No Chill Mini Peppermint Bark Cookies
These mini chocolate peppermint bark cookies are chewy, fudgy, and so festive! With brownie cookie dough and a good dose of peppermint bark, they're gorgeous in a cookie box or as an easy party dessert. Even better, you don't even have to chill the dough, so the whole recipe comes together in about 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 115 grams good-quality dark chocolate (4 ounces)
- 60 grams unsalted butter, cut into cubes (1/4 cup)
- 75 grams dark brown sugar (6 Tablespoons, packed)
- 50 grams granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 60 grams all purpose flour (1/2 cup)
- 12 grams Dutch process cocoa powder (2 Tablespoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder optional
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt, I use Diamond
- 60 grams chopped peppermint bark, plus more for decoration (1/3 cup)
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- #100 cookie scoop
- 1 full sheet pan or 2 half sheet pans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line one full sheet pan (or two half sheet pans) with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Fill a pot with about 1-2 inches of water and bring it to a gentle simmer. Add the dark chocolate and unsalted butter cubes to a heatproof mixing bowl. Set the bowl over the simmering water, ensuring that the water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Stir constantly, just until the chocolate mixture is smooth and completely melted. Let it cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, add the dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, and egg to a large mixing bowl. Using a whisk attachment, whip the egg and sugars together for 6-7 minutes, until it's lighter in color and nearly doubled in volume. It should look like cake batter.
- With the mixer running, slowly drizzle the melted chocolate into the sugar-egg mixture until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is well-combined. Then, stir in the vanilla extract.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder (if using), baking powder, and Kosher salt. Fold the dry ingredients and wet ingredients together, until the dough is about 80% combined.
- Then, add the chopped peppermint bark. Stir just until the dough is well-combined and there are no more streaks of flour.
- Using a #100 cookie scoop or teaspoon, scoop the batter into small cookie dough balls. Place them about one inch apart on the prepared sheet pan.
- Bake the cookies for 5-6 minutes, flipping the pan halfway through, just until the edges are set and the centers are still a bit underdone. The tops will still be a little shiny. Right out of the oven, place a few pieces of peppermint bark on top of each cookie, if desired. Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
For amazing cookies every time, use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients instead of using measuring cups. If you don’t have a scale, then use the fluff-and-spoon method to measure the flour and cocoa powder. First, whisk the flour or cocoa powder until it’s nice and fluffy. Then, spoon the fluffed flour or cocoa powder into a measuring cup and level it off without packing it in.
Strong, good-quality peppermint bark is key in this recipe. I've had good luck with Ghirardelli, Williams Sonoma, and homemade peppermint bark.
For chewy, fudgy cookies, it's important to under-bake the cookies just a bit. Like brownies! The cookies should be set on the edges, but still a bit shiny on top.
If you want to dip the cookies in white chocolate like in the photos, melt 115 grams (4 ounces) of good-quality white chocolate with 1/2 teaspoon neutral oil. Mix in 1/8 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Then, dip each cookie halfway in the white chocolate. Place the cookies on a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle the white chocolate with chopped peppermint candies. Let them set completely before storing.
Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 38kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 5mg, Sodium: 15mg, Potassium: 21mg, Sugar: 3g, Calcium: 5mg
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