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Last Updated on February 25, 2021 by Chenée Lewis
Welcome to Day 5 of my #Chenees12Days 12 Days of Christmas Cookies Celebration! To celebrate Day 5, I’m updating the photos for this peppermint white chocolate cookies recipe from a year ago that is still one of my favorites! Enjoy!
It’s finally the holiday season! By far my favorite time of year. Everything just seems to be glittery and bright, and these peppermint white chocolate cookies are no exception! They’re my favorite Christmastime sugar cookie recipe because they’re so soft, SO easy to make, and so festive with their sparkly topping! If you’re looking for a great holiday cookie, look no further than this white chocolate peppermint cookie recipe!
Every Christmas Eve, my family and I make sugar cookies, but according to our family tradition they’re always made with store-bought dough and store-bought frosting. No perfection here; just a fun, easy tradition with the family. But— sometimes you want a soft, elegant version. A sparkling sugar cookie that is impressive enough for a swanky holiday party. One that has a perfect balance of peppermint, white chocolate, and vanilla flavors, and a crunchy sparkly sugar topping. Peppermint white chocolate cookies that are to die for. When you want cookies like that, you need to make these.
These white chocolate dipped sugar cookies are a soft sugar cookie with a hint of vanilla and peppermint, and they’re topped with a peppermint white chocolate ganache. I love white chocolate! And the combination of white chocolate and peppermint is just perfect for the holidays, so I went with a ganache rather than a traditional cookie icing. Finally, they’re finished with white sparkling sugar. They look like a freshly-fallen snowdrift glistening in the sun!
How do you make these cookies?
These peppermint white chocolate cookies start with a classic sugar cookie recipe, with powdered sugar swapped in for granulated sugar. The powdered sugar is important — it gives the cookies a softer, melt-in-your-mouth texture that makes all the difference! To make the cookie dough, you’ll need:
- butter
- powdered sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- peppermint extract
- flour
- baking powder
- salt
And then for the ganache, you’ll just need:
- heavy cream
- white chocolate
- peppermint extract
The white chocolate peppermint ganache is much easier than it sounds, and there’s definitely room for trial and error. If the mixture is too thick, you can add a bit more chocolate, or heat it for 10 seconds in the microwave. If it’s too runny you can chill it a bit longer in the refrigerator. It’s a fantastic alternative to peppermint icing for cookies.
Then comes my favorite part — the sprinkles! I used Wilton White Sparkling Sugar, because I was going for that snowball look. But you can switch it out for any sprinkles you prefer!
These cookies are so easy and so festive for this time of year! Give them a try for your next holiday cookie swap or bake-off!
Equipment
You won’t need any special equipment for these peppermint white chocolate cookies, but it is a good idea to use a few tools to make your Cookes the best they can be! I like to use a 2-inch cookie cutter to get that perfect round shape, and I always make cookies on my Silpat baking mat and Nordicware sheet pan.
Related Recipes
These peppermint white chocolate cookies are just the beginning! I’ve got lots of cookies for your holiday celebrations and Christmas cookie gifts! Check out my oatmeal cranberry pecan cookies, made with candied pecans and dried cranberries. They’re so easy and delicious!
You should also definitely check out one of my best-loved recipes, these salted caramel cinnamon thumbprint cookies! They’re so soft and delicious, but still so easy to make! The combination of cinnamon and salted caramel is definitely a winner.
Equipment you may need
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter - softened
- 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar - packed
- 2 large eggs - room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp peppermint extract
- 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour - 320g
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the White Chocolate Ganache
- 6 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 8 oz white baking chocolate - chopped
- ½ tsp peppermint extract
- white sparkling sugar - optional
Instructions
Prepare Cookies
- In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and peppermint extract. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover dough and chill in the refrigerator for least one hour.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Roll out dough on floured surface to ¼ inch thick,dusting dough and rolling pin with flour as needed. Place any dough not being cut into the fridge to stay cool.
- Cut into rounds with a 2-inch round cookie cutter, or any similarly-sized cookie cutter of your choice. Place cookies 1 inch apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Bake 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Make Peppermint White Chocolate Ganache
- Microwave heavy cream for 30-45 seconds in microwave-safe bowl until hot.
- Add white chocolate and whisk to slowly melt chocolate, heating another 10 seconds if necessary, until smooth. Whisk in peppermint extract.
- Let ganache chill in refrigerator 30 min. Whisk again. It should be a opaque with a thick liquid consistency, like honey.
- Spread small spoonfuls of ganache onto each cooled cookie, smoothing with the back of the spoon in a circular motion. If ganache thickens too much while you're working, microwave on high for another 5 seconds and stir.
- Sprinkle with white sparkling sugar. For added sparkle, sprinkle a bit more sugar after ganache has set completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. You can also freeze them (see note).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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These were soooo delicious and so easy to make! Not to mention, the sparkles on top made these look so beautiful. You always have such yummy recipes ?
Thank you so much! They’re one of my favorite Christmas cookies!
Perfect cookies for our cookie swap this year. The frosting is my favorite part and so simple! Nobody could believe it only called for three ingredients.
Thanks! These are great for a cookie swap!
These cookies were so soft and we loved the white chocolate ganache! Definitely making them again soon!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
I know I can always count on you whenever I’m in the mood for something sweet! These cookies were delicious and so fun to make with my 2 kids! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much! I’m glad you guys had fun making them! 🙂
First off I love a good sugar cookie recipe and this was that! The peppermint and sugar crystals really set this cookie apart! Thanks for sharing – hubby and I loved it.
I”m so glad you both enjoyed!!
Seriously Chenee, these are SO dang good. I included these cookies in a batch that I dropped off for my neighbor and she keeps hitting me up for the recipe. Texting her the link right now! Your recipes are always so delicious and reliable.
Thank you so much Adri! And thanks for passing it along!!
Finally an easy sugar cookie recipe with some FLAVOR! They also look so gorgeous and don’t require advanced decorating skills. These will be going in my holiday cookie gift boxes.
Thank you!! And yeah I think these would be great in a cookie gift box!
I easily choose white chocolate over milk chocolate anyday. These cookies ate so tasty and beautiful. I miss real butter so much!
I definitely prefer white chocolate over milk chocolate! So good.
These were our weekly baking project for our homeschool Home Ec class. The kids loved the peppermint flavor and I loved that your instructions make it more hands off for me!
Sounds so fun! I’m glad you all enjoyed 🙂
These look amazing! Can’t wait to try!
Thanks! I hope you enjoy them!
Really any soft cookie is a win for me, but these were topped a with a gorgeous peppermint, white chocolate and vanilla icing. I’m in love!
I’m so glad you liked them!
Very elegantly written! This post totally matches the cookies themselves. I appreciate you linking to baking tools. I love watching baking shows and when I see tools, I always wonder what they are called or where I can get them. Now I know. Thank you ?
Thanks! I’m so glad you liked the recipe 🙂