You know I couldn’t resist sharing one of my favorite Christmas cookies before the holiday gets here. I made these death by chocolate peppermint cookies a few years ago and they quickly became one of the most popular holiday cookies on AK.
They’re packing double (or triple) chocolate with a perfectly chewy chocolate cookie, chocolate chips and a dark & white chocolate topping. Should I say chocolate again?
These chocolate peppermint cookies are perfect for making with kiddos as a fun project and a guaranteed to impress family and friends!
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Ingredients you’ll need
These chocolate peppermint cookies are loaded with chocolate chips, infused with peppermint extract, baked and then dipped in dark chocolate. Finally, they get drizzled with white chocolate and coated with crunchy crushed peppermint candies. SO GOOD. Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- Flour: We’re using good old all purpose flour to make these double chocolate peppermint cookies.
- Cocoa powder: I recommend using a high-quality, unsweetened cocoa powder for the best flavor. I like to use Ghirardelli.
- Baking staples: you’ll need some salt and baking soda to help the cookies bake properly.
- Sugars: you’ll need both brown sugar and granulated sugar to give these cookies the perfect sweetness.
- Eggs: we’re using one egg and one egg yolk (yes, the yolk only) for a delicious texture.
- Butter: because butter makes every cookie amazing! And gives them the right amount of moisture.
- Extracts: you’ll need both vanilla extract and peppermint extract for that delicious peppermint flavor.
- Delicious add-ins: I love adding dark chocolate chips to the batter for a double chocolate peppermint cookie. You’ll also need some white chocolate chips, a little coconut oil and crushed peppermint candies (or candy canes) for that gorgeous topping!
Optional ingredient swaps
I always recommend sticking with the recipe ingredients as much as possible, but here are a few swaps that should work well:
- Feel free to use vegan butter if you’d like to keep these dairy free. Remember to also use dairy free chocolate chips.
- Instead of cocoa powder, you can also use cacao powder.
- I haven’t tested these with a flax egg, but I think it could work just fine!
Can I make these chocolate peppermint cookies gluten free?
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend a gluten free substitute for these cookies, but my best guess would be to use a 1:1 GF all purpose flour. Good news: I have tons of gluten free cookies on my site! Check them all out here.
Get fancy: add a mocha twist
If you want chocolate peppermint mocha cookies (yum) simply add 2 teaspoons espresso powder or 1 tablespoon instant coffee with your dry ingredients! The coffee flavor brings out that wonderful chocolate even more.
Make perfect double chocolate peppermint cookies
- Prep your oven. Set your oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the dry. Add all of your dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk them together.
- Mix the wet. Use an electric mixer and beat together the butter and sugars. Then add the extracts and eggs until smooth.
- Make your dough. Slowly add the flour mixture to the electric mixer and mix everything just until your cookie dough forms. Carefully fold in the chocolate chips.
- Baking time. Use a cookie scoop and roll together about 2 tablespoons of dough. Place them on your baking sheet 2 inches apart and bake!
- Dunk, drizzle & enjoy. While your cookies are cooling, melt some dark chocolate over the stove or in a microwave-safe bowl. Dip each cookie halfway in the chocolate, and then add your crushed candies. Do the same for the white chocolate but drizzle it on top with a spoon. Then enjoy the perfect Christmas cookies!
Can I make them without an electric mixer?
Yes! Feel free to mix the wet ingredients together by hand, slowly add the dry ingredients in, and mix again until they’re well incorporated. A great arm workout!
How to store chocolate peppermint cookies
Feel free to store these cookies in an airtight container at room temp for up to 5 days. Perfect for sharing over the holidays!
Freezing tips
These chocolate peppermint cookies are freezer-friendly! There are two ways to do so:
- Freeze the dough. To freeze the dough, simply roll it into individual balls and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes. Once the cookie dough balls firm up, transfer them to a reusable freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, simply bake the peppermint chocolate cookies as directed. You’ll likely just need to add a few extra minutes of baking time!
- Freeze the baked cookies. You can also freeze your baked cookies for later. Wait for them to cool completely, then transfer them to a reusable freezer-safe bag or container lined with wax or parchment paper. I like to place them in a single layer to avoid any cookies breaking. Cookies will keep well for up to 2 months. Once ready to eat, simply thaw out at room temperature and enjoy. You can freeze them with or without the toppings.
