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Thick, soft, chewy bakery-style chocolate peppermint cookie recipe. This Levain Bakery Chocolate Peppermint Cookie is made with a rich double chocolate cookie and peppermint chips. The perfect Christmas cookie recipe!
Welcome to day one of the Christmas Cookie collection! I am starting off with a bang with this epic bakery double chocolate cookie with peppermint bark chips. This brand new holiday cookie is from the famous Levain Bakery in New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Washington DC. I am obsessed with Levain Bakery cookies and love creating their recipes at home.
The very first recipe I posted on Modern Honey was their Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies after tweaking the recipe for years!
This Chocolate Peppermint Cookie is what you want in the perfect Christmas cookie — a rich, chewy, decadent chocolate cookie with creamy peppermint chips. The best part of these cookies is that they are the perfect thick yet chewy bakery-style cookie.
Chocolate Peppermint Cookie Ingredients:
- Butter — you can use either salted or unsalted butter in this chocolate cookie recipe. If you use salted butter, just reduce the salt by 1/4 teaspoon.
- Brown Sugar — this recipe calls for light brown sugar. This is what makes these cookies have the perfect chewy center.
- Sugar — this recipe calls for granulated sugar. It is what gives these cookies their crispy edges.
- Eggs — this recipe calls for large eggs.
- Vanilla Extract — I love to use pure vanilla extract, no imitation vanilla in these cookies!
- Flour — I suggest using all-purpose flour or a mix of cake flour and all-purpose flour. The cake flour makes the cookie texture extra tender.
- Cornstarch — this is what gives these cookies their signature thickness yet softness. It also helps to keep the cookies soft for longer.
- Baking Soda — a leavening agent which helps the cookies to rise while baking.
- Salt — the flavor enhancer and is a must in all baked goods.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips — make these chocolate cookies extra decadent! My favorite chocolate chips are from Ghirardelli and Guittard.
- Peppermint Chips — there are many peppermint chips at the grocery store. I love the Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips. I found them at Target.
How to make Levain Bakery Christmas Chocolate Peppermint Cookies:
- Start by creaming together butter, cut into cubes, and brown sugar and sugar for 4 minutes or until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl halfway through to ensure even mixing.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix for 1 minute longer.
- Fold in flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Add chocolate chips, and peppermint crunch baking chips.
- Roll into large 6-ounce balls. You can make them smaller into 3-ounce, 4-ounce, or 5-ounce balls.
- Place on a light-colored baking sheet. I like to line my baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Bake for about 9 minutes, depending on how large the cookies are. These cookies will be slightly underbaked and will continue to bake on the baking sheet once the cookies are removed from the oven.
- Let sit for at least 10 minutes to allow time for the cookies to set-up.
Baking Tools:
- Light Colored Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper Sheets
- Cookie Scoop
- Kitchenaid Mixer
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Expert Tips and Q & A:
Can I make these cookies smaller?
Yes! Levain Bakery cookies are 6 ounces and that is one large cookie! You can make these smaller. I suggest making them 3-ounce, 4-ounce, or 5-ounce cookies. I would suggest reducing the baking temperature to 385 degrees and reducing the baking time.
If you want a thinner cookie, I suggest pressing down on the cookie dough ball before baking. Also, there is a pan banging technique explained here.
What can I use besides peppermint chips in this recipe?
You can use Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips, Mint Chips, Peppermint Bark, chopped, Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark Squares, Andes Mints, chopped, and more.
Can I use peppermint extract instead of vanilla extract in this recipe?
Absolutely! If you want extra peppermint flavor, I suggest adding 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract. My favorite is Nielsen-Massey Peppermint Extract.
Why can’t I use warm butter in this recipe?
This Levain Bakery Chocolate Peppermint Cookie recipe creates the perfect thick and chewy cookie and if the butter is too warm, the cookies will spread too much.
