These candy cane chocolate chip cookies are the easiest way to make festive holiday cookies without any fuss! With soft and chewy centers, crispy edges, and loaded with semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and crushed candy canes that add little pops of delightful crunch throughout, these are sure to be a hit with your family and friends this holiday season. What makes our recipe special is how simple it is (we’re talking classic chocolate chip cookie base here), but the crushed candy canes make them feel totally festive and fun. Plus, they’re ready in just 30 minutes with no chill time required, which is a total win during the busy holiday season!
If you’re like me and cookies are one of your absolute favorite things to bake (especially during the holidays!), you know that sometimes you just need a recipe that’s quick, easy, and still feels special. Over the past 20 years of doing our annual Christmas cookie baking marathon with my mom, I’ve learned that not every holiday cookie needs to be complicated or time-consuming to be delicious and impressive.
Like our Christmas m&m cookies, these candy cane cookies are great for when you want to whip up something festive fast. The texture is wonderful with that soft, chewy middle and crispy edges, and the ratio of chocolate chips to candy canes to cookie is spot on. When you bite into one, you get a nice balance between the chocolate and peppermint (it’s not overwhelming like some minty treats can be), and a satisfying little crunch from the candy cane pieces. It’s a whole experience of joy, honestly!
You’ll Love These Easy Christmas Cookies
Ready in 30 minutes. No chill time for the dough is needed for these cookies! You can have a warm, fresh-baked holiday cookie to enjoy (or devour…) from start to finish in half an hour.
Simple festive twist. This is basically a classic chocolate chip cookie with crushed candy canes added, so it’s easy to make but feels totally special for the holidays.
Amazing texture. Soft and chewy centers, crisp edges, and a fun little crunch from the candy cane pieces in every bite.
Freezer-friendly. Freeze the dough balls or baked cookies for up to 3 months, making these great for holiday baking prep.
Ingredients for Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Salted butter, softened. Creates a rich, tender cookie and helps them spread just the right amount while baking.
- Granulated sugar and brown sugar. Work together to create the right sweetness level and create soft, chewy centers. Both light or dark brown sugar will work great!
- Large egg. Binds everything together and adds structure to the cookies.
- Vanilla extract. Enhances all the flavors and adds warmth to the cookies.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances all the chocolate and peppermint flavors.
- Baking soda and baking powder. These work together to help the cookies rise and create the right soft and chewy texture.
- All-purpose flour. Provides structure and helps the cookies hold their shape.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips. Classic chocolate flavor that pairs nicely with the peppermint.
- White chocolate chips. Adds sweet, creamy pockets of white chocolate throughout the cookies that also pairs wonderfully with the peppermint.
- Crushed peppermint candy cane pieces. The star of the show! Brings festive peppermint flavor, bright pops of red color, and a delightful crunch to every bite. I recommend crushing them in a zip-top bag with a rolling pin to help keep the mess contained. However, I’ve been finding crushed peppermint candy pre-bagged at my grocery store and Target this year, which takes the work out of it for you (score!).
You’ll find complete ingredient measurements and all recipe details in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Candy Cane Cookies
Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F and set out two full-size cookie sheets (you can line them with parchment paper if you’d like for easier clean up, but it’s optional).
Cream the butter and sugars. In a the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon), add the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.
Cream together on medium speed (or by hand) until the mixture is uniform. It will look a bit grainy and pale yellow, and be a bit fluffy. Then add the wet ingredients.
Mix until everything is well combined, then slowly mix in the dry ingredients starting with the salt, baking soda, baking powder.
Then add the flour a little bit at a time and mix until a dough forms.
Add the mix-ins. Add both types of chocolate chips and the crushed candy cane pieces to the dough.
Gently mix until the mix-ins are well distributed throughout the dough.
Scoop the dough. Using a medium-sized cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons), make dough balls and place them 2 inches apart on your baking sheets.
Top with extra goodies. Gently press a generous pinch of additional crushed candy cane pieces and some extra chocolate chips (about 3 of each type) on top of each dough ball. This makes them look extra pretty!
Bake. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies are done when they begin to turn lightly golden brown and the edges look set. For even browning, rotate the pan 180° halfway through the baking time.
Cool. Allow the cookies to rest for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Candy Cane Cookie Variation Ideas
- Add peppermint extract. These cookies purposely don’t have an overwhelming amount of peppermint. But for you peppermint lovers, you can definitely amp up the peppermint flavor! Simply add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract to your dough at the same time you add the vanilla extract.
- Use all semi-sweet chocolate chips. If you prefer just one type of chocolate, use 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (for a single batch) instead of mixing the two different types of chips into the dough.
- Try white chocolate peppermint cookies. Use all white chocolate chips (1 cup total for a single batch) for a sweeter, creamier cookie that really highlights the peppermint.
- Replace the candy cane pieces with another minty candy. Instead of crushed candy canes, try using Andes mint baking chips for a different texture and flavor (I’ve been seeing these at my grocery store and at Target this year too!).
