These fudgy and rich Chocolate Peppermint Cookies make the perfect seasonal treat. They’re loaded with chopped peppermint bark, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. For these cookies, we’re using a boxed brownie mix to keep the process as easy as possible during the busy holiday season.
Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
These Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are a holiday lifesaver. They are incredibly easy to make without compromising on flavor.
What contributes to the simplicity of these cookies? The secret is brownie mix! Using brownie mix as a base gives these cookies a genuine brownie taste. They boast a soft and chewy texture, slight crispness at the edges, and a deep chocolate flavor.
In addition to the brownie mix, pudding mix is also incorporated, leading to a softer, chewier center and an intensified chocolate taste. To elevate the indulgence, these cookies are packed with chopped peppermint bark, milk chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips. Indeed, these are the essential holiday cookies for this year!
Ingredients In Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Cream Cheese: Adds creaminess and moisture, contributing to a soft texture.
- Butter: Provides richness and tenderness, aiding in the spread of the cookies during baking.
- Egg: Acts as a binder, maintaining structure and cohesiveness.
- Vanilla and Peppermint Extracts: Enhance flavor, with vanilla offering sweetness and peppermint adding a minty note.
- Chocolate Instant Pudding and Pie Filling Mix: Increases chocolate flavor and contributes to a moist, chewy texture.
- Fudge Brownie Mix: Forms the base of the cookies, providing structure and a deep chocolate taste.
- Peppermint Bark: Adds crunchy texture and a distinct peppermint-chocolate flavor.
- Milk Chocolate Chips: Introduce extra chocolate flavor and a melty texture.
- White Chocolate Chips (Optional): Offer a creamy, sweet contrast.
Quick Tip
Ensure you use peppermint extract instead of mint extract to avoid a toothpaste-like flavor in the chocolate peppermint cookies. The potency of peppermint extract varies by brand, so taste and adjust according to your preference, adding more for a stronger peppermint taste.
How To Make Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Preparation: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Soften cream cheese and butter to room temperature.
- Cream Ingredients: In a large bowl, cream the cream cheese and butter. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and peppermint extract until smooth.
- Dry Ingredients: Add chocolate pudding and brownie mixes, blending until the dough becomes thick.
- Add-ins: Fold in chopped peppermint bark, milk chocolate chips, and optional white chocolate chips.
- Form Cookies: Shape dough into 2-tablespoon balls, slightly flatten, and place on baking sheet.
- Bake: Bake chocolate peppermint cookies for 10-14 minutes, until slightly underdone for a fudgy texture.
Tips For Success
- Electric Mixer: Use an electric mixer, either hand or stand, as the dough is very thick and difficult to mix manually.
- Chilling Dough: If the dough is too sticky, refrigerate it for 10 minutes to make it easier to handle. Here’s how refrigerating helps.
- Shape Dough: Form the dough into wide, flat discs instead of balls, as these cookies don’t spread much while baking.
- Lined Baking Tray: Bake the cookies on a silicone liner to prevent the bottoms from browning or crisping too quickly.
More Delicious Christmas Treats
- Peppermint Sugar Cookies
- Christmas Treats
- Peppermint Bark Muddy Buddies
- Christmas Snack Mix
- 6 Easy Christmas Gifts
Peppermint Bark Cookies
Equipment
- Sheet pan lined
- stand mixer
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese full-fat, room temperature
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract optional
- 1 (3.9-ounce) package chocolate instant pudding mix
- 1 (18-ounce) package fudge brownie mix
- 3/4 cup coarsely chopped peppermint bark
- 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup white chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside. To bring the cream cheese and butter to room temperature, you can leave them out for 1 hour or microwave the unwrapped cream cheese in 5–10 second increments until soft. For the butter, microwave it for 5 seconds, flip it, and then microwave for another 5 seconds. Be careful not to melt or overly soften either ingredient.
- In a large bowl fitted to a stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and butter until completely smooth. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and optional peppermint extract. Beat until smooth and creamy.
- Add in the dry pudding mix and brownie mix. Beat to combine. The dough will be extremely thick, just keep mixing and it will all come together.
- Coarsely chop the peppermint bark candy. Stir in the chopped peppermint bark, chocolate chips, and optional white chocolate chips.
- Measure each cookie dough ball to be a full, packed 2 tablespoons of dough. Knead the dough ball to get the chocolate chips to stick and then roll it into a ball. Slightly flatten balls to about 1/2-inch thick. You should get about 28 cookies from this batter. Place 6–8 cookies on the prepared cookie sheet, giving cookies ample room to spread.
- Bake each batch for 10–14 minutes. Remove from the oven. Sometimes the edges have a tendency to leak out; simply use the back of a spoon or metal spatula to press the edges in towards the center of the cookie right out of the oven. If desired, add some additional chocolate chips or chopped peppermint bark on top of the cookies. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Correction: Chocolate fudge pudding mix, not brownie pudding mix. Sorry, late Saturday night/early Sunday morning for Mrs. Claus here. 🙂
This looks so good! Chelsea, what brand of brownie pudding do you use? I didn’t see that flavor on my grocery store’s pudding/Jello aisle.
Hey Kathy!! I just use the store brand, I’ve found it at Kroger stores (Smith’s) Hope that is helpful! Regular chocolate pudding will work too as long as the ounces are the same. Enjoy and happy holidays!
Do you have this recipe using everything from scratch – i.e brownie mix and pudding mix?
I live in Brazil and we don’t have mixes like that – would love love to make these cookies… please help!
I’m so sorry, I don’t! I wish I did; here’s a chocolate cookie recipe that is similar! https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/chocolate-cookies/
These are exactly the recipe I’m looking for. Once they are made, how should they be stored? Do they need to be refrigerated because of the cream cheese? Thank you!
I can’t wait to make these later in the week! I’m prepping lots of cookie dough for holiday dessert trays for my neighbors. Any chance these can be refrigerated over night? Have you tried doing this before? Thanks!
Super upset. Added all my ingredients and it says 3.9 oz of pudding mix and I’m pretty sure it should be 1.4 oz. I’m going to save the mix bc I used an entire box of brownie mix and all that. If you know how I can fix it, please let me know.
No it’s right 🙂 1, 3.9 ounce box! It’s super thick!
These are amazing and SO easy to make. A big hit at holiday parties.
Question- do you think if I make the batter about an hour ahead of cooking it will mess with the consistency and shape of the cookies? We have our family cookie baking party and the more prep I can do before going, the better!
These cookies were AMAZING. Making another batch for neighbors and family this weekend!
For those without a stand mixer: I started making this recipe before realizing I needed a stand mixer, which I didn’t have. My hand mixer seriously flopped, but I was determined to make these! I ended up using a fork and a lot of arm strength for mixing the first part and toward the end when the brownie mix was added to the batter, I used my hands. All in all, the batter mixed very well and cookies turned out delicious! So, an alternative for those currently w/o a stand mixer!
Oh my gosh you are amazing! Also what a win, win, hahaha you get delicious cookies and a little workout! Haha! I’m so glad you enjoyed! Thanks Shana! 🙂
I can’t find chocolate fudge pudding mix! I’ve looked at two stores. They have either chocolate pudding mix or sugar free chocolate fudge pudding mix. Have you ever made it with one of those?
The chocolate pudding mix will work! I’d stay away from sugar free 🙂
Curious if this would work with the dark chocolate peppermint bark?
Also, is milk chocolate vs semi-sweet for the chips important?
Sure! 🙂 And you can use milk or semi-sweet; it won’t change the structure of the cookies — just flavor (so if you prefer semi-sweet definitely use that!)