Chocolate Peppermint Cake Mix Cookies
These chocolate peppermint cookies are made with cake mix, studded with crushed peppermint candies, then dipped in melted chocolate and more peppermint.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 321kcal
Ingredients
- 15.25 oz box of chocolate cake mix
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies divided in half (so you have 2 quarter cups)
- 6 oz chocolate melting wafers I use Ghirardelli brand
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Mix dough
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 15.25 oz box of chocolate cake mix, 2 large eggs, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, and 1 tsp peppermint extract, using a whisk.
- Use a rubber spatula to stir in half of the 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies (so 1/4 cup).
Bake
- Lightly spray a cookie scoop with cooking spray (this helps the dough release from the scoop). Scoop batter onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- ** If you don't have a cookie scoop, you can just divide the dough into 12 evenly sized pieces and roll into balls.
- Bake 10 minutes. The edges should be set and the center will be soft.
Cool
- Remove cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Finish
- Melt the 6 oz chocolate melting wafers in whichever method you prefer (see chef tips below for tips).
- Use an offset spatula or butter knife to spread the melted chocolate over half of a cookie, then sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup crushed peppermint candies.
- Repeat with remaining cookies. Alternately, you can dip the cookies into the chocolate if you don't mind it being a bit thicker.
Notes
- This recipe makes 12 cookies, which you're free to divide into as many servings as you'd like.
- This recipe was tested using Betty Crocker Super Moist (not the Delights version that has pudding in it), and Duncan Hines cake mixes.
Tips for Melting Chocolate:
Melting chocolate seems super easy, but sometimes it goes awry and we don’t understand what happened. Here are my top tips for getting perfectly melted chocolate, every time!- Use a double-boiler. A double boiler is an actual type of pot, but most people don’t have one on hand, so I make my own makeshift one. It’s easy, I promise! Add a bit of water to a sauce pan and place a heat-resistant bowl on top (I use a glass bowl) so it just rests on the sides of the pan, but doesn’t touch the water. Heat the water on LOW heat and add chocolate to the bowl on top. Stir often and you’ll see the chocolate start to melt. Keep stirring, and once you see tiny lumps of chocolate remaining, remove the bowl from the top of the pan. Stir, and the residual heat will melt those last little lumps and you’ll have perfectly melted chocolate.
- Don’t cook on full power. If you don’t want to use the double-boiler, you can use the microwave! Set your microwave to half power (or medium). This lessens the chance of the chocolate heating too quickly and “seizing”.
- Heat slowly. Melt the chocolate in 20-30 second intervals for the first minute, then in 15 second intervals after that, stirring after each cooking interval. It takes longer, but trust me, it’s worth it.
- Add a bit of oil. One of my favorite tricks is to add a little bit (depending on the amount of chocolate, use about 1-2 tsp or so) of vegetable or coconut oil to the chocolate before melting. I don’t think I’ve ever had seized or scorched chocolate when following the above tips and this one!
Nutrition
Calories: 321kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 311mg | Potassium: 172mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 46IU | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 2mg
