Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Cookies have a brownie-like texture, are filled with chocolate chips, crunchy candy cane pieces, and are completely addicting! The ultimate holiday cookie and made in 1 bowl.
The combination of chocolate + peppermint is simply irresistible, especially around the holidays. These Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are the perfect addition to your Christmas cookie tray, along with Snowball Cookies, Gingerbread Cookies, Sugar Cookies and Raspberry Almond Thumbprints!
I adapted this recipe from my Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Cookies, adding a little peppermint extract and crushed candy cane pieces, with a few other minor changes. What we have here is a cookie that tastes like a brownie, with melted chocolate throughout as well as crunchy, sweet candy cane pieces.
The total package and easy to make in 1 bowl!
How to make Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
(This is simply an overview with photos, see below for the full, printable recipe.)
Melt the vegan butter, then add it to a large bowl – I usually just microwave the butter in the same bowl I use for the rest of the ingredients.
Add the sugar and whisk it together with the vegan butter, then add the vanilla, peppermint extract, cornstarch and soy milk. Whisk until smooth. Now add the dry ingredients in this order: flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine; the dough will be thick.
Add the chocolate chips and crushed candy cane pieces and use your hands, or a spoon, to incorporate them into the dough.
Roll into large bowls (2 tablespoons each), then flatten slightly on the pan (they will flatten a bit more in the oven). Bake for 10-12 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Tips & Substitutions
- Use dark cocoa powder, if possible – It makes the cookies dark in color and very fudgy. Natural cocoa powder is fine to use if you have it, just know your cookies will be much lighter in color.
- Don’t over bake the cookies – The cookies will be very soft out of the oven, but will firm up as they cool. Over baking will cause the candy canes to melt too much and the cookies will become too hard.
- Gluten free – Try a gluten free mix, I like King Arthur Flour.
- What to use instead of cornstarch – Tapioca starch/flour, arrowroot and even ground flaxseeds will work in place or cornstarch.
- Alternative to vegan butter – They might work with melted coconut oil or another oil, but I haven’t tested it to know for sure.
Are candy canes vegan?
Many candy canes are vegan, but if you are concerned, check the ingredients and do a little research. Wholesome definitely are as well as YumEarth brand. I believe even Brachs are, but I’m not 100% sure.
Check out my Vegan Cookies index for more holiday baking ideas!
Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/4 cup soy milk *or other plant milk
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder *or regular cocoa, see Notes
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup non-dairy chocolate chips or chunks
- 1 cup crushed candy cane pieces, plus a little more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt the vegan butter, then add it to a large bowl with the sugar and whisk well. Now whisk in the vanilla, peppermint extract, cornstarch and soy milk until well combined.
- Over the bowl with the wet ingredients, sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine. The dough will be quite thick, use your hands if needed. Now fold in the chocolate chips and candy cane pieces, leaving some to place on top of the cookies for decoration if you want. Again, you may need to use your hands to really get the chocolate chips/candy cane pieces incorporated.
- Scoop about 2 tablespoons of the dough at a time, roll into a ball, then flatten a bit on the baking sheet. They will spread out more as they bake. Decorate with a few more chocolate chips and/or candy cane pieces on top, if desired.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until they look cooked on top. They will seem too soft, but will firm up as they cool. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
- Store leftover cookies in a covered container for 3-4 days. They also freeze well.
Notes
- Melted coconut oil or another oil would likely work in place of the vegan butter, but I haven't tried it.
- Tapioca starch is fine to substitute cornstarch with, or arrowroot. Ground flaxseeds work as well, just use 1 tablespoon, no need to make a flax egg here.
- Use any non-dairy milk you like, I used unsweetened soy, which is my go-to milk for baking.
- You can use natural cocoa powder, but I prefer dutch processed, because it makes the cookies very striking, and somehow gives them a better fudgy flavor.
- Many candy canes are vegan, but some are not so make sure to check. You can either purchase crushed candy cane pieces or crush your own using a food processor.
These are delicious, Nora! My cookie scoop broke so I spread the dough in a baking pan for cookie bars. They turned out fantastic! Thank you so much for all your amazing recipes.
Hi Andrea. I love that they turned out wonderful as cookie bars! Thank you for sharing that with me! I appreciate your stellar review and comments! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Very tasty, but I think your recipe calls for too many chocolate chips. I had a really hard time forming a cookie ball with the dough because the chocolate chips kept falling out. As a result, the cookies flattened too much. I’ll try fewer chocolate chips next time.
I made these with my 15yo daughter and they are MAGICAL!
So I make your cupcake version of the peppermint cake which are really good but I just made these cookies and wow they were amazing a most try.
This is my new favorite Christmas cookie recipe! My kids loved them too.
Hi Denise, I’m so glad to read the cookies were a hit with everyone! Thank you for sharing your terrific review! Happy cooking!
I love the taste of these cookies, but I’ve tried making them several times over the past few years and they always spread and flatten out way too much. They taste good but I’m embarrassed to serve them to anyone. What am I doing wrong?
Let’s see if I can help. Earth balance is what I use most often in cookie recipes. Are you positive you had all the measurements right and measured everything properly? To measure flour, I spoon it into a measuring cup, then level it with a knife. If you simply scoop, you can end up with too much or too little flour, rather easily. I’ve made them many times and never had them come out flat. The recipe works for other people as well. I would double check your ingredients, make sure you aren’t leaving anything out and that you have the measurements right. Hope that helps!
They ended up spreading a TON and were flat, semi crunchy cookies instead of thick like the photos. Dough might benefit from some chilling?
If the dough seems too soft, you can definitely chill it for 30 minutes or an hour.