More cookie recipes you’ll love
- Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Snickerdoodles
- Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Coffee Tahini Date Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
- Mint Chocolate Cookies with Mint Frosting
- Soft Brown Butter Ginger Cookies with Lovely Lemon Icing
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cream Pies with Fluffy Peanut Butter Filling
Get all of my cookie recipes here!
I hope you love these death by chocolate peppermint cookies! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Death by Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Gorgeous chocolate peppermint cookies dipped in dark chocolate, sprinkled with crushed peppermint candies, and drizzled with white chocolate. These double chocolate peppermint cookies are truly a "death by chocolate" cookie. Perfect for holiday baking and cookie exchanges!
Ingredients
- Dry ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Optional if you want mocha peppermint cookies: 2 teaspoons espresso powder or 1 tablespoon instant coffee
- Wet ingredients:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- Mix ins:
- ¾ cup dark chocolate chips (can also use semi-sweet)
- For the coating:
- 1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips + 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- ½ cup crushed peppermint candies (or a few crushed candy canes will also work)
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking pan with parchment paper.
-
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Also stir in espresso powder (or instant coffee) if you want to make these peppermint mocha cookies.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
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Add in vanilla extract, peppermint extract, egg and egg yolk; beat again until well combined smooth and creamy; about 30 seconds longer.
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Add in dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined and the dough forms. Fold in ¾ cup chocolate chips.
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Use a cookie scoop to grab about 2 tablespoonful of dough, then roll dough balls and place on cookie sheet, leaving at least 2 inches apart from one another. Flatten with the palm of your hand.
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Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges begins to set and crackle. Remove and allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Repeat with remaining dough.
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Once cookies have completely cooled, they are ready for dipping! Place chocolate chips in a small pot and place over low heat, stirring until chocolate is melted and smooth. You can also melt the chocolate in the microwave by placing the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate is melted. Once ready, dip cookies halfway in chocolate then place them back on cooling rack or onto wax paper or parchment paper to avoid a mess. Sprinkle chocolate with crushed peppermint candies.
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Next melt the white chocolate and coconut oil the same way you did the chocolate in the previous step. Use a small spoon to drizzle the white chocolate all over the cookies diagonally. It doesn’t have to be perfect and should be festive and fun!
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Place cookies back on cooling rack or wax paper and allow the chocolate to harden completely. Makes 22-24 cookies.
Recipe Notes
Check out the full post for tips on freezing cookie dough and baked cookies!
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen Photography by: Yoga of Cooking
This post was originally published on December 3rd, 2018, republished on December 23rd, 2020, and republished on December 7th, 2022.
124 comments
Mint and chocolate is my favorite combination!! These sound perfect for this time of year!
Best combo for the holidays!
Can I substitute Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour to make them gluten free?
You could try! You may need to use a little less though. Let us know how they turn out if you try it.
I tried it! I used an equal amount of bob’s red mill 1:1. Turned out great but the cookies spread quite a bit more. Fine by me! I just did 1 tbsp scoops instead of 2 for the second batch going into the oven. I would give this recipe 5 stars but for some reason it won’t let me rate 5 stars on mobile.
Thanks for the update, Katie! Glad they still worked out.
Love chocolate and mint together, and my husband loves anything peppermint! YUM 🙂
So good! He’ll LOVE these.
Making these for our book club this Friday! We will be doing cookie exchanges so these will be perfect!
Amazing! I hope everyone loves them 🙂
Could you add actual coffee to this in liquid form? These look amazing!!!
The flavor probably won’t be as strong as using espresso or instant coffee powder, and the extra liquid might thin out the cookies a bit. But let me know if you try it!
So yummy! I dipped some in dark chocolate, some in white. Dipping was a little tricky because the cookies are soft and break easily. I switched to just spooning and drizzling the chocolate over. I’m giving most of them away, but I think I need to make another batch just for me.
Perfect! Glad you loved these and thank you for the rating! 🙂
I don’t think my rating went through on my first comment.
These look amazing. Is the coconut oil absolutely necessary? (I don’t want to have to buy it to use a small amount.) Thanks!
You can use butter instead! Enjoy 🙂
Thank you!
