Peppermint White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peppermint is one of my favorite flavors. I enjoy eating it year-round but it seems more socially acceptable to only bake up pepperminty flavored treats during the wintertime. These cookies are the first thing I baked when we moved into our new apartment a couple weeks ago.
Moving during the holiday baking season was rough for me. Not only did I miss out on all the delicious baking that I usually do around the holidays, I also didn’t get to decorate our house. We did get a tree on the 21st which we decorated, but doing this so late in the season really put a damper on my mood.
When I had started to think about what I would bake first in our apartment, my mind instantly went to cookies. I have been on a major cookie kick recently. I figured they’d be great since I was out of work for a few weeks and wouldn’t have anywhere to take my baked goods. So I baked these cookies up and threw them in the freezer. Some of them got taken to friends houses over the holidays and I still have a few left in my freezer.
I used my favorite browned butter chocolate chip cookie recipe but just subbed in white chocolate chips and crushed up candy canes. I learned a tip from a friend about unwrapping candy canes. You know how the plastic gets all staticky and you can’t get it off your hands? If you freeze your candy canes, the static goes away and the wrappers come off easily!
Two Years Ago: Chicken Noodle Soup
Three Years Ago: Kitchen Before and After Pics
Four Years Ago: Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Five Years Ago: Cake Balls, Oreo Truffles, and Peanut Butter Balls
Peppermint White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: 2 dozen large cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup crushed candy canes (~24 candy canes)
sea salting, for sprinkling (optional)
Directions:
Melt the butter in a saucepan until brown and set it aside to cool.
Cream the butter, cream cheese and both sugars together with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add the eggs and beat until combined.
Turn the mixer on low and mix in the flour, salt and baking soda until just combined.
Add the chocolate chips and candy cane pieces and mix until just incorporated.
Cover the dough and refrigerate until chilled, several hours or overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a few trays with baking paper.
Roll 1/4 cup size balls of dough and place them on the trays. Flatten slightly. Sprinkle with sea salt.
Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the edges are golden.
Recipe adapted from Beantown Baker
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’ve been brewing some vanilla extract since about August or September, and I can’t wait to give it to my friend who also loves to bake (and who, coincidentally, just pinned something on Pinterest about making her own vanilla – at least I know she’ll like it!). I need to find a nice bottle for it first though, and she’ll have to be OK that a label may be part 2 of her gift in January. I’m also going to make my sister some of the Fire Roasted Ketchup.
Last year I did the salted caramel sauce for the same friend, and it was amazing. It took me 3 tries to get the taste right (I kept overcooking it and it tasted a little burnt) but it was totally worth it!
beantownbaker — December 9th, 2013 @ 5:48 pm
Oh the homemade vanilla will be perfect for her! And, once you have one batch, you can just keep adding to it so you never run out of vanilla.
I’d love to be on the receiving end of these 😉 great ideas!
Oh! I love making homemade gifts too! This year i made a ton of stuff: orange ginger marmalade, blueberry jam, lemon curd, vanilla sugar, caramelised walnuts, spiced honey, cardamom coffee beans and orange&clove loose leaf tea. Im working on my mustard and your recipe sounds nice!
Love your blog, i always make your blueberry curd, yum!
beantownbaker — January 4th, 2014 @ 10:38 am
Wow – you made a LOT this year! I bet people loved all the homemade gifts. Thanks for reading (and commenting!)