Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies (Gluten Free)

These lovely Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies are very much like a chocolate lace cookie, light and fragile. They shatter when you bite into them and are a perfect addition to your holiday baking list. I made mine gluten-free which may make them more delicate than those made with regular wheat flour. These cookies are best on the day they are baked, but are also good the second day, just a bit softer and chewier after they have absorbed some moisture from the frosting and the atmosphere.

I have a new favorite Christmas cookie and am truly addicted to them. I even had trouble limiting my nibbling and was risking not having enough to photograph, LOL! The delicately flavored peppermint frosting highlights the rich, deep chocolate flavor of the cookies. I added crushed peppermint candies to the top for a festive look. I used the product from King Arthur Flour, but you can buy regular peppermint candies and crush/grind them yourself.

My house smells like Christmas, full of the aromas of baking cookies and candy canes. It is cold outside and I am so grateful to have a warm, dry home. The Artist and I are watching football while I cook and bake. Life is good! 

If you are making these at other times of the year you can replace the peppermint flavoring with vanilla, rum, bourbon, orange, or any other flavor you like.

Today is Secret Recipe Club day and have I got a wonderful blog to introduce you to! I was given Daily Dish Recipes created and written by the delightful Nicole Cook. When I started looking through her recipes searching for the one that I would share with all of you, I bookmarked a ton to come back and make later. Nicole is extremely talented and you are going to LOVE her blog!

Nicole and I share the desire to help people get back in the kitchen, cooking from scratch, and discovering the fun that cooking and baking can be. As a mother of five, you can imagine how creative she is in finding ways to feed her wonderful family. I was especially impressed with her Holiday and Seasonal recipe selection. She has some truly amazing and creative recipes that will have me busy for months to come.

The way you mix this cookie dough is very different from the norm. Usually you cream the butter and sugar together before adding in the dry ingredients. In these cookies the sugar is part of the dry ingredients and gets beaten in after you’ve combined all the liquid ingredients. I loved the way they turned out.

I made up a frosting that is a cross between a cream cheese frosting and a buttercream frosting. I love the slight tanginess that the cream cheese adds, cutting back significantly on the sweetness. This allows the peppermint to shine and blend beautifully with the chocolate cookie. If you want a sweeter topping you can replace the cream cheese with more butter and increase the sugar to suit your tastes.

I hope you enjoy today’s recipe, head over to Nicole’s blog for a fun romp through her recipes, and have a good time visiting all the other Secret Recipe Club’s postings.

Happy Chocolate Monday everyone!!

Key Ingredients for Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies:

• All-purpose flour or gluten-free flour blend and almond meal
• Baking soda, baking powder, and salt
• Sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, and cocoa powder
• Cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, peppermint extract

 

PRO Tip:

If your butter was as cold as mine was (it’s been super chilly here the past week and even room temperature butter was firmer than normal), you can cut it into cubes or grate it to make it easier to beat into the dough.

 

How to make Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies:

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar
2. Beat the butter with the egg; beat in the flour mixture, then mix in the cocoa powder until no streaks remain
3. Form dough into balls and press with the bottom of a glass
4. Bake about 8 to 10 minutes at 350°F. leave on the baking sheet a few minutes to firm up then transfer to a wire rack to cool
5. Beat the cream cheese with the butter the mix in the confectioners’ sugar and peppermint extract, beating until smooth and creamy
6. Frost the cookies, sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies and set aside to let the frosting firm up

 

PRO Tip:

Because they are so delicate, these are not the best choice for shipping. If you do, make sure you use a lot of bubble wrap or popcorn between each layer of cookies and individually wrap them in plastic for even more strength.

 

Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):

• Kitchen scale
• Measuring cups and measuring spoons
• Stand mixer
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper sheets
• Ice cream scoop 
• Offset spatula

 

Gluten-Free Tips:

Use a certified gluten-free flour blend of your own or commercial blend such as Bob Red Mill’s 1-to-1 or King Arthur

 

 

 

 

 

Create a New Tradition Today!

 

Here are more recipes from The Secret Recipe Club just for you!

 

This post was first shared in Dec 2013. The article was updated in 2020.

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