Chocolate peppermint is a combination that really is only enjoyed in the winter holidays, but I think it’s great all the time! I recently tried one of my friend’s vegan peppermint chocolate crinkle cookies and rekindled my love for peppermint. I bet these cookies would taste so marvelous, especially with the chunks of dark chocolate and white chocolate chips!
Love chocolate peppermint! Best combo during the holidays 🙂
Think you could sub coco butter for real butter to make dairy free?!?
No, but i think a refined coconut oil would work well!
I’m in the process of making these cookies and they are flat. Not sure what I did wrong. I followed the directions.
I’m sending them to school with my teenager to share. They’ll still get eaten, but I’m disappointed in the results.
Strange, did you flatten the top of the dough too much?
Hi Monique! I love love looooove everything about these cookies, along with the rest of your site & everything you share 🙂 I am going to be graduating college soon and I am wondering if you have any jobs (anything at all!) available at Ambitious Kitchen. I would love to get into this space, as I am a HUGE foodie and nutrition-lover. Would love to get some great experience under my belt.
Thanks!
Ali
Hi Ali! So glad you’re loving the recipes here 🙂 We’re not currently hiring, but we’ll be sure to post on the blog if we are in the future. Thank you!
Thanks for the recipe! I made these for a cookie exchange over the weekend and they were a big hit! Sooo good!!!
Amazing! So glad they were a hit 🙂
I made these with gf flour (1 to 1) and vegan butter. So good. Think I will add in a bit of cocnut oil next time as they seemed a little dry, but the flavor is awesome. Thanks again Monique!
Glad those swaps worked out! Enjoy 🙂
Absolutely loved these! They turned out great and honestly are so delicious. My bf and I cannot stop eating them LOL. Definitely will become a staple christmas cookie for us.
Love it! Perfect for Christmas 🙂
Will a flax egg work?
Yes it should work!
I made these cookies and they are great! I have a situation I hope you can help me with. For several years I’ve been sending cookies overseas at Christmas. I’ve sent many kinds but want to find new ones that stay fresh for the 2 week trip. Can you help? Thanks!
Hi Jim! Glad you like these. I wouldn’t recommend any cookies out at room temperature for more than 2 weeks. Perhaps you can send them frozen or expedite them? Would that be an option for you?
The Death by Chocolate Peppermint Cookies really are to die for! Simply Scrumptious!
Glad you love them!!
How many dozen cookies does this recipe make? I need them for a cookie exchange this weekend and a holiday party! 🙂
Never mind I saw it at the very bottom!
Perfect. Enjoy!
Such a yummy (and easy) recipe! I used margarine instead of butter and they turned out great. One thing I might do differently next time is crush the candy cane slightly finer – some larger chunks can be touch to chew in the middle of an oh-so-soft cookie. Will definitely be making these again!
Perfect! And great tip on the candy canes. Glad you enjoyed!
My favorite holiday candy is Andes mints, so when I saw this I was so excited to try it for Christmas! I made a batch last night and am making another today bc they are that good! Since Andes are my fav I swapped red and white peppermint candies and sprinkled some Andes mints on top. SO delicious. The dough recipe with the chocolate chips is the perfect mix of each. Another amazing recipe!
Amazing! Such a great holiday cookie 🙂
A good chocolate mint cookie is hard to find and this one nails it. You maybe tempted to leave out the extra egg yolk, but don’t. The extra yolk makes them fudgier
Absolutely! So happy you love these!
I made these for my family at Christmas, & they were a hit! My grandmother said it was the best cookie she ever had! I added crushed candy cane on top, but I think I’ll do a softer peppermint topping next time!
Amazing! So happy to hear that 🙂
These are delicious! I didn’t think half a teaspoon of peppermint would be enough but it is the perfect amount! Will definitely be making again 🙂
Glad you enjoyed! Yes, peppermint extract is pretty strong so you just need a bit 🙂
Second year these will be in my cookie boxes, they were a hit last year! I also recommended to a friend and she’ll be making them for family this year too, simply the best!
Amazing! Glad you love them 🙂
Can’t wait to make these! Do you think these would freeze okay either in dough ball form or after they’re baked?