If you love the famous Levain Bakery cookies, check out all of my Levain Bakery Cookie Recipes:
- Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies — the OG classic Levain Bakery chocolate chip cookie recipe that put them on the map!
- Levain Bakery Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies — rich chocolate cookie with peanut butter chips
- Levain Bakery Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies — double chocolate cookie with semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Levain Bakery Oatmeal Raisin Cookies — thick and chewy, bakery-style oatmeal raisin cookie
- Levain Bakery Rocky Road Cookies — rich chocolate cookies with marshmallows and almonds
- Levain Bakery Fall Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies — the perfect Fall spiced cookie with semi-sweet chocolate chips
If you love chocolate mint, check out my Peppermint and Mint Recipes:
- Chocolate Mint Chip Cookies — bakery style chocolate cookies with mint chips
- Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies — chewy chocolate cookies with peppermint bark
- Chocolate Peppermint Oreo Cookies — double chocolate cookies with Trader Joe’s famous candy cane Joe Joe’s Oreo cookies.
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Levain Bakery Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cold Butter (cut into cubes)
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 2/3 cup Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 1/2 cups Flour (may use 1 cup of cake flour plus 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips
- 10-ounces Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees (if making cookies smaller than 6 ounces, preheat oven to 385 degrees).
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and sugar for 4 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add eggs and vanilla and mix for 1 minute longer.
- Fold in cocoa powder, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and peppermint baking chips.
- Roll into large 6-ounce balls. You can make them smaller into 3-ounce, 4-ounce, or 5-ounce balls. Place on a light-colored baking sheet. If you want them to be slightly thinner, press down on the cookie dough ball before baking. Â
- Bake for about 8-11 minutes, depending on how large the cookies are. These cookies will be slightly underbaked and will continue to bake on the baking sheet once the cookies are removed from the oven. Let sit for at least 10 minutes to allow time for the cookies to set-up.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I need to say that I am one of Melissa’s biggest fans and have made her standard Levains cookie recipe over 30 times. I’m not typically a fan a chocolate based cookies, but I needed something for St Patty’s Day so I used this recipe and subbed in Ande’s Mint Pieces (Walmart brand) instead of the peppermint. OMG…they were phenomenal. So much so that I’d put it on my top 5 favorite cookie list. The flavors were crazy good. Also, I was making a quadruple batch for my daughter’s team of nurses, so I made smaller cookies. 60 gram in size and baked for 10 minutes and they were perfection. Thanks for another great recipe Mellissa.
I recently had Levain cookies while in Boston. They are amazing but a too large, IMO. Just made these cookies and scaled to 3 oz size. They are amazing and have the perfect balance of peppermint, sweetness and salt.
Hi! Can this cookie batter be frozen and baked at a later time?
Oh my goodness we tried these tonight and they were SO GOOD! We didn’t have peppermint chips, but rolled the dough in crushed candy canes and they were so delicious! Thanks Melissa!
So I made these last night and they were so yummy—plus my house smelled like peppermint. Love it! A perfect Christmas cookie!
These look very festive and ever so good! Will you ever be adding your measurements in metric?
Hi Terrie! I am going to work hard in 2023 to add metrics to my recipes. I love to use food scales in my baking recipes so I will look to do that soon. Thank you for your feedback…I appreciate it!
This was the best cookie recipe! The cookies are delicious, thank you for sharing this recipe.
Oh my goodness! Looking for that special cookie for a cookie exchange since I don’t do cut out cookies. THIS IS IT! My husband who doesn’t like chocolate cookies asked for the extras that won’t be going to the cookie exchange. Followed the recipe exactly and used the andes peppermint chips. SCORE!!
You only mention cocoa in the ingredients. I assume it’s added along with the flour? Which kind do you prefer for this recipe? Thanks! Stopped off a Target this morning to grab some of the peppermint chips. Hope to make these cookies this afternoon. 🙂
Could you add mini marshmallows to this cookie recipe?