These are the best peppermint sugar cookies — soft, chewy cookies with a sweet buttery base and tiny pieces of peppermint candy throughout. Finish each one with a swirl of bakery-style vanilla buttercream and extra crushed candy for a festive holiday treat.
Equipment Checklist
This recipe is simple and requires only a few basic tools: a mixer, baking sheets with parchment paper, a wire rack, and a small cookie scoop if you have one.
Stand mixer or electric mixer
A stand mixer makes the dough easiest to prepare, but a handheld mixer works fine too.
Parchment paper
Use parchment to line pans for easy cleanup and even baking.
1-ounce cookie scoop
A cookie scoop gives uniform cookies; alternatively divide the dough into 13 equal pieces.
Wire rack
Cool cookies on a wire rack before frosting so the buttercream doesn’t melt.
Why you’ll love this Peppermint Sugar Cookie Recipe
- Balanced peppermint flavor — the crushed peppermint candies add a bright minty note without overpowering the cookie.
- Soft, chewy texture — adapted from a bakery-style sugar cookie, these have a slight bite on the outside and remain tender inside, especially with the fluffy buttercream and crunchy candy pieces.
- Perfect for the holidays — peppermint is a classic seasonal flavor and these pretty cookies make a beautiful addition to cookie boxes and platters.
Ingredients
This recipe is quick to make. The cookie dough does not require chilling before baking, and the frosting whips up in minutes.
Dry Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Cream of tartar — for a slight exterior “shell” texture
- Instant Clearjel (optional) or instant vanilla pudding mix — helps the cookies stay soft and tender
Wet Ingredients
- Salted butter
- White sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- Peppermint candies — unwrapped and finely crushed
The frosting is a bakery-style vanilla buttercream with cream cheese. Shortening in the recipe helps the piped swirls keep their shape while cream cheese cuts the sweetness. Finish with plenty of crushed candy canes for crunch and extra mint flavor.
Baker’s Tip
Crushed candy canes are sometimes sold in the baking aisle seasonally. If not, unwrap Starlight peppermint candies or candy canes, place them in a bag or towel, and crush with a rolling pin until you reach the desired size for sprinkling.
Variations
- Skip the frosting. These work well plain — simply bake the peppermint-spotted cookies and leave them unfrosted.
- Chocolate peppermint. Swap the vanilla buttercream for chocolate buttercream for a classic peppermint-chocolate combo.
- Add mint to the frosting. If you want extra mint, add about ½ teaspoon peppermint extract to the buttercream, but go light — peppermint is potent.
- Use cookie cutters. If you prefer cut-out shapes, roll the dough and use cutters; add crushed candy to the dough or as a decoration on top.
Storage
Store frosted cookies in a container at room temperature for up to 24 hours. After that, place them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days. Bring refrigerated cookies back to room temperature before serving so the buttercream softens.
Key Recipe Notes
- Don’t overbake. Cookies will look slightly underdone when removed from the oven — that yields the soft interior once they finish setting on the tray.
- Extra frosting is fine. You may have leftover buttercream; it freezes well and is handy for a future batch.
More Great Recipes for Winter
-
Moist Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
-
Valentine Cookies with Buttercream Frosting
-
Soft, Buttery Orange Cupcakes with Fluffy Frosting
-
Frosted Peppermint Sugar Cookies
Aren’t these frosted peppermint sugar cookies irresistible? Soft, buttery, and just minty enough, they have a melt-in-your-mouth texture that makes them hard to stop eating.
Thanks for reading. ❤️
📖 Recipe & Step-by-Step Instructions
Frosted Peppermint Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Mixer
- Sheet pans or cookie sheets
- Parchment paper
- 1-ounce cookie scoop
- Disposable piping bag and 1M star tip
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 200 grams (1½ cups) flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- (optional) 2 teaspoons Instant Clearjel or 1 Tablespoon instant vanilla pudding mix
Other Cookie Dough Ingredients
- 1 stick (4 ounces) salted butter, soft
- 100 grams (½ cup) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 3 round peppermint Starlight candies (about 16 grams), unwrapped and finely crushed
Vanilla Frosting and Decorations
- One batch prepared Vanilla Bakery Buttercream Frosting
- Additional crushed peppermint candy, for topping
Instructions
Make the Peppermint Sugar Cookies
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).
- Whisk the dry ingredients together until well combined.
- In a mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Beat on medium; the mixture may separate briefly but will come back together—stop once it is uniform.
- On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. Stir in the crushed peppermint candies. Avoid overmixing.
- Using a 1-ounce cookie scoop, portion dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets (about 13 cookies). Alternatively, divide into 13 equal balls (~2 tablespoons each).
- Bake on the middle or upper rack for 10 minutes, or until the bottoms are just lightly golden and the tops have lost most of their shine. Cookies may look slightly underbaked on top; they will finish setting on the tray as they cool.
Frost the Peppermint Cookies
- Prepare the Vanilla Bakery Buttercream. Fit a disposable piping bag with a 1M star tip and pipe a swirl of buttercream onto each cooled cookie. Sprinkle with additional crushed peppermint.
- Store frosted cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours. After 24 hours, refrigerate and bring back to room temperature before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Instant Clearjel helps keep the cookies tender and is best whisked with the dry ingredients first. Instant pudding mix contains a similar modified starch; either is optional but reduces spreading.
- You will likely have extra frosting from the suggested buttercream batch. Leftover frosting freezes well for later use.
- The measured amount of peppermint candy looks small but provides noticeable mint flavor and pretty flecks in the dough.