These Peppermint Sugar Cookies are lovely cookies to make for the holiday season!
This has always been a pretty popular holiday cookie recipe here on the RecipeGirl website. The recipe first appeared in an old Bon Appetit magazine. But it needed a bit of re-working. These peppermint sugar cookies are more like a shortbread cookie than a sugar cookie. They are light and flaky, and the peppermint flavor is not overwhelming. The addition of crushed candy canes makes them perfectly festive.
Ingredients needed:
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- butter
- powdered sugar
- egg yolk
- egg whites
- peppermint extract
- crushed peppermint candy
Ingredient notes:
Use peppermint extract. Do not use mint or spearmint extract, unless you want your cookies to taste like toothpaste! For the crushed peppermint candy, it’s okay to use candy canes. But you can also use the little round peppermints. Just smash them to bits, and you’ll be good to go.
How to make Peppermint Sugar Cookies:
Make the dough using an electric mixer. Stir in crushed peppermint candy. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.
Form the chilled dough into balls. Roll the dough balls in powdered sugar and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a fork to create a criss-cross on the top of each sugared cookie dough ball. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet. Then move them to a rack to cool completely.
Peppermint sugar cookies are a good recipe to add to your holiday baking list. They’d even be a good cookie to bake for a cookie exchange party!
If you are looking for more holiday cookie recipes, you might like to try these:
- Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
- Eggnog Cookies
- Yellow Cake Batter Christmas Cookies
- Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps
- Chewy Molasses Spice Cookies
Peppermint Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 large egg whites
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract (NOT mint or spearmint)
- ½ cup (about 3 ounces) finely crushed hard peppermint candies or candy canes
- additional powdered sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients- flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and beat until blended. Add the egg whites and peppermint extract and mix well (the mixture will look grainy). Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Stir in the peppermint candies.
- Gather the dough into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats, or spray with nonstick spray.
- Form the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in powdered sugar and place them on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2-inches apart. Using the tines of a fork, flatten each cookie, creating a crisscross pattern.
- Bake until the cookies are golden on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool completely.
Notes
- *Use round peppermint mints or small candy canes (they easier to unwrap than the larger ones).
- *These cookies turn out best if mint is crushed finely, with few large "chunks" of peppermint.
- *Reader tip: Add white chocolate chips! Or melt the white chocolate and drizzle it on top.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made these with only about 3/4 powdered sugar, and about 1 cup raw sugar. and no peppermint extract. Only baked them for 10 minutes and they were so YUMMY!! Perfect amount of sugar cookie taste with a hint of peppermint. And they stayed soft for a few days!
I was also a little underwhelmed. They weren’t very sweet. I sprinkled granulated sugar on top when they came out of the oven to sweeten them up a little, but the still need something. I think a peppermint kiss in the middle would be a yummy addition. It’s a good base cookie, but definitely needs a frosting or candy or something.
I am allergic to chocolate and peanut butter, and so I get sick of plain sugar cookies! These are AMAZING!!! I love the crunchy bits of peppermint within the cookie. I made these with the peppermint extract, and the flavor was really good. I could hardly wait for them to cool! WONDERFUL!!
I put chopped up peppermint kisses in the cookies and it was delicious!
These tasted more like peppermint shortbread cookies versus sugar cookies, but still buttery and tasty. I also rolled the little dough balls in granulated sugar before popping them into the oven for a little sparkle.
Loved them!
I used the peppermint extract and found them soft, sweet and pepperminty!
Thanks!!
Hi there, my friend and I found your recipe on Pinterest and absolutely love this cookie! We added white chocolate drizzle and more crushed candy on top yum!(also the peppermint extract) I hope you don’t mind I shared a link to your recipe on my blog today.
I made these and thought they were just a little bland. That could have been my fault though. They’re really pretty! I decided to add some white chocolate chips to my second batch to add some flavor. I think if I did it again I would add some peppermint extract too.
These cookies are delectable….. What a great twist on a common sugar cookie. I absolutely love peppermint and these are the perfect treat for the mint lover… To add an little extra punch, I added a few drops of peppermint essential oil, food grade, of course. I could barely contain myself before they got out of the oven…. the perfect addition to my Holiday baking!!
I made these cookies the other day and was a bit underwhelmed. I used a store-brand peppermint candy and I’m wondering if they were the problem, because these cookies had barely any peppermint flavor at all. They’re pretty and tasty, with a nice buttery flavor and I’ll definitely make them again, but next time I’ll add some peppermint extract.