Yes! They’ll freeze beautifully both ways 🙂
Hi Monique, I just discovered your website and I can’t wait to make the recipes you’ve perfected. First one I want to try is death by chocolate peppermint cookies. Should I chill the cookie dough first? Most cookie recipes tell you to chill the dough for an hour or two first so the cookies don’t spread too much. Thank-you your website is beautifully designed
Hi Missy! No need to chill the dough first unless it seems like it’s getting too warm as you continue to roll it into cookie dough balls 🙂 Enjoy!
I made these yesterday with my 4 year old granddaughter. They turned out well and everyone loved them. I followed the recipe exactly as written. We did make one fun addition at the end. After putting the white chocolate drizzle on, we sprinkled them with sparkling green sugar. So much fun and very festive. I will definitely be making these again.
Amazing! Love that!
I just made these and OMG are they good. Only thing I’d recommend is for the white chocolate topping to pour the melted chocolate into a plastic bag, cut off a corner, and drizzle it over the cookies that way. The spoon method was too messy and came out in blobs. 10/10!!
Great tip! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
The star rating wasn’t working, but this is a 12/10. Absolutely phenomenal! I’ve been seeing this recipe on Instagram and finally got around to making my 1st batch and loved them! Shared cookies with friends and family and immediately everyone is asking for the recipe – my Aunt made the next day! Definitely a staple cookie recipe for chocolate lovers, balanced with a hint of mint.
So glad you loved these!!
These are a perfect festive cookie! I did not dip them in chocolate, I ended up doing a drizzle with the chocolate and white chocolate. They looked perfect with the peppermint candy on top! And the taste was fantastic!
So delicious, make every Christmas and when I am not in a peppermint mood I omit the peppermint extract and have an excellent chocolate cookie!
Perfect! Great idea 🙂
Love this cookie. Tastes so similar to the peppermint girl guide cookies, but bigger and homemade! We made them for some neighbors at Christmas and all of them asked immediately for the recipe.
Absolutely! Glad they were a hit!
OMG, these are amazing! My Family loves these. I’m a weirdo and don’t really like cookies but these, you just can’t stop eating.
So incredibly delicious. I always make these around the holidays. They are always a big hit. Perfect amount of mint and chocolate.
Thrilled to hear you love them, Cassandra!
Does this recipe do well when doubled or tripled? Looking to make a large quantity for cookie boxes. Thanks!
Definitely! Such a great idea 🙂 Hope you love them.
this is the best website
Thank you, Sharon!!
Monique – love all of your recipes that I’ve tried and this one is no different. The cookies are both simple and delicious! I made mine with a mix of mini dark chocolate chips and large chocolate chips and that worked out really well – little morsels of chocolate in each bite. One thing I can quite figure out is that my cookies flattened and spread quite a bit. Still delicious, but not thick and chewy looking like yours. Any ideas what I might have done wrong?
Hi, Kaitlyn! SO happy you loved these. I’d recommend checking out my brand-new Ultimate Guide to Cookie Baking (free to download!) which has lots of tips and ways to troubleshoot common problems like spreading 🙂
Made these last night and they are absolutely delicious! Instead of dipping in chocolate (to save time), I added a few more chocolate chips to the dough and pressed some candy cane pieces into the top before baking. I will definitely be making these again.
Nice!! So happy you loved them, Brogan!
LOVE these cookies. They were such a crowd favorite last year and I’m definitely making them again this year. Maybe I missed it somewhere, but how many does one batch make?
So excited for you to make them again! In the last step it says that they make 22-24 cookies 🙂
The chocolate is rich and perfectly balanced with the peppermint. Your cookies always live up! My husband said, “these won’t last 1 night.”
NICE, so glad to hear you both loved these, Cara!
My favorite holiday cookies ever. I look forward to making these every year since discovering them. Almostttt tops the brown butter chocolate chip cookie. Just different.
Meant to rate this with my comment!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you love these (and the brown butter ones 😍)
These turned out amazing! How long would I cook them if I did 1 tbsp size dough balls?
Hi! I can’t be sure since all ovens are so different, but be sure to bake them until they’re set (but not too firm)!
These are SO good. Worth taking the time to decorate. I made a batch with all-purpose flour, and also a batch with 1:1 Gluten Free Flour. Both came out perfect and yielded 24 cookies. I baked each batch for 11 minutes, and gave them plenty of time to dry. Seriously recommend these cookies!