Expert Tips for Making Holiday Cookies
Don’t overbake. For soft and chewy cookies, pull them out of the oven when the edges are just set and tops are just turning golden brown. They’ll continue to cook a bit on the hot baking sheet, so slightly underbaking is better than overbaking.
Press extra toppings on before baking. Adding those extra chocolate chips and candy cane pieces on top of each dough ball before baking makes them look bakery-quality, adds just the right amount of extra chocolate and candy cane goodness to take the cookies from great to fantastic, and ensures every cookie has those pretty peppermint bits on top.
Use room temperature butter. Softened butter creates the right dough consistency (especially in this no chill recipe). If your butter is too cold, the dough will be hard to mix together and the cookies won’t spread properly. If the butter is fully melted, the cookies will spread too much during baking.
How to Store Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cookies
Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Using parchment paper or wax paper between layers helps to prevent the cookies from sticking together.
You can also freeze these cookies, either as dough balls before baking or after they’re baked and cooled for up to 3 months!
How to Freeze Before Baking
Make the cookie dough as directed in the recipe card, scooping them onto a wax-paper lined cookie sheet and adding the extra toppings. The dough balls can be close together but avoid touching at this point (they’ll get frozen/stuck together). Chill them in the freezer for 1 hour.
Once the dough is cold and solid, transfer to a large plastic freezer bag that is labeled with the recipe title, date it was made, and baking temperature, and baking time needed (to bake from frozen, simply add 2-3 minutes to the normal baking time noted on the recipe card). Freeze for up to 3 months.
This is a great way to prep ahead for the holidays so you can have fresh-baked cookies anytime!
How to Freeze After Baking
Ensure cookies are completely cool prior to freezing. Place cooled cookies in in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag with parchment paper between layers and freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes before eating.
Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe FAQs
This usually happens if your butter was too soft or melted when mixed into the dough, if too much sugar was added, or if your oven temperature is too low (an oven that’s too cool will cause the fat to melt before the cookie’s structure sets up).
Ensuring your butter is at softened (when you press a finger into the butter it should leave a slight indentation without it feeling greasy or going all the way through), correctly measuring the sugars, and using a oven thermometer to verify your oven is actually at 375°F can be helpful to prevent this.
Some melting is normal and actually creates a nice effect, but to minimize it, make sure your candy cane pieces aren’t too small (you want them in chunks, not crushed so much it’s a powder). Also, pressing them on top of the dough balls right before baking rather than mixing all of them into the dough helps them stay more visible and crunchy.
Love These Easy Christmas Cookies? Try One of These Cookie Recipes Next!
Easy Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies with Candy Canes
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment -or- Large Mixing Bowl and Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- ½ Cup salted butter, softened
- ½ Cup granulated sugar
- ¼ Cup brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1.5 Cups all-purpose flour
- ½ Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips + more for topping dough balls before baking*
- ½ Cup white chocolate chips + more for topping dough balls before baking*
- ¼ Cup crushed peppermint candy cane pieces + more for topping dough balls before baking*
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F and set out two full-size cookie sheets (you can line them with parchment paper for easier clean up if desired, but it's optional).
- Cream the butter and sugars. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the softened butter and both sugars. It will look a bit grainy, be pale yellow, and become a bit fluffy.½ Cup salted butter, softened½ Cup granulated sugar¼ Cup brown sugar
- Add the wet ingredients. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract until everything is well combined.1 large egg1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Mix in the dry ingredients. Start with the salt, baking soda, baking powder, and then slowly mix in the flour until a dough forms.½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon baking powder1.5 Cups all-purpose flour
- Add the mix-ins. Gently mix in both types of chocolate chips and the crushed candy cane pieces until they're well distributed throughout the dough.½ Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips + more for topping dough balls before baking*½ Cup white chocolate chips + more for topping dough balls before baking*¼ Cup crushed peppermint candy cane pieces + more for topping dough balls before baking*
- Scoop the dough. Using a medium-sized cookie scoop (about 2 tablespoons), make dough balls and place them 2 inches apart on your baking sheets.
- Top with extra chocolate and candy cane pieces. Gently press a generous pinch of additional crushed candy cane pieces and some extra chocolate chips (about 3 of each type) on top of each dough ball.
- Bake. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cookies are done when they begin to turn lightly golden brown and the edges look set.
- Cool. Allow the cookies to rest for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- Add peppermint extract. These cookies purposely don’t have an overwhelming amount of peppermint. But if you’d prefer a stronger peppermint flavor, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract to your dough at the same time you add the vanilla extract.
- Use one type of chocolate chip. If preferred, you can use all semi-sweet or all white chocolate chips for this recipe (1 cup total for a single batch). All semi-sweet chips will create a cookie with a bolder chocolate flavor. All white chips will make a sweeter, creamier cookie that really highlights the peppermint.
- Replace the candy cane pieces with another minty candy. Instead of crushed candy canes, try another option like Andes mint baking chips for a different texture and flavor.
Meredith says
These are SO GOOD. The little added crunch from the candy cane pieces is next level