It’s Day 8 of my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies Series! Of course, there has to be a little white chocolate and peppermint. And since those flavors are so good with dark chocolate, I made these adorable White Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Cookies. I stamped the chocolate sugar cookies with Christmas messages before baking, then dipped them in white chocolate and peppermint for a delicious finish. Red and white baker’s twine tied onto each cookie makes such a pretty presentation.
Looking for more Christmas cookie inspiration? Don’t miss these cute gingerbread cookies, Christmas tree sugar cookies, and classic Linzer cookies with bourbon cherry jam.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- These chocolate sugar cookies have a rich chocolate flavor that’s not too sweet, so they’re perfect for decorating with icing or dipping in chocolate.
- They hold their shape perfectly, and they stay soft and fresh for days.
- If you’re looking for a perfect chocolate sugar cookie for your Christmas cutout cookies, this is the recipe for you!
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Cookies.
- All-Purpose Flour. Provides structure and strength to the cookies.
- Cocoa Powder. Use a good-quality unsweetened, Dutch processed cocoa powder.
- Powdered Sugar. The finer texture of powdered sugar, rather than the coarseness of granulated sugar, makes a very soft, tender chocolate sugar cookie.
- Salt. Coarse Kosher salt balances the sweetness.
- Unsalted Butter. Adds richness, flavor and moisture.
- Vanilla. Flavor, to complement the chocolate.
- Milk. Binds the dough together, without using an egg. An egg would leaven the dough, making it puff and spread, which you don’t want in a cutout cookie recipe.
White Chocolate Dip.
- White Chocolate Chips or Candy Melts. Good quality white chocolate chips will taste better than candy melts, but they do have a yellowish tint to them. The “bright white” candy melts will be nice and white and melt smoothly.
- Coconut Oil. A small amount of coconut oil helps to thin and smooth out the melted chocolate. You can use vegetable shortening instead of the coconut oil, as well.
- Peppermints or Candy Canes. These will be crushed and sprinkled on top of the white chocolate.
Tools and Equipment
- Food Processor or Pastry Cutter. Chocolate sugar cookie dough and shortbread dough is a breeze to make in the food processor, and I love how quickly and easily it comes together. But if you don’t have one, you can make the dough with just a bowl and pastry cutter, then use your hands to work the liquid into the dough until it comes together.
- Rolling Pin.
- Bench Scraper. A necessary tool when rolling out dough or pastry, for everything from loosening it from the counter to cutting the dough.
- Ruler or Straight Edge. For measuring/marking straight lines for the shape of these cookies.
- Cookie Cutters, Pastry Cutter or Sharp Knife. I used a ruler and a pastry cutter to cut my cookies, but you can certainly use any shape cookie cutter that you like.
- Alphabet Letter Embossers. For stamping the Christmas messages on the dough before baking. This is the set of alphabet embossers that I own and love! With the embossed Christmas greetings, and the baker’s twine, these cookies look like edible gift tags.
- Baking Sheets & Parchment Paper.
- Cooling Rack.
- Baker’s Twine. Before baking the dough, I poked holes at the top of each cookie. The red and white twine tied onto the cookies is the cutest touch!
Instructions
Make the Dough.
- In a food processor, pulse the flour, cocoa powder and powdered sugar to combine.With the food processor running, drop the cold butter in, one piece at a time, pulsing until well distributed.Add the vanilla and milk. Run the food processor until the mixture comes together into a soft dough.
- Turn the dough out, and knead 3-4 times to bring together any stray floury bits. Shape the dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Alternatively, if you don’t have a food processor, you can make the dough in a bowl, using a pastry cutter. Using a food processor is quick and easy, but I’ve made the dough by hand many times as well.
Roll out the Dough.
- Set the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface, and lightly flour the top of the dough as well. Roll the dough out to an even thickness; it should be between 1/4 – 1/8 inch thick (1/4 inch is too thick, but you don’t want to go as thin as 1/8 inch).
Cut and Emboss the Dough.
- Line a large baking sheet (or two medium sized) with a sheet of parchment paper. Have a ruler and a pastry cutter or sharp knife ready. Get your letter embossing cookie stamps ready, too, if you’re using them.
- Using the ruler as a straight edge for gliding your pastry cutter against, cut the dough into strips that are 1 1/4 inch wide. Cut 4-inch lengths from each strip. Your cookies should measure 1 1/4 x 4 inches.
- Set the cut cookies 2 inches apart on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather up the scraps of dough, knead together, re-roll, and finish cutting as many cookies as you can.
- Once all your cookies are cut, organize your letter embossers into short words and phrases. Dust them lightly with flour, and then press them into your cookies.
- Be sure to poke a hole at the top of your cookies, for your twine. I used the small end of a #4 piping tip.
Chill the Cut Cookies and Bake.
- Refrigerate the cut cookies for 1 hour. Chilling them helps ensure they don’t spread while baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the chilled cookies on the center oven rack for about 10-12 minutes. The only way to really tell if chocolate sugar cookies are done, is to look at the underneath. The cookies are extremely fragile while hot, so if you’re not sure they’re done, very carefully turn one over; if the dough looks damp underneath, bake the cookies for a couple more minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Dip in the White Chocolate.
- Line a baking sheet with a piece of wax paper or parchment paper to set the dipped cookies on.Cut lengths of twine, about 6 inches long. Carefully thread the twine through the holes in the cookies. You can tie a knot, or a bow, whatever you like.
