This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
These Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies feature soft, chewy chocolate cookies dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes. Perfect for all of your holiday dessert tables!
These cookies offer the perfect trifecta of flavors – chocolate, white chocolate, and peppermint. Each flavor balances the others out, creating cookies that are not too sweet, not too minty, and not too chocolatey.
They are actually similar to my chocolate peppermint cookies but with the addition of melted white chocolate.
In addition to the crushed candy canes, I added peppermint extract to the actual cookie dough to infuse the entire cookie with a bit of mint flavor. I found that while the crushed candy canes add crunch and color, I like chocolate cookies with a bit more mint flavor!
I love adding these to holiday cookie trays. The white chocolate and crushed candy canes make them stand out against the peanut butter cookies and chocolate chip cookies, and really add some color to the dessert table. Or serve them with a DIY version of white hot chocolate Starbucks.
Why You’ll Love These Christmas Cookies
There’s so much to love about these cookies.
- Great flavor. Chocolate, white chocolate, and peppermint…what’s not to love?
- Soft and chewy. The chocolate cookies themselves are soft and chewy, thanks to the cornstarch in the dough.
- Easy to prepare. The dough comes together in just a few minutes and these take just 15 minutes to prepare. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples, too.
Recipe Ingredients
These cookies are made with cocoa powder, peppermint extract, white chocolate chips, crushed candy canes, and a few pantry staples. Scroll down to the recipe card for measurements.
- All-purpose flour
- Dutch-processed cocoa powder – The Dutch-processed cocoa powder gives these cookies a rich chocolate flavor.
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cornstarch – Helps ensure the cookies are soft and chewy.
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar & brown sugar
- Eggs
- Corn syrup – Adding light corn syrup to this recipe creates ultra chewy cookies!
- Peppermint extract – Infuses every bite of the cookie with peppermint flavor.
- White chocolate chips – Candy melts will also work for dipping but I find that white chocolate has the best flavor.
- Vegetable oil – Vegetable oil thins out the melted chocolate so it’s a better consistency for dipping.
- Crushed candy canes – You can find crushed candy cane pieces at the store but I just crushed up some candy canes I had at home.
How to Make Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Though they may look a bit fancy, these candy cane chocolate cookies are actually pretty simple and straightforward to make.
Combine the dry ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350F. In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
Cream the butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and both sugars for 1-2 minutes.
Add the eggs. Add the eggs, corn syrup, and peppermint extract to the creamed butter. Mix again.
Add the dry ingredients. Slowly add in the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
Scoop the dough. For regular cookies, drop 2-tablespoon-sized dough balls on the baking sheet, 3 inches apart. For “crumbl sized cookies”, drop 1/4 cup of dough per cookie, 4-5 inches apart.
Bake. Bake regular-sized cookies for 12 to 13 minutes and allow them to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes. For “crumbl sized cookies” bake for 15 minutes and cool on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.
Dip into the white chocolate. Microwave the white chocolate chips for 3 minutes on 50% power. Stir after each minute and continue until fully melted. Add the vegetable oil to thin out the chocolate. Dip each cookie into the chocolate, then place it on a silicone mat or parchment paper. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Allow the chocolate to harden completely before moving the cookies.
Tips for Success
Here are a few tips for making these chocolate Christmas cookies.
Use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. Since the cocoa powder contributes all of the chocolate flavor to these cookies, it’s important to use Dutch-processed as it gives a richer chocolate flavor than regular unsweetened cocoa powder.
Use light corn syrup. Corn syrup makes these chocolate cookies so chewy and fudgy! It’s my best-kept secret.
Measure the ingredients properly. Be sure to measure all of the dry ingredients accurately as over-measuring can create dry cookies.
Bake one cookie sheet at a time. As always, I recommend baking one sheet of these chocolate candy cane cookies at a time, to ensure they all bake evenly.
Cool on the baking sheet. The cookies will continue baking even once removed from the oven. If you move them too quickly, they’ll be undercooked and likely fall apart when you move them.
Take care to not burn the chocolate. Stir the white chocolate chips frequently as you melt them and be sure to do it on 50% power to prevent the chocolate from scorching.
How to Store Cookies
Once the chocolate has hardened completely, these chocolate cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll stay soft and fresh for about 3 days.
Can I Freeze These?
Yes, you can freeze these candy cane chocolate cookies. Just transfer them to a freezer-safe container after they’ve set completely. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw on the counter.
More Christmas Cookies
Tap stars to rate!
Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp light corn syrup
- ½ tsp peppermint extract
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- crushed candy canes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a mixing bowl, combine the all purpose flour, dutch processed cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cornstarch.
- In a separate mixing bowl cream the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together with a mixer on medium speed for, 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the eggs, corn syrup, and peppermint extract, mix again.
- Gently add in the dry ingredients, mixing on low or by hand just until combined.
- For regular sized cookies, use a cookie scoop to drop 2 tablespoon sized dough balls on a silicone mat lined baking sheet. You can also use a 1/4 cup to portion out the dough. Divide the dough ball in half and you get two portions that are each about 2 tablespoons.
- For large “crumbl sized cookies” use a 1/4 cup of dough per cookie.
- For regular sized cookies, place the cookies 3 inches apart on a silicone lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-13 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Bake one cookie sheet at a time.
- For large “crumbl sized cookies”, place the cookies 4-5 inches apart on a silicone lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 20 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Bake one cookie sheet at a time.
- Allow the cookies to cool before dipping in chocolate.
- Place the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 3 minutes on 50% power, stirring after each minute. Continue to microwave until fully melted. Thin out the chocolate with vegetable oil so it’s a nice dipping consistency. Dip each cookie into the chocolate, then place them back on the silicone mat or on parchment paper. Sprinkle crushed candy canes over the melted chocolate. Allow them to harden completely before removing them from the baking sheet.
Made these as regular sized cookies. They are gorgeous and yummy. They will
Look great in my cookie tins.Â
Please please please remember to add packed or not to the brown sugar ingredient listing in recipes.
Hi KH! Brown sugar is always packed.
Made these and they were a HUGE holiday hit!! ❤️