If you love rich chocolate, you must try these frosted peppermint brownie cookies. This is truly the best frosted peppermint brownie cookies recipe for anyone who craves a fudgy center topped with festive cheer. Every single bite is loaded with deep cocoa flavor and finished with a smooth, minty buttercream that melts in your mouth. When you are searching for brilliant holiday baking recipes or planning out beautiful christmas dessert ideas to impress your family, these cookies deliver spectacular results every single time. They come together easily and require no complicated steps, making them an ideal project for bakers of any skill level. The vibrant crushed candy canes add the perfect amount of crunch. Grab your favorite mixing bowl, preheat your oven to the right temperature, and let us get started on the most delicious batch of cookies you will ever make today. Enjoy!
🔥 Need more rich chocolate cookie inspiration?
Why You’ll Love These Frosted Peppermint Brownie Cookies
These decadent treats deliver the dense, gooey satisfaction of a corner-piece brownie in the convenient form of a cookie. They look stunning on any dessert tray and pack a refreshing minty punch.
- Intensely Fudgy: Melted chocolate in the dough ensures a supremely rich, chewy center.
- Festive Flavor: The combination of dark chocolate and bright peppermint screams holiday joy.
- Beautiful Presentation: Swirls of buttercream and vibrant crushed candy canes make these naturally show-stopping.
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Ingredients Breakdown
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Melted directly into the batter to guarantee a dense, authentic brownie texture.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides just enough structure without turning the fudgy dough cakey.
- Cocoa Powder: Deepens the chocolate profile and creates a gorgeous, dark cookie base.
- Unsalted Butter: Delivers essential fat for a rich mouthfeel while controlling the overall saltiness.
- Brown Sugar: Adds moisture and a hint of molasses, contributing to the ultimate chewiness.
- Granulated Sugar: Promotes a slightly crinkly, crisp edge just like a classic brownie top.
- Eggs: Bind the heavy chocolate ingredients together and provide a slight lift.
- Baking Powder: Offers a gentle rise so the cookies don’t become completely flat puddles.
- Salt: Enhances the cocoa notes and cuts through the intense sweetness of the frosting.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Dissolves seamlessly for a silky, pipeable buttercream frosting.
- Peppermint Extract: Infuses the frosting with a bright, refreshing, and authentic mint flavor.
- Crushed Candy Canes: Provide a stunning visual pop and a highly satisfying crunch.
Tips To Get Your Recipe Right
- Do Not Overbake: Pull the cookies from the oven when the edges are set but the centers still look slightly underdone to achieve that fudgy texture.
- Cool Completely: Never attempt to frost warm cookies; the buttercream will instantly melt and slide right off the edges.
- Quality Chocolate: Use high-quality semi-sweet chocolate chips or bars for melting, as it is the primary flavor profile of the cookie.
- Chill the Dough: If your dough feels too loose after mixing, pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes to make scooping much easier.
- Crush the Canes Finely: Leave a few larger chunks for presentation, but ensure most of the candy canes are crushed finely to make the cookies pleasant to bite.
Storage Tips
- Airtight Storage: Keep the frosted cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days to preserve the buttercream.
- Room Temperature: Allow the chilled cookies to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before eating for the best fudgy texture.
- Freezing the Dough: Freeze unbaked, scooped dough balls for up to two months. Bake from frozen, adding an extra minute to the timer.
- Freezing Baked Cookies: Freeze the cookies completely unfrosted. Thaw at room temperature and apply fresh buttercream and candy canes before serving.
FAQs
Why did my cookies spread too thin?
Spreading usually occurs if your melted chocolate and butter mixture was still too hot when you added the eggs, or if you didn’t use enough flour.
Can I use mint extract instead of peppermint?
It is highly recommended to stick to peppermint. Spearmint or generic “mint” extract can make the cookies taste like toothpaste.
Do I have to use an electric mixer?
A mixer makes creaming the frosting much easier, but the brownie cookie dough can absolutely be mixed by hand with a sturdy spatula.
Can I make the frosting ahead of time?
Yes! You can store the peppermint buttercream in the fridge for up to a week. Just let it come to room temperature and re-whip it before using.
Why did my candy canes melt?
Candy canes will melt and bleed their color if exposed to humidity in the fridge for too long. For the best look, sprinkle them on just before serving.
Frosted Peppermint Brownie Cookies
18
cookies30
minutes10
minutesFudgy chocolate brownie cookies topped with smooth peppermint buttercream and crushed candy canes.
Ingredients
- For The Brownie Dough
226 g Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips + Melted (1 cup)
150 g Brown Sugar (3/4 cup)
130 g All-Purpose Flour (1 cup)
113 g Unsalted Butter + Melted (1/2 cup)
100 g Granulated Sugar (1/2 cup)
30 g Cocoa Powder (1/4 cup)
2 Large Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
- For The Peppermint Frosting
240 g Confectioners' Sugar (2 cups)
113 g Unsalted Butter + Softened (1/2 cup)
1 tbsp Milk
1/2 tsp Peppermint Extract
- For The Topping
50 g Crushed Candy Canes + Finely Chopped (1/2 cup)
Directions
- Preheat and Prepare: Start by turning your oven to 350°F. Grab two large baking trays and line them completely with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Melt the Chocolate: In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the semi-sweet chocolate chips and the unsalted butter. Heat them in 30-second intervals, stirring vigorously in between, until the mixture is completely smooth and glossy. Let it sit for a few minutes to cool slightly.
- Whisk the Sugars and Eggs: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract together until the mixture lightens in color and becomes slightly frothy.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: Slowly pour the slightly cooled melted chocolate and butter mixture into the egg mixture, stirring continuously until everything is beautifully combined.
- Add the Dry Ingredients: Sift the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt directly over the wet chocolate mixture. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the dry ingredients in. Stop mixing as soon as the last streak of flour disappears to ensure a tender cookie.
- Scoop and Bake: Portion the thick batter into 2-tablespoon mounds and drop them onto your lined baking sheets, spacing them about two inches apart. Bake on the center rack for 9 to 11 minutes. The tops should look crackly while the centers remain very soft.
- Cool Completely: Let the brownie cookies rest on the hot trays for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack. They must be entirely cool before the next step.
- Whip the Frosting: While the cookies cool, use an electric mixer to beat the softened unsalted butter until pale and creamy. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, milk, and peppermint extract. Whip on high speed for 2 minutes until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
- Decorate and Serve: Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature, generously spread or pipe the peppermint frosting over the top of each one. Immediately sprinkle the finely chopped candy canes over the fresh frosting so they stick perfectly.
