Welcome December and cookie season! How is everyone doing? Are you ready for Christmas baking? I’m so ready! Here is a new cookie recipe that you can add to your baking list that is kid friendly, perfect for a cookie swap or just to indulge yourself while watching a Christmas movie.

These cookies have a strong chocolate flavor because I’m using dark cocoa powder and espresso. For the peppermint part, I decided to use peppermint extract, chopped candy canes and make a light drizzle on top with a peppermint flavored chocolate coating.

These cookies need chilling time in the fridge so do not skip this step.

Let’s start with the recipe and if you would like to watch how I made them, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @pastry_tales

Yield about 20 cookies

Ingredients

For the cookie dough

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder (try to find dark cocoa, regular won’t give that nice chocolate flavor that we want to achieve)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2-3 teaspoons espresso powder. I used this one.

pinch of salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup white granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 large or xlarge egg at room temperature

1 teaspoon peppermint extract (not mint extract)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

1/3 cup chopped candy canes (optional)

For the peppermint drizzle

Peppermint flavor coating. I got this one but there are other brands too. If you don’t find peppermint flavor, you can use just white chocolate.

For decorating

chopped candy canes

Directions

For the cookies

1.- In a small bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt and espresso powder. Set aside.

2.- In another bowl and using an electric mixer, beat your butter for about 2 minutes. Then, add granulated and light brown sugar and cream all the ingredients for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add in egg, keep mixing in medium-high speed. Add in peppermint and vanilla extracts. Keep mixing. Stop the mixer and add the dry ingredients. Mix until you don’t see any white from the flour. Finally, add in chocolate chips and chopped candy canes, mix in low speed and that’s it.

3.- Chill your dough for about 2-3 hours but not less otherwise when you try to roll the dough with your hands, it will be sticky and hard to make the cookies.

After the chilling time:

4.- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

5.- Grab a spoon, get some of the dough and form a cookie ball with the palms of your hands, roll it nice and place it on top of your prepared baking sheets, always leaving a good space between the cookies.

6.- Bake cookies for 11 minutes, not more. If you bake them for longer time, they will be crispier than what we really want. 11 MINUTES is the trick!

7.- Take them out from the oven and let them cool completely.

For the peppermint drizzle

In a microwave safe bowl, melt some of the peppermint flavored coating. Do not use the high heat setting because the coating can get burnt. After one minute, take a spoon and give it a stir, if it needs more, heat it up for another minute and check again. Let it cool for a bit and then using a fork drizzle the top of each cookie. You can drizzle the whole top or just half like I did.

For decorating

Before the drizzle sets, sprinkle the chopped candy canes on top. Do this quick because the drizzle sets fast.