These dark Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies are perfect for Christmas cookie trays. They have a fudgy texture and lots of holiday flavor, with peppermint chips, white chocolate chips, and Oreo cookies in each bite!
Looking for more peppermint treats? Try these peppermint Oreo balls and this candy cane bark.
A few years ago, I made these peppermint Oreo cookies, and right away, they became an extremely popular Christmas cookie. Years later, they are still our number one cookie recipe.
That got me thinking. How could I take that popular peppermint cookie recipe make it even better? Since chocolate and peppermint is a classic holiday flavor, I chose a chocolate cake mix with extra peppermint flavor.
Chocolate is always the answer to making things better, right?
Why You Will Love These Cookies
- Easy to make with just a few ingredients.
- Cake mix cookies stay soft for days!
- The contrast of red, white, and brown makes them stand out on cookie trays.
- Chocolate and peppermint is a fantastic flavor combo!
- It is guaranteed to be everyone's new favorite holiday cookie.
Key Ingredient Notes
You will only need a few extra ingredients added to a cake mix to have soft and delicious holiday cookies this year. Have fun adding different mix-ins and making your personal flavor for Christmas parties.
- Chocolate Cake Mix - All you will use for this recipe is the dry cake mix. Do not follow the back of the directions. I have found that a Pillsbury cake mix or an Aldi cake mix works best for puffy cookies!
- Butter & Cream Cheese - Set these out beforehand so they are soft enough to mix into the dry cake mix.
- Egg - Gives enough moisture to create a thick cookie dough.
- Peppermint Chips - Andes peppermint crunch chips and peppermint extract; ensure you know this is a peppermint cookie.
- White Chocolate Chips - I like the contrast of the white chip with the dark chocolate cookie. You can also use dark or milk chocolate chips for more chocolate.
How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies
The dough for this chocolate peppermint cookie recipe comes together in minutes. Just make sure you allow enough time to chill the dough before baking.
- Mix the dry cake mix, butter, cream cheese, egg, and extract in a mixing bowl until a soft dough forms.
- Use a spoon or spatula to gently stir the Oreo cookie chunks, white chips, and peppermint chips. Please do not use an electric mixer to do this because it will break up the cookies too much.
- Refrigerate the dough for at least 60 minutes.
- Scoop into 24 even dough balls and place 12 on a baking sheet. Refrigerate the other 12.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool for 2 minutes on the hot pan to finish baking.
- Use a flat spatula to gently tap the tops of the cookies to flatten them out, if desired.
- Gently move the cookies to a piece of parchment paper on the counter.
- Press a few extra chips into the top of the warm cookies and let them cool completely before storing.
What if I can't find peppermint chips?
The Andes chips seem to be hard to find every year. You can chop up the Andes peppermint crunch thins (found at Target), Hershey's candy cane kisses, or Ghirardelli peppermint bark instead of the chips.
Can I make these ahead of time?
Yes, cake mix cookies stay soft for a few extra days, so they can be made a few days before you need them.
The dough balls can also be frozen and stored in the freezer for 2-3 months. Thaw the dough balls in the fridge overnight before baking. You can also bake the frozen dough, but you must add a few extra minutes to the bake time.
Storage Recommendations
Keep the cake mix cookies in a sealed container on the counter for 5-6 days. If they last that long...
The cookies can also be frozen for 1-2 months. Wrap each cookie tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer-safe bag or container. Allow the cookies to thaw at room temperature for a few hours before serving.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure you refrigerate your cookie dough. It will be very soft when you first mix it up. Just put your bowl in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes.
- Roll the dough into even dough balls. I like to use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop so everything is the same uniform size.
- Please do not overbake these cookies. You will question me when you take your pan out of the oven. TRUST ME! They should and will look underdone!
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies sit on it for 2 minutes before gently placing them on parchment paper.
- Tap the tops of each cookie gently with the flat edge of a spatula. They will firm as they cool.
- Press a few extra chips into the tops of the warm cookies to make them look like they came from a bakery.
Packaging Ideas
I found these cute red berry baskets and holiday stickers at Michael's craft store. A strip of black and white washi tape around the basket with the label gave it a fun Santa look.
Blue filler paper adds a contrasting color, making the basket and cookies stand out.
Wrap six cookies in a cellophane bag and tie the top of the package with red and white baker twine. A small snowflake ornament completes the look.
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
- Peppermint Meltaways
- Mint Chocolate Pudding Cookies
- Cherry Chip Cake Mix Cookies
- Chocolate Cookies with Peppermint Kisses
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Chocolate Sprinkle Cookies
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Recipe
Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies
These dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are the perfect treat for Christmas cookie trays. They have a fudgy texture and lots of holiday flavor from peppermint chips, white chocolate chips, and Oreo cookies in each bite!
