White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
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These white chocolate candy cane cookies are the perfect holiday chocolate chip cookie recipe. They’re soft and chewy with crushed candy canes and tons of white chocolate chips. So simple and perfect for your Christmas cookie tray!
**This post was updated December 1, 2025 with new photos, recipe tips and make ahead advice. The recipe remains the same.**
I don’t think you can ever have enough Christmas cookie recipes – and these white chocolate candy cane cookies are the perfect addition to your holiday baking. They’re a spin on your classic chocolate chip cookies and have a delicious peppermint flavor with tons of white chocolate chocolate chips.
If you’re new to the whole white chocolate and peppermint thing – let me introduce you to your new favorite holiday flavor. The sweet white chocolate goes perfectly with the mintiness of the candy canes. And the red and white color combo makes it feel extra festive.
These white chocolate candy cane cookies also have the perfect cookie texture. They’re soft, chewy and slightly crisp on the edges. Then the candy cane pieces add a delicious crunch that’s seriously addictive.
Ingredients Needed
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter – if you only have salted on hand, that’s ok! Just omit the salt from the recipe
- 1/2 cup shortening – the butter adds flavor, whereas the shortening prevents cookie spread without having to chill the dough
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar – I used light brown.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract – you can omit the peppermint extract if you’re happy with a less pronounced peppermint flavor
- 2 large eggs – they should be at room temperature
- 3 cups all purpose flour – measure properly, or the cookies can get dry
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup crushed candy canes
- 1 1/4 cup white chocolate chips
*If you’d like to use exclusively butter, use 1 cup butter. Then increase the flour by 1/4 cup. This helps prevent cookie spread.
Recipe Tip
Instead of crushing candy canes myself, I always purchase crushed candy canes (sometimes called peppermint crunch). This can often be purchased at baking stores or online during the holiday months. Purchasing crushed candy canes saves time, clean up efforts, and helps avoid sticky fingers.
Method – with Photos
I wanted these peppermint cookies to be a super easy recipe too. They’re just as easy as making your favorite chocolate chip cookies and you don’t have to chill the dough.
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Cream the Butter, Shortening, & Sugars. Keep mixing until you no longer see lumps of butter and the mixture looks fluffy.
- Beat in the Eggs, Peppermint Extract & Vanilla Extract. The eggs should be at room temperature for easier mixing.
- Mix in the Dry Ingredients. Flour, baking soda and salt then get mixed in. After this step, squeeze the dough between your fingers. If it sticks and leaves cookie dough on your fingers (a little grease is fine), mix in 1-2 extra tablespoons of flour.
- Stir in the Crushed Candy Canes & White Chocolate Chips.
- Form into Balls. I make these cookies about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons each in size. You can use a cookie scoop for uniform cookies. Place about 2 inches apart on the lined cookie sheets. For thicker cookies, make the cookie dough balls taller than they are wide.
- Bake. Bake 1 sheet at a time in the middle of the preheated oven. The cookies will need about 8-10 minutes to bake.
- Cool. Cool the cookies for at least 10 minutes on the cookie sheets. I like to add a few extra white chocolate chips on top of each cookie right when they come out of the oven.
Make Ahead Tips
The bowl of cookie dough can be covered and placed in the fridge to chill for up to 48 hours before baking forming into balls and baking.
Cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to 2 months.
- Form the dough into balls, put on a plate and cover with plastic. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes until balls feel firm.
- Place firm dough balls in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven and line cookie sheets as directed in the recipe. Bake cookies as directed from frozen – they’ll likely take 1-2 extra minutes.
These candy cane cookies are a great addition to your holiday baking, and also go quickly! And with white chocolate & peppermint – what’s not to love?
Love candy canes? Try these other favorite holiday treats!
- White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge
- Candy Cane Brownies
- Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake
- Candy Cane Chocolate Cupcakes
White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie Sheets
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (112 grams), softened
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 cup white sugar (200 grams)
- ¾ cup brown sugar (158 grams), light or dark, I used light
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup crushed candy canes
- 1¼ cup white chocolate chips (about 225 grams), divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃) degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl beat together the butter, shortening, white sugar & brown sugar until fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Add in the vanilla extract & peppermint extract, then mix in the eggs 1 at a time.
- Turn the mixer down to low speed and mix in the flour, baking soda and salt. If the dough sticks to your fingers when you squeeze it between them – add in a little more flour 1 tablespoon at a time. You may need up to 3¼ cups in total.
- Mix in the crushed candy canes and 1 cup white chocolate chips.
- Form the dough into balls about 1 – 1½ tablespoons in size* and place 2 inches apart on the lined cookie sheets.
- Bake 1 sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops look just set. Remove from the oven and place a few white chocolate chips on the top of each cookie from the remaining ¼ white chocolate chips
- Cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then continue cooling on a wire rack.
Notes
- Shortening Substitution: If you’d prefer to use entirely butter, use 1 cup butter and 3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour. After stirring in the chocolate chips and crushed candy canes, cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes before forming into balls.
- Making Large Cookies: Form the dough into balls about 3 tablespoons in size and form the dough balls so that they’re taller than they are wide. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the tops look just set. I recommend chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes first if you plan to make larger cookie dough balls.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the fridge for up to 7 days. Fresh cookies are always best. Baked and cooled cookies can be placed in a freezer bag or freezer container and frozen. I recommend placing sheets of wax paper or parchment paper in between cookie layers to avoid the cookies sticking together. Thaw in the fridge.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only based on 1 cookie, assuming the recipe yields 36 uniform cookies.
These won me first place in the office cookie competition!
They were too minty for me. Could use less candy cane and no peppermint extract
I love making these for everyone their so good
Can I use the round peppermint candies instead of candy canes?
Wow!!! These cookies are awesome. Perfect! I used slightly less peppermint extract but just perfect for me. I think next time, I will add macadamia nuts for some crunch. Thank you for sharing your recipe.