Gluten Free Chocolate Candy Cane Crush Cookies
I know that there are a lot of iconic holiday flavors, but in our house, peppermint + chocolate is a must-have combination during the holidays. These gluten-free chocolate candy cane crush cookies certainly meet that requirement! Topped with a white chocolate drizzle and crushed peppermint candies, these cookies are so rich with a texture like a brownie.
Jump to RecipeImages and recipe card updated on 7/21/21.
It seems silly that I have been writing recipes for so long but have very few of my cookie recipes that I have shared with the world. Of course there have been a few like my shortbread cookies, peanut butter blossoms, sugar cookies, Mexican wedding cookies, and another chocolate peppermint combo in meringue form. But it’s hard to believe that I’ve somehow neglected to share this recipe for my Chocolate Candy Cane Crush Cookies.
This recipe evokes my childhood memories of sipping rich hot cocoa that’s been stirred with a candy cane. I remember how sticky it made my fingers, and how cozy it made me feel. How after my mom would plunk me in a hot bath to wash off the sugar, then bundle me up in warm jammies and put me to bed. These chocolate peppermint cookies taste like a big hug and are the first to disappear from the dessert bar at holiday parties and cookie exchanges (as if those are happening this year…). AND I have it on very good authority that Santa absolutely LOVES these cookies.
The dough freezes beautifully, so I often bake off half of it and freeze the rest for another time, usually well after Christmas on a gloomy day in February when I am feeling nostalgic for the holidays.
What cookies are on your must-have list?
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Chocolate Candy Cane Crush Cookies
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (or Hand Mixer)
Ingredients
- 1 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips, divided
- ½ cup 4 ounces/1 stick salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract divided
- 1-1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour Cup4Cup or Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour is good here
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum omit if your flour blend contains it
- ½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 cup gluten-free white chocolate chips
- 3 or 4 candy canes crushed, or ¼ cup peppermint bits
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Put 1-1/3 cups of the semisweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute, stir the chips, then heat again until melted, 30 to 60 seconds. Stir until smooth. Let cool slightly.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the butter. Add the sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and 1 teaspoon of the peppermint extract. Beat until smooth, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat again. Stir in the cooled, melted chocolate.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture and beat until combined. Stir in the remaining chocolate chips. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Scoop the dough with a medium-size cookie scoop or hand-shape walnut-size balls and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are slightly cracked on the top but still slightly yield to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the pans for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Place the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high in the microwave for 1 minute, stir, and heat again until melted, about 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. Stir in the remaining ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract. Pour the melted white chocolate into a small piping bag or plastic sandwich bag. Snip off one corner and drizzle over the cookies in a zigzag pattern. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes over the cookies before the chocolate sets.
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