before the chocolate cools and hardens.
Tips for Perfect Cookies
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, crumbly cookies that don't spread.
Make sure your oven is the proper temperature! Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is exactly 350°F. If the oven is too cold, the cookies will spread too much and if it's too hot they centers won't bake all the way through. For example, my oven is about 20 degrees off. So I have to set the oven to 370°F in order to get it to bake at 350°F.
Use a lightweight, light colored baking sheet for best results! Believe it or not, a lighter pan makes the cookies bake more slowly than a dark pan, which helps keep them from spreading too much. My favorite pans for baking cookies are:
You also want to use either parchment paper or silicone mats on your cookie sheet to help keep the cookies from spreading.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time, on the center rack. This will ensure all your cookies cook evenly and the bottoms don't burn. Then let the cookie sheet cool completely between batches. This ensures the cookies cook evenly and don't spread too much by being put on a hot pan.
Always under-bake the cookies! If you slightly under-bake the cookies (so the centers are still soft when you remove them from the oven), they'll stay soft and chewy for days!
Do the cookie scoot! In order to get perfectly round cookies, use a large cookie cutter to gently scoot them around as soon as they come out of the oven!
Recipe FAQ's
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Chilling the shortbread dough allows the flour to hydrate a bit and ensures the butter is super cold. This keeps your cookies from spreading too much and completely flattening out.
Yes! You can freeze either the dough or the baked cookies! The freeze the dough, wrap tightly and then place in a freezer safe bag for 2-3 months. Let thaw in the fridge overnight before using. Baked cookies can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months (I like to freeze them before dipping in chocolate).
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes!
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Recipe Card
Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Topping
- 4 ounces white chocolate, melted
- ¼ cup crushed peppermint
Instructions
Cookies
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.
- Then add in the vanilla extract and peppermint extract and mix until fully combined.
- Mix in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt until just combined. The dough should come together into a soft but not sticky ball.
- Divide in half and press the dough into discs. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or a minimum of at least 2 hours).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough ¼ inch thick and cut into your desired shaped. Place cutout cookies 1-2 inches apart on your baking sheet (they won’t spread much).
- Place the baking sheet in the freezer for a minimum of 20 minutes (or the fridge for 40 minutes) before baking to allow the cookies to firm back up. This ensures the cookies won't spread during baking.
- While the cookies are chilling, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are set. Bake on the middle rack of the oven and rotate the pan halfway through baking for the best results.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, then remove and let them finish cooling on a cooling rack.
- Let the cookies cool completely before decorating.
- Dip the cookies halfway (or more, you do you) into the melted white chocolate and place back on the cooling rack. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint before the chocolate cools and hardens.
- Let the chocolate harden completely before removing from the cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Brit says
I baked these yesterday and they turned out pretty good! I’m not sure how to achieve a smooth white chocolate Dip on the cookies. Wish mine looked as pretty as yours do!
Makayla says
I absolutely LOVE these. I just wish I could get them to look as pretty as yours!