These easy Italian Christmas cookies have only seven ingredients! This recipe uses refrigerated sugar cookie dough which saves you lots of time in the kitchen. These bite sized morsels are perfect for holiday baking!
I love Christmas. I mean, I loooooove Christmas. To me it truly is the most wonderful time of the year. I’m sure you have your own list, but I love the carols, the cookies, the music on the radio. I love getting together with family and friends and catching up. Let me not forget to mention how much I love Hallmark movie marathons! Is anyone else excited that the countdown to Christmas has begun?
Baking cookies is one of my favorite parts of Christmas! There is ALWAYS a reason to bake cookies around the holiday season… work parties, cookie swaps, the list could be endless! When I was growing up, my mom and I used to bake several batches of cookies each Christmas. One of my all time favorites are ting-a-lings. These are a super easy no bake cookie which mixes chow mein noodles and milk chocolate. Trust me, they are delicious!
Tips for Baking Christmas Cookies
There are lots of tips and tricks to make your cookies turn out perfect every single time. Here are my top five tips for baking the best Christmas cookies this season!
1. Rotate your cookie sheets halfway though your baking time. Most ovens have hot spots and this is a great way to ensure even cooking.
2. Chill your cookie dough before baking! This requires some advance planning, but the results will pay dividends. This is the #1 way you can prevent cookie spread.
3. Let your cookie sheets cool COMPLETELY between baking. If you place cookies on a hot sheet, they are more likely to spread.
4. Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature prior to baking. This will make it much easier to combine everything together when mixing.
5. This may seem like a no brainer, but be sure to read your ENTIRE recipe before baking. This will reduce the chance that you miss an ingredient or skip a step.
Making Your Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
This year, I got the idea for my chocolate candy cane cookies from Sally over at Sally's Baking Addiction. These cookies are a delicious mix of mocha, chocolate, and peppermint… perfect for Christmas! I made these for our annual "cookie day" at work and they were a hit.
The base for these cookies is a simply decadent chocolate mocha cookie. They are soft and chewy and incredibly flavorful. If you don't like coffee, don't worry... it only enhances the chocolate flavor in this recipe and you can hardly taste it.
To decorate these chocolate candy cane cookies I like to use white Ghirardelli baking chips. These melt WAY better than traditional white chocolate chips. I also like to use peppermint sprinkles to decorate because it's just easier. Sure you can put candy canes in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to break them up, but honestly... who has time for that?!
Once you're done dipping and sprinkling your cookies, you want to let them sit for a little while. You can speed up this process by putting them in the refrigerator or freezer if you'd like.
Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 egg large at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 8 ounces white chocolate coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup peppermint sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until color is a pale yellow. Add egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract and incorporate into mixture. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt. Slowly, add these ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add chocolate chips and mix thoroughly. Transfer dough into plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place rack in the center of oven. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Remove cookie dough from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature (about 20 minutes).
- Scoop cookie dough (approximately 25 grams of dough per cookie) and roll into balls. Place onto baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for approximately 9 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on cookies sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to rack to cool completely.
- Melt white chocolate in microwave in 10 second intervals. Dip half of chocolate cookie in melted white chocolate and place on silicone mat or waxed paper. Sprinkle with peppermint chips while chocolate is still "wet". Allow cookies to set at room temperature or in the fridge.
Nutrition
Tell me How This Recipe Worked for You!
Did you make this recipe? First, let me say THANK YOU for giving it a try! Please leave us a rating and leave any feedback in the comments section at the bottom of this post. I always love to hear your thoughts and ideas on what went well — and what didn’t — with a recipe! Be sure to check out some of our other recipes linked below!
Antonia
I am the same way, I love Christmas! These cookies are amazing, Heather! I love how pretty and festive they are! I think I have to add these to my baking list!
Heather @ Sweet Precision
Thanks Antonia! I hope you have time for some Christmas baking! Sometimes I find myself so busy this month, it seems like there's not enough time to get everything done!
Mom
My mouth is watering in memory of the ONE cookie I was allowed before they went to school with you.
Heather @ Sweet Precision
The recipe may have to be repeated this holiday season!