Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cookies
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For an easy, Christmas cookie recipe – make these candy cane chocolate chip cookies. They’re soft and chewy with crushed candy canes and tons of chocolate chips. The candy canes make these cookies look extra pretty on your cookie tray. No chilling required!
You can never have too many Christmas cookies, and these candy cane chocolate chip cookies are the perfect easy recipe to add to your list. We’re taking classic, super chewy chocolate chip cookies and adding crushed candy canes to the dough for a deliciously festive flavor. The crushed candy canes add a little crunch, peppermint flavor, and dot the candy canes with red. Then they’re loaded with chocolate chips.
The recipe is incredibly simple and there’s no need to chill the dough. Plus, it makes an extra big batch – perfect for all your holiday entertaining needs. The recipe is actually adapted from my everyday chocolate chip cookie recipe. It’s straight forward and requires no fancy ingredients or the need to chill the dough. I did however have to increase the flour slightly, as I found the addition of crushed candy canes caused the dough to spread more.
Recipe Tip
Every Christmas, I purchase crushed candy canes (sometimes called peppermint crunch) for all my Christmas baking and decorating. It means I don’t need to crush candy canes myself and is far less messy. You can often fined crushed candy canes at baking stores, online, or in candy stores.
Make Ahead Tips
Chilling the Dough: While not necessary, you can cover the bowl with plastic and place the dough in the fridge for up to 48 hours before forming into balls and baking. Bake as directed in the recipe.
Freezing Dough Balls: The dough can be made and the dough balls can be frozen for up to 2 months. Make the dough and form into balls. Place the dough balls on a plate, cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes so that they dough balls can firm up. Transfer the dough balls to a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, preheat the oven and line your cookie sheets. Bake as directed. Do not thaw the dough balls before baking. They’ll need 1-2 extra minutes.
Freezing Baked Cookies: Bake and cool the cookies. Ensure the cookies are fully cooled first. Place in a freezer bag or freezer container. I recommend placing layers of parchment paper or wax paper between cookies to avoid the cookies sticking together. Thaw in the fridge, then bring to room temperature before enjoying.
More Candy Cane Recipes to Try:
- Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Peppermint Mocha Cookies
- Candy Cane Brownies
- Peppermint Cheesecake
Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Sheets
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (226 grams), softened but not starting to melt
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- ¾ cup brown sugar (156 grams), light or dark, I used light in the photos
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, in addition to the 2 whole eggs, do not use 3 large eggs
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour (438 grams), measured properly
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup crushed candy canes
- 1½ cups chocolate chips (270 grams), divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or baking mats. Lining the cookie sheets is necessary in this recipe because the crushed candy canes can make the cookies stick to the cookie sheets.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamed.
- Beat in the 2 eggs, additional egg yolk and vanilla extract. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl. Mix together, starting with the mixer on a low speed.
- Stir in the crushed candy canes and 1¼ cup chocolate chips (you'll use the remaining ¼ cup for dotting on the tops of each cookie).
- Scoop the dough into balls with about 1 to 1½ tablespoons of dough each. Roll into a ball and place each ball about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the lined cookie sheets.
- Bake 1 cookie sheet at a time in the middle of the preheated oven. Each tray will bake for about 9-12 minutes, or until the tops look just set.
- Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets. Place a few extra chocolate chips on the top of each cookie. Note – the crushed candy canes can make the cookie stick a little to the parchment paper/baking mats.
Notes
- Flour. When measuring flour, whisk first. Then spoon into dry measuring cups and level off the top. Use a scale for the most accurate results.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 cookie, assuming the recipe yields 48 uniform cookies.
