Fluffy pink filling and a fun peppermint pretzel makes these pretty Chocolate Peppermint Fluff Cookie Cups the star of any holiday party!
This past week I had the opportunity to make desserts for our church youth group Christmas party. Of course, any time I have to make desserts for real people I tend to freak out a little because what if they hate them all. The struggle is real.
I wrote down a list of treats that I thought would be good teen food. M&M blonde brownies and rice krispie treats were two easy and kid approved treats that I knew would be good to serve. Cheesecake brownies and peppermint cookies and cream fudge were two more desserts that I thought would go over well because every time I make them they disappear.
The dilemma I was facing was would I have enough. I was told to plan for maybe 40 kids and parents total, but there could be more. So, after making all that I started to question if I had enough dessert. Yes, I know they were having appetizers and dinner, but you have to have lots of desserts, right? The more options the better in my opinion.
The idea for these chocolate peppermint fluff cookie cups has been rolling around in my head ever since I bought the star pretzels.
Since more dessert seemed like a good idea, I made these cookies too. And I have to say, these fun little cookies were my favorite treat of the night. The kids on the other hand devoured all the brownies and treats. I should have known more easy bar cookies was the way to go.
Oh, well. At least I had a blast creating this fun cookie cup. These turned out to be my absolute favorite Christmas recipe that I have made all month long!
Here are some easy tips for making these cookie cups:
- Set out the butter and cream cheese early because it is easier to cream them when they are soft.
- Sift together all the dry ingredients and then slowly add it to the butter mixture until soft dough forms
- The dough is a little sticky, so I found that using a cookie scoop was the perfect way to make dough balls.
- Bake the cookie balls in a muffin tin, and then press them down with a tart shaper after they have cooled for 2 minutes.
- Use a piping bag and decorating tip #1M to swirl the sweet peppermint fluff into each cookie.
- Add the peppermint bits and pretzel star right before serving because the peppermint bits will get gooey in the fridge if you add them early.
Recipe
Chocolate Peppermint Fluff Cookie Cups
Fluffy pink filling and a fun peppermint pretzel makes these pretty Chocolate Peppermint Fluff Cookie Cups the star of any holiday party!
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- ½ cup dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the Peppermint Fluff
- 1 - 3.4 box instant white chocolate pudding
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 - 8 ounce container Cool Whip, thawed
- pink gel color
- ¼ cup peppermint candy cane bits
- 24 chocolate covered peppermint pretzels
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a regular muffin tin with nonstick baking spray.
- Beat the butter until creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat again.
- Pour in both sugars and beat the mixture until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat again.
- Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Slowly add it to the butter mixture until everything is mixed in.
- Use a 1 ½ Tablespoon cookie scoop to divide the dough into 24 even dough balls.
- Roll each one into a nice round shape and place in the prepared pan. Bake for 11-12 minutes. Remove and let cool in the pan for 2 minutes.
- Press the centers of each cookie down using a tart shaper or the back of a spoon. Remove the cookies gently from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Whisk together the pudding mix, milk, and extract. Fold in the Cool Whip.
- Add the pink gel color to get the desired pink color. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until set. Pipe onto the cooled cookie cups using a piping bag and tip #1M. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Sprinkle the cookies with the peppermint bits and top with the pretzels right before serving.
Notes
*You can also divide the dough into 48 dough balls and bake them in a mini muffin tin for 8-9 minutes.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 235Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 193mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 1gSugar: 18gProtein: 3g
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Marye
Oh I love these! They look so amazing!