These Peppermint Sparkle Sugar Cookies are the cool, minty holiday cookie you’ve been looking for. Just whip up a simple sugar cookie mix, coat in crushed peppermints and white sugar, and bake! One bowl, no chilling, and a special trick to make these peppermint cookies perfectly circular. Perfect for anytime during the holiday season, and the perfect cookie to leave for Santa.
You can use crushed peppermint candies for these peppermint cookies – easily crush round peppermints or candy canes yourself, or buy them pre-crushed (I found crushed peppermint at HomeGoods, but you can also get them on Amazon).
A simple sugar cookie with crushed peppermint candy both in the dough and rolled on the outside, along with sparkly white sugar, these cookies have an awesome crunch, festive color, and refreshing flavor.
Let’s get to it!
Ingredients needed
- Crushed Peppermint – from candy canes, peppermint candies, or pre-crushed peppermint.
- Flour
- Butter – I prefer salted but unsalted will also work.
- Sugar
- Egg
- Salt
- Baking Powder
How to make Peppermint Cookies
Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the egg. Mix in the salt and baking powder, and finally the flour. Stir in some crushed peppermint pieces. Measure out cookie dough into balls, and press gently into a bowl with more crushed peppermint and white sugar. Bake, cool, and enjoy!
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
How to crush peppermint candies or candy canes
Just put them in a zip-top bag and bang them with a rolling pin. Easy! You can make it a softer, lower impact by buffering with a kitchen towel if you like.
I am remembering a story suddenly of my paternal grandmother backing over a bag with her car to crush something, rather than using a rolling pin… well, that’s certainly an alternative to try out, hah!
Should I really NOT chill the dough?
I don’t recommend it. I tried it both ways, and the peppermint and sugar stuck way better to the room temperature dough, not to mention it was much easier to scoop. Just dive right in – no chilling needed!
How do I get the candy cane pieces to stick?
This can be a little tricky. I recommend pressing the cookie dough balls down into the crushed peppermint and sugar mixture with your hands or with the back of a glass – not too much, but enough to smush the candy into the surface of the dough.
If a cookie looks a little bare, you can sprinkle some of the candy and sugar on top before baking.
How do I get the cookies to be a perfect circle?
These peppermint cookies spread out while baking quite a bit, partly because the dough isn’t chilled and partly because they are smushed down before baking.
To reshape them into a circle after baking – immediately after they come out of the oven when they’re still hot – use a wide glass or circle cookie/biscuit cutter to shape the cookies. Place the circle around the cookies and twirl the cookie around to shape into a circle. Here’s what it looks like:
Can I freeze them?
Definitely! I’ve got a batch in the freezer now waiting to make an appearance at a Christmas party in a few weeks.
I recommend flash freezing the cookies by placing in a single layer on a baking sheet and sticking in the freezer for 30 minutes – an hour or two. Then transfer to a zip top bag. This will prevent them getting bent or stuck together.
Other holiday cookie recipes
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Peppermint Sparkle Sugar Cookies
With crushed peppermint (or candy canes) both in the dough and rolled on the outside with sparkly sugar, these festive peppermint sugar cookies are the perfect minty, crunchy cookie to add to your holiday baking repertoire!
Servings: 36 cookies
Calories: 111kcal
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet or two with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, add the two sticks of butter (stick in the microwave to soften a bit if necessary) and the sugar (1 cup). Cream together with a hand or standing mixer on high speed for about 3 minutes.
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Add the egg, baking powder (1 teaspoon), and salt (¼ teaspoon) and mix for another minute.
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Add the flour (2 cups) and mix until just combined. Add the crushed peppermint (½ cup) and mix again until just combined.
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In a shallow bowl, stir together ½ cup crushed peppermint and ¼ cup sugar.
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Using a small cookie scoop, measure out the dough and scoop directly into the bowl of peppermint and sugar. Using your hands or the bottom of a glass, press gently on top of the dough to coat well with the peppermint and sugar. Don’t press too hard; you want them to be about a half an inch thick.
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Place cookies on the parchment-covered baking sheet. At this point, if the peppermint and sugar didn’t stick very well to some of them, you can sprinkle a little extra on top. Bake at 375 degrees F. for about 10 minutes, or until jut starting to get golden around the edges. In the meantime, you can prepare a second batch for the oven on another baking sheet.
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Optional: These cookies flatten out quite a bit when baking. If you want a thicker circle cookie: Immediately after you take them out of the oven while they are still hot, use a wide glass or circle cookie cutter to run around each cookie gently to shape them into a circle.
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Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool for a few minutes and enjoy!
Notes
- I almost always use salted butter for cookies (blasphemy!). You can use unsalted if you like – just add 1/4 teaspoon more salt.
- Crush peppermint candies or candy canes yourself in a zip top bag by banging it with a rolling pin. Or, buy pre-crushed peppermint candies and save yourself the trouble.
- Freeze the cookies by placing on a baking sheet in a single layer and putting in your freezer for 30 minutes – 2 hours. This will flash freeze them so they don’t stick together. Then, transfer the cookies to a zip-top bag and store for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 111kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 60mg | Potassium: 21mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 161IU | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
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