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Peppermint Snickerdoodles

Peppermint Snickerdoodles
Candy canes are a great decoration for a Christmas tree, but they can have a lot of other great culinary uses, as well. For instance, stirring one into a mug of hot chocolate will give you a delicious peppermint hot chocolate that is indulgent and refreshing. They can also be a great addition to holiday cookies, and I don’t just mean as garnish for gingerbread men! These Peppermint Snickerdoodles have a lot of vanilla and mint flavor, with a hint of cinnamon, and a very festive look.

Snickerdoodles are made by rolling relatively plain sugar cookie dough into a mixture of cinnamon and sugar, which gives them a nice flavorful finish, as well as an attractive look. I simply added crushed peppermint to that coating to incorporate mint into this recipe. The trick to getting this recipe just right is to use the right size peppermint pieces. Use candy canes, not super hard candies, and chop them up finely so that they’re about the size of large sprinkles and not as big as, say, chocolate chips. Sift the peppermint mixture through a medium-sized strainer to get rid of the peppermint dust. You can also buy chopped peppermint for garnishes and topping snickerdoodles, which can be a convenient option. When they’re not too big, the peppermint bits will melt a bit into the cookies during baking, giving them a great look and infusing that peppermint flavor even more.

The finished cookies are chewy on the inside and slightly crisp around the edges. The have a beautiful swirling red-and-white finish, thanks to the peppermint, and you can taste the vanilla, the mint and the cinnamon in each bite. I thought that the mint flavor was a bit too aggressive when I added peppermint extract into the cookie dough, but if you’re a real mint fan, feel free to try it out. These make great ice cream sandwiches with vanilla or chocolate ice cream if you want to dress them up, or simply serve them alongside some of that peppermint hot chocolate.

Peppermint Snickerdoodles

Peppermint Snickerdoodles
2 cups sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped peppermints or candy canes
1 cup butter, soft
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place 1/2 cup of the sugar in a shallow dish or bowl and whisk cinnamon to combine with it. Add in chopped peppermints. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and remaining sugar (1 1/2 cups sugar) until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda. Add to butter mixture and stir until fully incorporated.
Shape dough into 1 inch balls and roll in the peppermint sugar mixture. Place on baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between balls to allow for spreading.
Bake for about 9-11 minutes, until cookies are set and edges are very lightly browned. Cool for 3-4 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen.

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19 Comments
  • Andrea
    December 17, 2010

    YUM! I kind of want to try this now with some sugar cookie dough and just add them in. Have to get some candy canes, though!

  • the blissful baker
    December 17, 2010

    what a perfect way to spice up a snickerdoodle for the holidays! they look fantastic!

  • Pattyann
    December 17, 2010

    Now those look Christmassy. I would love to have one or two with a cup of hot chocolate!

  • Cheryl
    December 18, 2010

    Beautiful treats!

  • Peggy
    December 19, 2010

    Awesome, best of both worlds. My favorite cookie with my favorite candy.

  • Sam
    December 19, 2010

    These cookies look delish & so elegant. I’m definitely going to make them this week. Thank you for posting this great recipe!!

  • Hello Nicole,

    These Peppermint Snickerdoodles look absolutely amazing! I wish you would have some videos on here of the entire process from preparing the materials before putting the tray into the oven to bake to the final tasting. I feel that if you had some videos this would be even more valuable and add a touch of greatness to these baking bites recipes.

    Also, I was wondering what type/kind of sugar you had used and if you knew of any diabetic friendly alternative as I would like to bake this in the oven but with two full cups of sugar it may be an issue serving these at Christmas as my great grandmother wouldn’t probably be able to eat them/enjoy them. Any ideas here would be great as I know there are a few alternatives that would work, many of which I have used to bake in the oven before but I’ve never made Peppermint Snickerdoodles before so…. Any help here would be greatly appreciated!

    Thanks in advance Nicole.

  • Nicole
    December 20, 2010

    Katerine – I used regular white sugar in these cookies and, unfortunately, there is no really good substitute for sugar in baking if you want to preserve the flavor and texture of the baked goods in question.

    But please keep in mind that (a) not all of the sugar in this recipe gets used – you will have some from the coating leftover and (b) the recipe does make 4 dozen cookies, so only a small amount of sugar ends up in each cookie. I’m not going to make a recommendation as to what your great grandmother might be able to eat, but just one cookie – or at least a taste – should be able to fit in with many diets.

  • Carolyn Perry
    January 3, 2011

    I did make these on 12-31-2010. But I used Crisco shortening sticks instead of butter. They came out lighter in color. But they are so chewy. I followed the recipe and only made 3 1/2 dozen because , I made my cookies a wee bit bigger. I’ll try it again with unsalted butter. I just noticed that I didn’t add any salt. Oops, but I love what I made and nobody noticed. They tasted like snickerdoodles with a little chewy candy cane. Thanks for giving me something to do on New Years. I’ll try another candy color& type of candy like red hots..Skies the limit . Thank You Nicole. Have A Happy New Year to Everybody.

  • Jess ;)
    November 27, 2011

    Does the candy cane give it too much kick? Please answer! I want to make sure my family will love it. The peppermint flavor is very strong so do these cookies tone it down? Or is It crunchy???

  • Jess ;)
    November 27, 2011

    OMG they are amazzzzzing!! I love love love them! Next time, and there will be a next time, I will add even MORE peppermints! Yay! THANK U THANK U YHANK U

  • Kate
    December 1, 2011

    I just made these and devoured 5 of them! I love these cookies! I wish I had some vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup…I would totally make an ice cream sundae!

  • jms
    December 8, 2011

    anyone know if these freeze well? I want to make them for an exchange and would like to bake some ahead of time b/c I need to make a lot!

  • jms
    December 10, 2011

    these are so yummy! probably the best dough i have eaten in a while 😉 they seem to have frozen well too.

  • Alissa
    December 11, 2011

    I made these last night for my work holiday party at the request of my boyfriend. I was a little worried at first because mine didn’t look as nice as yours but they are AMAZING! Thank you so much for a great recipe!

  • Allie
    December 22, 2011

    the peppermint snickerdoodles are currently in the oven right now & they are definetly helping to support the christmas spirit from their delectable holiday aroma! thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I am making these as christmas cookie-presents & I am sure that they will be a huge hit. Happy holidays & thank you again for sharing this recipe! (:

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