Sparkling Peppermint White Chocolate Sugar Cookies: Your Ultimate Holiday Delight
Prepare to fall in love with these irresistible peppermint white chocolate sugar cookies, designed to bring a dazzling sparkle to your holiday season! This exquisite white chocolate peppermint cookies recipe is truly a festive showstopper. Imagine the classic holiday magic of white chocolate peppermint bark, but elevated into a wonderfully soft, chewy, and melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookie. It’s an indulgence that perfectly captures the spirit of the season, making every bite a celebration.
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If you’re searching for more festive baking inspiration, explore some of my other popular cookie recipes like my No Spread Sugar Cookies, the delightful Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies, or the wonderfully spicy Ginger Crinkle Cookies. And for those planning a cookie swap, don’t miss my comprehensive collection of the 45 Best Cookies for Cookie Exchanges!
Peppermint White Chocolate Sugar Cookies: A Glimmering Holiday Tradition
The holiday season, with its twinkling lights and festive cheer, holds a special place in my heart. Everything seems to shimmer and shine, and these peppermint white chocolate cookies are no exception! They are undeniably my favorite Christmastime sugar cookie recipe, celebrated for their incredibly soft texture, remarkable ease of preparation, and that truly festive, sparkly topping. If your quest is for the perfect holiday cookie that embodies both elegance and simplicity, look no further than this delightful peppermint drop cookies recipe. Each cookie is a little piece of holiday magic, promising to spread joy with every bite.
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Elevate Your Holiday Baking with Elegant Peppermint White Chocolate Cookies
Every Christmas Eve, my family cherishes a fun tradition of decorating holiday cookies, usually relying on store-bought dough and frosting. It’s all about the joy and togetherness, not perfection! However, there are those special occasions when you desire something a bit more refined and impressive. Something that truly embodies the elegance of the season. That’s precisely when these stunning peppermint cookies with white chocolate come into play.
This recipe offers a soft, elegant version of holiday cookies, making them impressive enough for even the most sophisticated holiday party. Each cookie boasts a perfect, harmonious balance of vibrant peppermint, rich white chocolate, and subtle vanilla flavors. To crown it all, a crunchy, sparkling sugar topping adds a magical finish. These aren’t just any cookies; these are white chocolate dipped peppermint sugar cookies worthy of the most wonderful time of the year. When you crave cookies that truly stand out and delight, this is the recipe you need.
Crafting the Dream: A Detailed White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies Recipe
This peppermint cookies recipe creates incredibly soft sugar cookies, each infused with a delicate hint of vanilla and invigorating peppermint. But what truly sets them apart is their luscious topping: a homemade peppermint white chocolate ganache. My adoration for white chocolate runs deep, and its combination with peppermint is an absolute match made in heaven for the holidays. Opting for a velvety ganache over a traditional cookie icing provides a richer, more luxurious experience that melts in your mouth.
To complete their enchanting appearance, these cookies are finished with a generous sprinkle of white sparkling sugar. The result? Cookies that look like delicate snowdrifts, freshly fallen and glistening under the winter sun. It’s a visual treat as much as it is a culinary one, making them perfect for gifting, cookie exchanges, or simply enjoying with a warm mug of cocoa.
Essential Ingredients for Irresistible Peppermint White Chocolate Sugar Cookies
To create these delicate and flavorful peppermint white chocolate cookies, we begin with a foundational sugar cookie recipe, but with one crucial twist: swapping traditional granulated sugar for powdered sugar. This seemingly small change makes a world of difference, imparting a uniquely soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture that distinguishes these cookies from others. Let’s delve into the specific ingredients you’ll need for both the cookie dough and the luxurious ganache topping:
For the Soft Sugar Cookie Dough:
- Unsalted Butter: It’s essential that your butter is at room temperature for this recipe. It should be soft enough to indent easily when gently pressed, but not greasy or overly melted. This perfect consistency allows it to cream beautifully with the sugar, creating an airy base for your cookies.
- Powdered Sugar: This is the secret to the cookies’ tender, almost crumbly texture. Unlike granulated sugar, powdered sugar dissolves more completely and contributes to a finer crumb, ensuring your peppermint cookies are incredibly delicate. For the most consistent results, I highly recommend measuring it by weight using a kitchen scale.
- Large Eggs: Like the butter, your eggs should also be at room temperature. This helps them emulsify more effectively with the butter and sugar, leading to a smoother, more uniform dough. A quick trick to warm them up is to let them sit in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Use a high-quality pure vanilla extract to provide a warm, aromatic backdrop that perfectly complements the vibrant peppermint. For an even more rewarding baking experience, consider checking out my guide on how to make vanilla extract at home with just two simple ingredients!
- Peppermint Extract: This powerful ingredient delivers that signature cool, minty flavor without needing any candy cane pieces or crushed peppermint candies in the dough. A touch of good quality peppermint extract is key to achieving the festive taste of these peppermint white chocolate sugar cookies.
