Peppermint Candy Sugar Cookies Recipe delivers buttery edges, soft centers, a cool mint crunch, and a light vanilla glaze. It suits cookie trays, bake swaps, and mint fans, and you can finish a batch in about 1 hour 30 minutes including chill time. I once baked a test batch at 10 p.m., and my neighbors somehow showed up with cocoa.
Why Choose This Peppermint Candy Sugar Cookies Recipe
This Peppermint Candy Sugar Cookies Recipe gives you soft sugar cookies that hold their shape and still taste tender. The glaze locks in moisture and helps the peppermint candy stick without turning sticky. You get bakery looks with simple pantry moves.
I keep the peppermint balanced, not toothpaste-strong, and the dough rolls smoothly with minimal cracks. The cookies keep their lift, and the centers stay soft the next day. Your holiday platter will look festive without a frosting marathon.
“These minty sugar cookies vanished from the dessert table before I could snag a second one ★★★★★”
Ingredients You Need
- All-purpose flour: 2 1/4 cups or 270 g (King Arthur or Gold Medal both keep spread consistent)
- Baking powder: 1/2 teaspoon
- Fine sea salt: 1/2 teaspoon
- Unsalted butter, softened: 3/4 cup or 170 g (use salted butter and cut added salt to a pinch)
- Granulated sugar: 3/4 cup or 150 g
- Large egg: 1
- Pure vanilla extract: 2 teaspoons
- Peppermint extract: 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon (start small; it runs strong)
- Optional festive mix-ins: 1 tablespoon nonpareils or sanding sugar for the dough
Glaze and topping:
- Powdered sugar: 1 cup or 120 g
- Milk or half-and-half: 1 to 2 tablespoons, as needed
- Vanilla extract: 1/2 teaspoon
- Pinch of salt
- Peppermint candies or candy canes, crushed: 1/2 to 3/4 cup (crush in a bag with a rolling pin; go for small bits, not dust)
- Optional: 4 ounces white chocolate, melted, for drizzling in place of glaze
Pantry shortcuts and swaps:
- Use high-quality refrigerated sugar cookie dough when the schedule feels tight. Add 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract to the dough and proceed with rolling or scooping.
- Swap the glaze with store-bought vanilla icing thinned with a teaspoon of milk.
- Go gluten-free with a 1:1 baking blend. Let the dough rest 10 minutes after mixing to hydrate.
Equipment:
- Mixing bowls, whisk, and silicone spatula
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- Measuring cups and spoons or a kitchen scale
- Rolling pin, cookie cutters or a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop
- Parchment paper and two rimmed baking sheets
- Zip-top bag and rolling pin or mallet for crushing candy
- Wire rack
How to Make Peppermint Candy Sugar Cookies Recipe
Prep and preheat
- Line two baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
Mix the dry ingredients
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Keep it nearby.
Cream butter and sugar
- Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Scrape the bowl. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and peppermint extract until smooth.
Add the dry to the wet
- Add the dry ingredients on low speed until the dough comes together. Stop when no dry streaks remain.
- If the dough feels sticky, fold in 1 to 2 tablespoons flour.
Chill the dough
- Press the dough into a flat disk. Wrap it and chill for 30 minutes to make rolling clean and easy.
Roll and cut or scoop
- Lightly flour your counter. Roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut shapes or scoop 1.5-tablespoon balls and flatten them to 1/2 inch thick.
- Place cookies 2 inches apart on the lined sheets.
Bake
- Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack for 9 to 11 minutes.
- Pull the cookies when edges look set and centers still look pale. They finish on the sheet.
Cool
- Let the cookies rest on the sheet for 5 minutes. Move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Mix the glaze
- Whisk powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until smooth and pourable. Adjust with a few drops of milk or a spoon of sugar as needed.
Crush the peppermint
- Seal candies in a zip-top bag. Crush to small bits with a rolling pin. Aim for confetti-sized pieces.
Decorate
- Spoon or dip the tops with glaze. While the glaze still looks wet, sprinkle with crushed peppermint and press lightly so it adheres.
- Let the glaze set at room temp for 30 to 60 minutes. If you drizzle with white chocolate, sprinkle candy right after the drizzle.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- Measure flour with a scale or fluff, spoon, and level to avoid dry cookies.
