White Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies are the perfect Christmas cookie for holiday baking. These easy to make buttery shortbread cookies are dipped in rich white chocolate and then topped off with crushed peppermint candies. Santa will love these cookies!
Holiday Baking
One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is the holiday baking. Every year, I let each of the kids pick out one cookie that they want to make. Then, we all help out getting the cookies made and passed out to friends and family. By the end of the day, I'm usually exhausted and the kitchen is a mess, but we have made some amazing memories. This cookie was especially crafted for my oldest who loves white chocolate. He isn't a fan of milk chocolate (crazy I know), so I always try and make sure there is something different for him. The kids love helping out with the dipping of these cookies and especially the sprinkling of the peppermint.
How to Make the Shortbread Dough
The first thing you will need to do to make these White Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies is to make the shortbread dough. Shortbread dough is different from other cookie dough because it does not have any liquid in it and has a high ratio of butter. This makes for a rich, buttery cookie that pairs perfectly with the zesty peppermint. For this recipe, I used Ina Garten's Shortbread Cookies recipe. It's delicious, straight forward and works great for these dipped holiday cookies. Here's how to make the dough:
- Mix together the butter, sugar and peppermint extract. Make sure to use room temperature butter so it combines well with the sugar. I usually use my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer to whip these up or you can also use a hand mixer.
- Next, you will sift the flour and sugar together to make sure there are no lump. Add this slowly to the butter and sugar while your mixer is on low speed.
- When the dough just comes together, turn it out onto a floured surface and shape into a disk shape. Be careful not to mix the dough too much or it will get tough.
- Then, wrap your dough in plastic and chill it for 30 minutes. This will help prevent the cookies from spreading when they bake.
Finishing the Cookies...
Once your dough has had time you chill, then you need to roll them out and cut them into circles. Bake them just until they are light golden brown and make sure too to cool them before dipping. Now, the fun part! Dip them in the melted white chocolate and place them on a piece of parchment paper and generously sprinkle with crushed peppermint! You will have to give them a little bit of time to dry, but once that chocolate hardens, you are ready to enjoy.
White Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
These festive cookies are delicious to share on Christmas or also make great Christmas gifts. Here are some ways you can enjoy them during the holiday season:
- Cookie Exchanges
- Christmas Gifts for Neighbors
- Cookies for Santa
- Christmas Gifts for Teachers
Hankering for more Christmas cookies? Check out my other post for 10 of the Best Cookie Recipes for Christmas or check out the recipes below for more of my favorite baking recipes:
- Pumpkin Roll with Mascarpone
- Overnight Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
- Amazing Tiramisu Cheesecake Brownies
If you make these White Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies, please be sure to leave a comment and give it a rating. I love to hear from each and every one of you! Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram as well, if you make any of my recipes. It makes my day to see all of your photos of the food you have made.
Happy Cooking!
White Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
White Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies are the perfect holiday cookie! Buttery shortbread cookies are dipped in white chocolate & topped with crushed peppermint candies.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 80 minutes
- Yield: 30 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- ¾ pound unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 3 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 ounces white chocolate (chopped finely)
- ½ cup crushed peppermint candies or candy canes
Instructions
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, sugar and peppermint extract. Mix with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until butter and sugar are just combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a large disk. Wrap disk in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat oven to 350° and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and take out of the plastic wrap. Place dough on a floured surface and roll out to approximately ¼" thickness. Use a glass or round cookie cutter (approximately 2 ½" diameter) to cut circles out of the dough and place on prepared cookie sheets. When no more room is left to cut circles, combine scraps back into a ball of dough and roll out to cut more circles. If the dough gets too soft and sticky, place back in the fridge to chill.
- Bake cookies on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until the edges just barely start to turn golden brown.
- Remove cookies from the oven and let cool for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cookies are cooled, place white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 seconds intervals at 50% power, stirring in between. Be careful not to microwave too long or the chocolate will burn. Only cook it until the chocolate is 75% melted and then stir it until it finishes melting.
- Dip the front half of the cooled cookies in the white chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or waxed paper. Once cookies are all dipped, sprinkled crushed peppermint candies or candy canes on the white chocolate portion of the cookies. Let chocolate set up completely before serving or storing.
Notes
Shortbread Cookies recipe is from Ina Garten
Recipe yields approximately 2 ½ dozen cookies
Nutrition
- Calories: 210
Keywords: chocolate, cookies, holidays, peppermint, vegetarian
**This post was originally published in December 2019 and was updated in December 2020
Daylea Hanzel says
Melt in your mouth delish! I did half the cookies inwhite chocolate and the other half in milk chocolate. Both were fabulous.
Amanda says
Thank you! I'm so happy you enjoyed them 🙂