I love the different coffee flavors of each season. At Christmastime, I reach for a hot (or cold!) cup of peppermint mocha. Its rich, chocolatey and has just a touch of spice from the peppermint. What could be better than that you ask? How about a peppermint mocha in the form of a cookie!
The essentials:
For this recipe, you will need some pretty basic cookie ingredients such as butter, eggs and sugar. But let’s start with the ingredients that you might not already have on hand.
Espresso powder packs a powerful coffee flavor. It does not make your cookies taste like coffee, but instead brings out the richness of the chocolate. You can substitute instant granules but would need to increase the amount a bit because they are not as strong. Skip the regular ground coffee for this recipe!
You can’t make peppermint mocha cookies without peppermint, so head to your local store and grab a bag of these peppermint baking chips. They are sometimes hidden among the specialty or seasonal items. They pack a very concentrated flavor!
The Peppermint Mocha dough:
Begin by mixing your butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.
The add your dry ingredients (flour last) and mix until just combined. Always avoid mixing for too long as this will activate the gluten in the flour and give you tougher cookies. Once its mixed, you will think you’re making a bowl of brownies!
After you have mixed all of the ingredients, you can add in the peppermint chips. Mix them on low speed so as not to crush them completely. Because these chips are so strong, you can decrease the amount to 3/4 of a cup if you wish to taste more of the chocolate.
It is important to refrigerate the peppermint mocha dough for at least three hours so that you don’t end up with a flat cookie. Once it has chilled, scoop it into balls and place on a baking sheet. Begin checking them at the minimum time as always. They will seem as though they are still raw in the middle, but trust me, they are not. They will firm as they cool.
Cool for several minutes until they are firm enough to transfer to a cooling rack. These cookies are soft, chewy and loaded with flavor! Perfect with a cup of your favorite coffee! Happy Baking!
Peppermint Mocha Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ c +2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ⅙ tsp salt
- 2 tsp espresso powder
- 1 cup** Andes peppermint baking chips (see recipe note)
Instructions
- In a large bowl of mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy
- Add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed, scraping the sides and bottom of bowl as needed
- Add cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder and salt and mix on low speed until just combined
- Slowly add in flour and mix on low speed until combined. Do not overmix. Dough will be very thick
- Add peppermint chips and mix on low just until incorporated.
- Cover dough and place in refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Remove dough and let sit on counter for about 20 minutes to soften
- Scoop by rounded 1 ½ to 2 tablespoonsful onto a greased baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes (cookies will still appear raw in the center but they are not!)
- Allow to cool on pan for several minutes before removing to wire rack to finish cooling
- Store in an airtight container
Notes