Ingredients
- 1 dark chocolate cake mix
- 8 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup Oreo cookie chunks (7-8 cookies)
- 1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch chips
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Mix together the cake mix, butter, egg, peppermint extract, and cream cheese with a mixer until a soft dough forms.
- Gently stir in the Oreo cookies, peppermint chips, and white chocolate chips by hand.
- Refrigerate the cookie dough for 60 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop and roll the dough into 24 even dough balls.
- Bake on a baking sheet for 10 minutes. Do not over bake!
- Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit for 2 minutes before gently removing the cookies to parchment paper on your counter.
- Tap the tops of the cookies very gently with a flat spatula. Press a few extra chips into the top of the warm cookies.
- Let cool completely. The cookies will set up as they cool. Store in a sealed container on the counter.
Notes
If you can't find the Andes peppermint crunch chips, you can also chop up Andes peppermint crunch thins or Hershey's candy cane kisses and use those instead.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 201Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 119mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 2g
Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.
This post was first published in December 2014. The photos and post were updated and republished in December 2021.
Alexis
Do you need to make the normal cake box as if your baking a cake then add the other ingredients?
Jocelyn
No, do not add the ingredients from the cake mix directions. You are only going to use the cake mix and the ingredients I have listed. I hope you enjoy them!
Jodie Newell
I made these delicious cookies using a Gluten Free chocolate cake mix. Because the GF cake mix was 21 oz instead of the usual 15 or 16 oz cake mix, I estimated that using all but 1/2 a cup of the GF cake mix should work fine. Well, then I made a mistake and used 8 oz of cream cheese instead of 4 oz. I didn't realize my mistake until it was too late. I also couldn't find the Andes peppermint pieces so I bought a bag of Andes peppermint crunch and chopped them into pieces. I also omitted the oreo cookies (so that these would be gluten free). After refrigerating the dough and baking the first batch, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the cookies tasted fantastic!!!!
Jocelyn
I am so glad to hear that your cookies turned out with your gluten free substitutions. I think you could use the entire cake mix since you added the whole block of cream cheese accidentally.
Michelle K
I am planning on baking a lot of cookies this holiday season, anything that I can prep ahead of time is key! Can the dough be frozen then thawed before baking? Can the cookies be frozen after they are baked and cooled?
Jocelyn
Yay for fun holiday baking!!! I think the dough would be fine to freeze ahead of time. Just refrigerate it the night before to thaw it out of for the day of baking. Or you can bake the cookies and layer them in parchment paper and freeze them in freezer bags. I hope you enjoy them!!!
Michelle
I am soooo glad I don't like peppermint, because alllll these recipes are killing me .... I wouldn't know what to make first! I love everything about your blog (I think I've said before we could be besties, mostly because I could eat sweets & only sweets if i were the adult thing to do) & I'm extra super loving the packaging ideas! As a former paper crafter, I still have that urge to make absolutely everything "cute". Happy to see the berry baskets at Michaels, I've always ordered mine online. Hmmmm is Michaels open on Christmas Eve? 😉
Merry Christmas to you & your family, Jocelyn!
chris
These cookies look delicious! I'd love to make them for Christmas. I'm a big chocolate/mint fan. Where did you did you find the Andes Peppermint Crunch Chips. I couldn't find them in my local super market. I am going to try Walmart tomorrow. Can I use crushed up candy canes if I can't find the Andes chips?
Jocelyn Brubaker
I found the Andes Peppermint Crunch Chips at Walmart and Target this year. If you cannot find them, I recommend using Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses or any other white chocolate peppermint candy bar chopped up. Candy canes will give you the same taste, but they melt into the cookie completely. I hope you are able to find the chips!
chris
Thanks! I'll be heading out to Walmart and Target first thing tomorrow morning. Just when I thought I was done! These cookies will be a reward for all of my hard work! 🙂
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel
Those Andes peppermint chips are my FAVORITE, so I'm kind of dying over the fact that these cookies have those, oreos, AND white choco chips. Holy yum, these sound good!
Jocelyn Brubaker
They are pretty awesome, I must say! 😉
Chichi
These cookies look so delicious. Wish i had some in front of me now.
Kim Beaulieu
I saw these on pinterest and wanted to run right into my kitchen to make them. Absolutely amazing.
Jocelyn Brubaker
Awww, thank you so much, Kim! You're the sweetest!
Chels+R.
Chocolate is always the answer! =)
Amy @ Amy's Healthy Baking
That's so awesome about your previous cookies -- congratulations Jocelyn!! I'm a huge chocoholic, so I know I'd hoard all of these... And then work out extra hard the next day. 😉 Pinned!
Jocelyn Brubaker
You sound just like me! 😉 Thanks for pinning Amy!
Aimee+@+ShugarySweets
Woah girl. Another stellar cookie recipe from your kitchen!! Too cute the packaging too 🙂