- Keep butter cool to the touch. Too-warm butter makes cookies spread.
- Chill the dough so cutters release cleanly and shapes hold.
- Bake on parchment, not on greased sheets, to prevent over-browning.
- Pull cookies when centers look pale. They firm up as they cool.
- Keep peppermint extract light. It turns intense fast.
- Add peppermint candy after baking. Candy baked on top melts into sticky puddles.
- Crush candy to small bits for clean bites. Powder melts into the glaze and fades.
- Ice a few cookies at a time so the topping sticks before the glaze sets.
- Bake one sheet at a time in the middle of the oven for even color.
Variations I've Tried
- Chocolate swirled: Drizzle cooled cookies with melted dark or white chocolate and a pinch of crushed mint.
- Cocoa dough: Swap 1/4 cup flour for Dutch-process cocoa. Add 1 tablespoon milk if the dough feels dry.
- Sandwich cookies: Spread vanilla buttercream or whipped ganache between two cookies and roll the edges in peppermint bits.
- Mocha mint: Add 1 teaspoon espresso powder to the dough and finish with a white chocolate drizzle.
- Lemon mint: Add 1 teaspoon lemon zest to the dough and keep the same glaze for a bright twist.
How to Serve
Set these peppermint sugar cookies on a holiday dessert board with chocolate crinkle cookies and gingerbread to balance flavors. Pair them with hot cocoa, peppermint mocha, or black tea for a cozy match. Crumble a couple over vanilla ice cream for a quick sundae. Pack them in tins with parchment layers for gifting and add a small packet of cocoa mix as a bonus.
Make-Ahead and Storage
- Make the dough up to 3 days ahead and keep it wrapped in the fridge. Freeze the dough for up to 2 months and thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Freeze shaped but unbaked cookies on a sheet, then bag them for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen at 350°F and add 1 to 2 minutes.
- Store baked and decorated cookies in an airtight tin at room temp for 3 to 4 days. Keep them away from other cookies or everything will taste minty.
- Freeze baked but undecorated cookies for 2 months. Thaw at room temp, then glaze and top with candy.
- Refresh day-old cookies in a 300°F oven for 3 minutes to perk up edges without drying the centers.
Peppermint Candy Sugar Cookies Recipe
Peppermint Candy Sugar Cookies deliver buttery edges, soft centers, a cool mint crunch, and a light vanilla glaze—perfect for cookie trays, swaps, and mint fans.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and fine sea salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl, then beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract until smooth.
- On low speed, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until the dough comes together and no dry streaks remain. If using, fold in the nonpareils or sanding sugar. If the dough feels very sticky, fold in 1 to 2 tablespoons additional flour.
- Press the dough into a flat disk, wrap it well, and chill for about 30 minutes to firm up for easier rolling and clean cuts.
- Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Roll the chilled dough to about 1/4 inch thickness.
- Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or scoop about 1.5 tablespoons of dough per cookie, shaping into balls and flattening each to about 1/2 inch thick.
- Arrange cookies at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack for 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges look set and just turning lightly golden while the centers remain pale. The cookies will finish setting on the hot sheet.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of milk or half-and-half, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt until smooth. Adjust the consistency with a few drops more milk or a bit more powdered sugar to make a thick but pourable glaze.
- Place peppermint candies or candy canes in a zip-top bag and crush with a rolling pin or mallet until you have small confetti-sized bits.
- Spoon, spread, or dip the tops of the cooled cookies in the glaze. While the glaze is still wet, sprinkle with crushed peppermint and press gently so the pieces adhere.
- Let the glaze set at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes before serving or storing. If using melted white chocolate instead of glaze, drizzle it over cooled cookies and top immediately with crushed peppermint.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Approximate per cookie (about 24 cookies): 150–170 calories; fat 7 g; saturated fat 4 g; carbohydrates 23 g; fiber 0 g; sugars 16 g; protein 2 g; sodium 80 mg. Values will vary based on exact candy amount, glaze thickness, and portion size.
Approximate per cookie (about 24 cookies): 150–170 calories; fat 7 g; saturated fat 4 g; carbohydrates 23 g; fiber 0 g; sugars 16 g; protein 2 g; sodium 80 mg. Values will vary based on exact candy amount, glaze thickness, and portion size.