- Melt the white chocolate and coconut oil in your microwave in a 1-cup glass measuring cup, for 2-3 minutes at 50% power. Stir until smooth.
- Gently dip the cookies into the white chocolate. Let the excess drip off, then set on the baking sheet. When dipping your cookies, I’d advise holding them in the middle, and not by the end. If you hold them by the end, the weight of the chocolate at the other end can break them in half.
- Before the chocolate hardens, sprinkle with the crushed peppermint. Let the chocolate set and harden completely before storing the cookies.
Recipe Variations
These white chocolate dipped chocolate cookies are so versatile, and there are so many delicious and festive ways you could dip and decorate these cookies.
Brush with a Glaze.
Instead of dipping these chocolate sugar cookies in white chocolate, try brushing them with a simple powdered sugar glaze to beautifully highlight the stamped Christmas message.
Dip in Dark Chocolate.
For chocolate lovers, dip these chocolate cookies in milk, semi-sweet or dark chocolate! It’s best to dip cookies in good-quality chocolate that you’ve tempered, rather than chocolate chips, to avoid chocolate bloom when the chocolate cools and hardens on the cookies.
Use Your Favorite Christmas Cookie Cutters.
Instead of cutting the shapes pictured here, use any shape cookie cutter and decorate the cookies with buttercream or royal icing. This is a no spread chocolate sugar cookie recipe, making it perfect for decorated cutout cookies for Christmas.
Add Nuts or Toffee.
Instead of the peppermint, sprinkle dark or white chocolate with crushed almonds, pecans or toffee, and a sprinkling of coarse sea salt. So good!
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White Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Sugar Cookies with Peppermint
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Food Processor or Pastry Cutter
- Rolling Pin
- Bench Scraper
- Ruler or Straight Edge
- Cookie Cutters, Pastry Cutter or Sharp Knife
- Alphabet Letter Embossers
- Baking Sheets
- Parchment Paper
- Cooling Rack
- Baker's Twine
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus extra for rolling
- ½ cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk or cream
- 1 cup white chocolate chips or white candy melts
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 2 candy canes, crushed
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the flour, cocoa powder and powdered sugar to combine.With the food processor running, drop the cold butter in, one piece at a time, pulsing until well distributed.Add the vanilla and milk. Run the food processor until the mixture comes together into a soft dough.
- Turn the dough out, and knead 3-4 times to bring together any stray floury bits. Shape the dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Alternatively, if you don't have a food processor, you can make the dough in a bowl, using a pastry cutter. Using a food processor is quick and easy, but I've made the dough by hand many times as well.
- Line a large baking sheet (or two medium sized) with a sheet of parchment paper. Have a ruler and a pastry cutter or sharp knife ready. Get your letter embossing cookie stamps ready, too, if you're using them.
- Set the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface, and lightly flour the top of the dough as well. Roll the dough out to an even thickness; it should be between 1/4 – 1/8 inch thick (1/4 inch is too thick, but you don't want to go as thin as 1/8 inch).
- Using the ruler as a straight edge for gliding your pastry cutter against, cut the dough into strips that are 1 1/4 inch wide. Cut 4-inch lengths from each strip. Your cookies should measure 1 1/4 x 4 inches.
- Set the cut cookies 2 inches apart on the parchment-lined baking sheet.Gather up the scraps of dough, knead together, re-roll, and finish cutting as many cookies as you can.
- Once all your cookies are cut, organize your letter embossers into short words and phrases. Dust them lightly with flour, and then press them into your cookies.Be sure to poke a hole at the top of your cookies, for your twine. I used the small end of a #4 piping tip.
- Refrigerate the cut cookies for 1 hour. Chilling them helps ensure they don't spread while baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the chilled cookies on the center oven rack for about 10-12 minutes. The only way to really tell if chocolate sugar cookies are done, is to look at the underneath. The cookies are extremely fragile while hot, so if you're not sure they're done, very carefully turn one over; if the dough looks damp underneath, bake the cookies for a couple more minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Line a baking sheet with a piece of wax paper or parchment paper to set the dipped cookies on.Cut lengths of twine, about 6 inches long. Carefully thread the twine through the holes in the cookies. You can tie a knot, or a bow, whatever you like.
- Melt the white chocolate and coconut oil in your microwave in a 1-cup glass measuring cup, for 2-3 minutes at 50% power. Stir until smooth.
- Gently dip the cookies into the white chocolate. Let the excess drip off, then set on the baking sheet.When dipping your cookies, I'd advise holding them in the middle, and not by the end. If you hold them by the end, the weight of the chocolate at the other end can break them in half.
- Before the chocolate hardens, sprinkle with the crushed peppermint.Let the chocolate set and harden completely before storing the cookies.
Notes
- This recipe is a great make-ahead recipe.
- The dough can be wrapped and refrigerated for 1 week, or frozen for 3-6 months.
- The baked cookies can be frozen as well, until you’re ready to dip them.
- The fully decorated cookies can also be frozen, until ready to serve.
- Be sure to handle these cookies gently. They’re a “short” sugar cookie, similar to shortbread with a high butter content, which means they can break if handled roughly. The long length also makes them prone to breaking if you hold them by one end, so pick them up by the middle when dipping in the white chocolate.
- These are no-spread cookies that will hold their shape and size perfectly.
These turned out great! Super moreish yet rich. I hate to be that person – I did make one change which was to use a GF flour this time for a GF family member. I will 100% make these again with plain wheat flour which I think would turn out even better. Thanks for a successful and detailed recipe – the refrigeration tips helped a lot!