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Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

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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!

Looking for more peppermint treats? Try these peppermint Oreo balls and this candy cane bark.

Four chocolate peppermint cookies stacked on top of each other with a bite out of the top cookie.

A few years I made these peppermint Oreo cookies, and right away they were an extremely popular Christmas cookie.  In fact, years later they are still the number one searched cookie for our blog.

That got me thinking. How could I take that popular peppermint cookie recipe and make it even better?  Since chocolate and peppermint is a classic holiday flavor, I decided to use 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 make them stand out on cookie trays.
  • Chocolate and peppermint is an amazing flavor combo!
  • Guaranteed to be everyone’s new favorite holiday cookie.

Overhead picture of a wire rack with chocolate peppermint crunch cookies cooling on it.

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 own 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 seem to work the best for puffy cookies!
  • Butter & Cream Cheese – Set these out ahead of time, 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 make sure 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 if you want more chocolate.

Four chocolate peppermint cookies stacked on top of each other on a black and white napkin.

How to Make Chocolate Peppermint 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.

  1. Mix together the dry cake mix, butter, cream cheese, egg, and extract in a mixing bowl until a soft dough forms.
  2. Use a spoon or spatula to gently stir in the Oreo cookie chunks, white chips, and peppermint chips. Do not use an electric mixer to do this because it will break up the cookies too much.
  3. Refrigerate the dough for at least 60 minutes.
  4. Scoop into 24 even dough balls and place 12 on a baking sheet. Refrigerate the other 12.
  5. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool 2 minutes on the hot pan to finish baking.
  6. Use a flat spatula to gently tap the tops of the cookies to flatten them out, if desired.
  7. Gently move the cookies to a piece of parchment paper on the counter.
  8. 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 also chop up the Andes peppermint crunch thins (found at Target), Hershey’s candy cane kisses, or Ghirardelli peppermint bark and use that in place 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 will need to add a few extra minutes to the bake time.

A red berry basket filled with a bag of chocolate peppermint cookies tied shut with twine and a snowflake.

Storage

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 in a freezer safe bag or container. Allow the cookies to thaw at room temperature for a few hours before serving.

Recipe Tips

  • 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 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, so everything is the same uniform size.
  • Please do not over bake these cookies.  I know you are going to be questioning me when you take your pan out of the oven.  TRUST ME!  They should and will look under done!
  • 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 Michaels 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 great contrasting color so the basket and cookies stand out.

Wrap six cookies in a cellophane bag, and tie the top of the package with red and white bakers twine. A small snowflake ornament completes the   

Overhead picture of a stack of chocolate peppermint crunch cookies on a white and black napkin.

More Holiday Cookie Recipes

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A stack of four chocolate peppermint cookies on a white napkin with a bite out of the top cookie.

Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Yield: 24 cookies
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 9 minutes
Total Time: 54 minutes

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
  • 3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Mix together the cake mix, butter, egg, peppermint extract, and cream cheese with a mixer until a soft dough forms.
  2. Gently stir in the Oreo cookies, peppermint chips, and white chocolate chips by hand.
  3. Refrigerate the cookie dough for 60 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop and roll the dough into 24 even dough balls.
  5. Bake on a baking sheet for 10 minutes. Do not over bake!
  6. Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit for 2 minutes before gently removing the cookies to parchment paper on your counter.
  7. Tap the tops of the cookies very gently with a flat spatula. Press a few extra chips into the top of the warm cookies.
  8. 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: 1
Amount 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.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

© Jocelyn @ Inside BruCrew Life
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies & Whoopie Pies

Two pictures of Chocolate Peppermint Cookies collaged together with a teal text box.

*The post for Chocolate Peppermint Crunch Cookies was first published December 2014. The photos and post were updated and republished December 2021.

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Comments

    • Jocelyn says

      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!

      Reply

  2. Jodie Newell says

    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!!!!

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      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.

      Reply

  3. Michelle K says

    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?

    Reply

    • Jocelyn says

      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!!!

      Reply

  4. Michelle says

    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!

    Reply

  5. chris says

    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?

    Reply

    • Jocelyn Brubaker says

      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!

      Reply

      • chris says

        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! 🙂

        Reply

  14. Heather says

    Your original peppermint crunch cookies were our favorite new cookies last year and I’m making them again this coming weekend for a Christmas party. I may just have to try the new version!

    Reply

  30. Mir says

    I’m not sure what’s more addictive, trips to Michaels or your cookies. Heck, I’ll go with the cookies. They look like puffy cookie heaven!

    Reply

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