- All-Purpose Flour: Accurate measurement of flour is critical for cookie texture. Use a kitchen scale to measure by weight, or employ the spoon-and-level method if measuring by volume, to avoid dry or dense cookies.
- Baking Powder: This leavening agent helps create a light and slightly airy texture, ensuring your cookies aren’t too flat or dense.
- Salt: A small amount of salt enhances and balances all the other flavors, particularly highlighting the sweet white chocolate and refreshing peppermint.
For the Silky White Chocolate Peppermint Ganache:
- Heavy Cream and White Chocolate: These two ingredients are the foundation of our rich and smooth ganache. The quality of your white baking chocolate truly matters here for a superior flavor and texture.
- Peppermint Extract: An additional hint of peppermint extract in the ganache ensures that refreshing minty flavor permeates every aspect of these delicious cookies, creating a delightful double dose of minty goodness.
The Art of the White Chocolate Peppermint Ganache
Creating the white chocolate peppermint ganache is much simpler than it sounds, and there’s plenty of room for slight adjustments. This creamy, decadent topping is a fantastic alternative to traditional peppermint icing for these white chocolate mint cookies. Here are a few tips to ensure your ganache is perfect:
- Achieving the Right Consistency: If your ganache mixture turns out too thick, you can easily rectify it by adding a tiny bit more white chocolate and gently reheating it for about 10 seconds in the microwave, stirring well until smooth. Conversely, if it seems too runny, chilling it in the refrigerator for a bit longer will help it firm up to the desired consistency. Aim for a thick liquid, similar to the consistency of honey, after it has chilled.
- Customizing Your Sparkle: My absolute favorite part of this recipe is adding the sprinkles! I opted for Wilton White Sparkling Sugar to achieve that beautiful, snow-like appearance, which perfectly complements the winter theme. However, feel free to let your creativity shine! You can switch it out for any sprinkles you prefer – perhaps some festive red and green sprinkles for a pop of color, or even finely crushed candy canes for an extra minty crunch and traditional holiday look.
Recommended Equipment for Baking Perfect Peppermint White Chocolate Cookies
While you won’t need highly specialized tools for these delightful white chocolate dipped peppermint sugar cookies, having a few key pieces of equipment can significantly streamline the baking process and ensure your peppermint cookies turn out perfectly. Here’s what I recommend:
- Mixers: A sturdy hand mixer or a stand mixer is invaluable for creaming the butter and sugar thoroughly, ensuring a light and airy dough texture.
- Rolling Pin and Cookie Cutter: To achieve that classic, uniform round shape for your sugar cookies, a reliable rolling pin and a 2-inch round cookie cutter are ideal. However, feel free to use any similarly-sized cookie cutter to match your holiday theme!
- Baking Surface: For consistent baking and easy release, I always bake my cookies on a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper placed on a high-quality cookie sheet, such as my trusty Nordicware sheet pan. These prevent sticking and promote even browning.
- Cooling Rack: Once baked, allowing your cookies to cool completely on a wire rack is crucial. This prevents them from becoming soggy and helps maintain their delicate texture before you add the ganache.
- Kitchen Scale: For ultimate precision in baking, especially with flour and powdered sugar, a food scale is a baker’s best friend.
Expert Tips and Frequently Asked Questions for Perfect Peppermint Sugar Cookies
Absolutely! These white chocolate peppermint cookies are delicate due to the powdered sugar, so handle them with care when transporting or freezing. However, they freeze and thaw exceptionally well. For best results, allow the ganache to set completely before layering them between sheets of parchment paper in an airtight container. They’ll retain their festive flavor and tender texture for weeks, making them ideal for holiday prep!
While peppermint extract is the star flavor in these white chocolate sugar cookies, sugar cookies are wonderfully versatile! You can easily customize the flavor profile to suit any occasion. These cookies would be equally delicious with almond extract for a nutty note, orange extract for a bright, citrusy twist, or even coconut extract for a tropical escape. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different extracts to find your favorite combination!
My number one piece of advice for baking flawless sugar cookies is to never skip chilling your sugar cookie dough! If a recipe specifies chilling time, it’s absolutely essential. With this peppermint sugar cookie recipe, chilling the dough for at least an hour serves multiple purposes: it prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven, ensuring they maintain their crisp edges and soft, tender centers. It also allows the flavors to meld and deepen, resulting in a more delicious cookie.
One common culprit for dry, crumbly peppermint white chocolate cookies is over-measuring flour. Flour is the most frequently mis-measured ingredient in baking! To prevent this, always ensure you measure your flour correctly. My preferred and most accurate method is to use a kitchen scale to measure by weight. Additionally, avoid overmixing the dough once the flour is added, as this can develop gluten too much, leading to tough instead of tender cookies. If you do find your cookie dough is too dry or crumbly, don’t worry! I have helpful tips on how to fix dry, crumbly cookie dough.
