Jazz up your chocolate chip cookies with this Chocolate Chunk Candy Cane Cookies recipe! Made with dark chocolate chunks and crushed candy canes, these Christmas cookies are exceptionally delicious and so easy to make.
Take your chocolate chip cookies up a notch
Have you ever wondered how you can jazz up an everyday chocolate chip cookie around Christmas time? It’s fun and easy thanks to this Chocolate Chunk Candy Cane Cookies recipe!
Peppermint chocolate chip cookies have a delightful chocolatey crunch and a refreshing blast of peppermint. Made with all dark brown sugar, the cookies always turn out perfectly chewy and with a slight crisp, just the way you like! They’re really easy and made with staple ingredients, making this a great recipe to make with kids or a loved one.
While they may look simple on the outside, these chocolate chunk cookies are layered with rich flavors. They’d be perfect for Christmas bake sales and cookie exchanges, especially when paired with my Eggnog Shortbread!
Candy cane cookie ingredients
The ingredients in these dark chocolate cookies are fairly simple. They’re made with almost everything a traditional chocolate chip cookie is made with, but with the addition of candy canes!
Baking staples
A mix of dry ingredients and wet ingredients are mixed together to make the cookie dough. Simple dry baking staples, like all purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and dark brown sugar give the cookies a delectable texture. The wet mix of unsalted butter, egg, and vanilla extract is what makes them irresistibly moist and chewy.
Dark chocolate chunks
Big chunks of dark chocolate really help these cookies taste and look elegant. Either buy chocolate chunks in the baking aisle at the grocery store or chop up a chocolate bar instead. Both milk and dark chocolate are delicious but the slightly bitter and rich flavors of dark really help these cookies stand out.
Candy canes
Do you always end up with tons of leftover candy canes around the holidays? Well, this chocolate chip candy cane cookie recipe is a great excuse to use them all up! I recommend you use peppermint flavored candy canes in the cookies but chocolate, caramel, or butterscotch should be tasty as well.
How to make chocolate and candy cane cookies
Finally, it’s cookie time! Mix the dough, let it chill, then bake up these Christmas cookies for a tasty holiday treat:
Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
Step 2: Beat the butter and sugar together in a separate large bowl. When it’s light and fluffy, add the egg and vanilla extract.
Step 3: Add the flour and slowly mix until just combines. Fold in the chocolate chunks and crushed candy canes.
Step 4: Place the bowl with the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Step 5: Spoon the chilled cookie dough into even-sized balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Step 6: Bake the cookies until they’re lightly browned. Let them cool, then dig in!
Customize the flavors
Adding mix-ins to chocolate chip cookie dough is all part of the fun, but it doesn’t have to stop at candy canes! Any of these festive customizations will work really well in addition to or in place of the candy canes:
- White chocolate chips
- Regular chocolate chips
- Pretzels
- Leftover chocolate bark
- Almonds
- Peanut butter cups
- Maraschino cherries
Frequently asked questions
Yes! You can use any chocolate you like. I love the complexity of dark chocolate chunks, but white chocolate chips or semi-sweet milk chocolate chips will also work.
I recommend chilling the cookie dough for at least 1 hour or overnight in the fridge before baking. There’s a lot of moisture in the dough, meaning the cookies will spread out in the oven. Chilling is essential to achieve a tender, soft, and chewy cookie.
Absolutely! Scoop the dough into tablespoon-size balls and let them chill in the fridge until firm. Transfer them to a freezer-friendly bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When it’s time to bake, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until lightly browned around the edges.
Chocolate Chunk Candy Cane Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup tightly packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chunks I love dark chocolate!
- 2 ounces candy canes about 2 large candy canes, roughly crushed
- Optional: a little flake salt to top your cookies once they have baked it’s optional, but I highly recommend it
Instructions
- Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
- Using an electric hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract.
- On low speed, beat in flour to just combine. Mix in chocolate chunks and crushed candy canes.
- Let your cookie dough to chill for at least 1 hour up to overnight before baking.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Evenly spoon cookie dough but the heaping tablespoon onto two parchment-lined baking sheets, and bake until your cookies have lightly browned, 12-14 minutes.
- Let those babies cool just enough so you can pick them up and devour them!
Kathy says
We made these delicious cookies between Christmas and New Years to keep the spirit of the holidays fresh and it was a Great Idea! These cookies were not only festive but the most delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies! So easy to make, the consistency was amazing and the candy cane added the perfect twist. Thank you for sharing this recipe! A great choice for gifting as well!
Michelle Ferrand says
So so glad you all loved them!