For more of my favorite cookie recipes perfect for any occasion, especially the holidays, be sure to check out these Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies! If you’re craving another delightful Christmas cookie recipe, you’ll absolutely adore these Oatmeal Cranberry Pecan Cookies. For those moments when a cookie craving hits hard, my Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter and Sea Salt are the ultimate treat. And for a bright, zesty option that’s always a hit at holiday parties, these Lemon Curd Cookies are simply fantastic!
If chocolate is what you’re after, definitely check out my rich 2 Bite Brownies or my quick Protein Mug Cake! For delicious no-bake options that are always a crowd-pleaser, try my M&M Rice Krispie Treats or my comforting Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats!
If you try this recipe, I would love it if you could leave a star review rating and comment below! It’s so wonderful hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging @chenee_today on Instagram!
📖 Recipe
Peppermint White Chocolate Sugar Cookies – Festive Peppermint Cookie Recipe
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1 hour
5 minutes
10 minutes
1 hour
15 minutes
Dessert, Snack
American
24 cookies
204kcal
Chenée Lewis
Equipment you may need
-
¾ sheet baking pan
-
silicone baking mat
-
whisk
-
hand mixer
-
stand mixer
-
2-inch round cookie cutter
-
parchment paper
-
cooling rack
-
mixing bowls
-
measuring cups and spoons
-
food scale
Ingredients
For the Cookies
-
¾ cup
(170 g)
unsalted butter
– softened -
1 ¾ cup
(210 g)
powdered sugar
– packed -
2
large eggs – room temperature -
½ teaspoon
(2 ml)
pure vanilla extract
-
¾ teaspoon
(4 ml)
peppermint extract
-
2½ cups
(313 g)
all-purpose flour
– 320g -
1 teaspoon
(4 g)
baking powder
-
½ teaspoon
(3 g)
salt
For the White Chocolate Ganache
-
6 tablespoon
(89 ml)
heavy whipping cream
-
8 oz
(227 g)
white baking chocolate
– chopped -
½ teaspoon
(2 ml)
peppermint extract
-
white sparkling sugar
– optional
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Instructions
Prepare Cookies
-
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
-
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together the softened butter and powdered sugar until the mixture is light, fluffy, and smooth. This typically takes about 2-3 minutes.¾ cup unsalted butter,
1 ¾ cup powdered sugar -
Beat in the room temperature eggs one at a time, ensuring each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the pure vanilla extract and peppermint extract until just combined.2 large eggs,
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract,
¾ teaspoon peppermint extract -
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined and a soft dough forms. Be careful not to overmix. Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour (or up to 2 days) to prevent spreading.2½ cups all-purpose flour,
1 teaspoon baking powder,
½ teaspoon salt -
Once chilled, remove about half of the dough from the refrigerator (keeping the other half chilled). On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thick, dusting your rolling pin and dough with flour as needed to prevent sticking.
-
Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter, or any similarly-sized cookie cutter of your choice, to cut out the cookies. Carefully place the cut cookies about 1 inch apart on your prepared baking sheets. Reroll scraps as needed, chilling if the dough becomes too warm.
-
Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly golden. Do not overbake to keep them soft. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make Peppermint White Chocolate Ganache
-
In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the heavy cream for 30-45 seconds, or until it is hot and just beginning to simmer around the edges.6 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
-
Add the chopped white chocolate to the hot cream. Let it sit for 1 minute, then whisk slowly until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. If necessary, microwave for an additional 10 seconds and whisk again. Stir in the peppermint extract until well combined.8 oz white baking chocolate,
½ teaspoon peppermint extract -
Allow the ganache to chill in the refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes, or until it thickens to an opaque, thick liquid consistency similar to honey. Whisk it again before use to ensure it’s smooth.
-
Spread small spoonfuls of the chilled ganache onto each cooled cookie, gently smoothing it with the back of the spoon in a circular motion to create an even layer. If the ganache becomes too thick while you’re working, microwave it on high for another 5 seconds and stir to loosen.
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Generously sprinkle with white sparkling sugar. For an extra festive glimmer, add a second, lighter sprinkle of sugar after the ganache has fully set.white sparkling sugar
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Store the finished cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They can also be frozen for longer storage (see notes below for best freezing practices).
Last Step!
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Notes
I used Wilton White Sparkling Sugar Crystals for that quintessential snowdrift look. However, feel free to get creative with your toppings! You can use red and green sprinkles, finely crushed candy canes, or even a mix of both to perfectly match your festive mood!
Nutrition
Serving:
1
cookie
|
Calories:
204
kcal
|
Carbohydrates:
25
g
|
Protein:
3
g
|
Fat:
11
g
|
Saturated Fat:
7
g
|
Cholesterol:
38
mg
|
Sodium:
108
mg
|
Potassium:
73
mg
|
Fiber:
0.4
g
|
Sugar:
14
g
|
Calcium:
36
mg
|
Iron:
1
mg
Nutrition Disclaimer
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