Nice!! I’m so glad they both came out amazing and that you loved them 🙂
I made these cookies in 2020 and again just yesterday. My granddaughters (2 1/2 and 5) helped me decorate them with their extra touch of sprinkles on top of the white frosting. Beautiful! There is no one in my home or their’s that doesn’t love eating these delicious chocolaty minty cookies!
Such a fun project to do together! Glad you all loved them 🥰
I made these gluten-free with one and a quarter cup of oat flour and one and a quarter cup of gluten-free flour and the texture and consistency or closer to what I see on your photos. I don’t know how to take a picture of mine or I would. My kids and I love them and amazingly enough they like them without the chocolate dip and extra Chocolate drizzle! Thanks for the recipe! It’s another winner at my house!
So glad you guys are loving these, Debi!! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂
Please put the recipe sooner
You can click the “jump to recipe” button at the top to get there quickly 🙂
I stumbled across this recipe looking for an alternative to the chocolate peppermint cookies I usually make. Although it’s the end of summer now, my kids were begging for something new to take on school lunch. My youngest asked for chocolate peppermint cookies, but my oldest asked me to “leave the peppermint extract out next time” when I made those cookies at Christmas. I thought it was time to look for something new and found your website (because chocolate and peppermint are a killer combination and it HAS to be the old recipe that wasn’t working, and not the flavor choice, right?)
I tried this recipe as the inaugural bake using my new stand mixer, but I think it would have been just find with a handheld mixer or even by hand in a pinch. The dough was very soft when I finished mixing it, and I didn’t want to wait to chill it so I baked right away. The cookies spread and were large (maybe 2.5 inches across) but not flat by any means—just big! Next time, I will either try to refrigerate the dough for a bit, or use less than the 2 tablespoon scoop recommended.
I typically hate people who leave reviews talk about how they change the recipe, but I took the lazy way out so I think it’s OK here because it’s not really a change. I did not dip the cookies and dark chocolate mostly because I didn’t have time to wait that long for cooling and it was late and I couldn’t deal with the mess. I also did not put the crushed peppermint candy on, as my oldest complained about getting the candy stuck in her teeth as she was trying to eat the cookies last time/with the old recipe. What I did do is drizzle the white chocolate/coconut oil over top. It made the cookies look beautiful (and professional, if I do say so myself). The only drawback is you can’t tell the flavor of the cookie by looking at it – I mean there’s nothing that screams peppermint just by selecting a cookie from the cookie platter. Anyway, my family can’t stop eating them. The are soft yet chewy (not at all crunchy, which I think is the extra egg yolk working it’s magic).
This was my first bake from your site, and now I can’t wait to try some more. Thanks for a great recipe – even if I took some shortcuts, it still turned out amazingly!
Thanks SO much for the review, Kelly!! I’m so happy to hear you’re all loving it. They’re one of my fav cookies ever! Appreciate the comment ❤️
I just made a test batch of these and folk, lemme tell you- these are possibly the best cookies I’ve ever made in my life . (And I’ve made a LOT of cookies over the years!) They are perfect. Just… man… I am blown away by them. 10 stars! Can’t wait to make these as gifts for this Christmas!
Thank you for this amazing recipe!!😃
AH YAY! Thank you so much, I am excited to hear that you are loving this recipe ❤️🙂
Have you ever made this version dairy free?
Sure. You can use vegan butter and DF chocolate chips!
Oh, my goodness!!! These are so delicious!!! Easy to make + turned out amazing. This is your sign to make these!
So awesome! I made these for a party last night and I got rave reviews!!
These were delicious! If you love peppermint you should definitely add a little more. We didn’t add the coffee and definitely think that would add a good depth of flavor.
We also slightly reduced the amount of both sugars and they were plenty sweet.
All in all highly recommend these cookies. Very pretty and festive looking too.
WOW! These were very fun and festive to make, and they taste delicious. Just the perfect holiday indulgence that looks too pretty to eat!
LOVE this! Glad you are loving this recipe, such a fun one to make ❤️
Do you think white chocolate chips would be good in these? Can’t wait to try these cookies – thanks for sharing!
Sure!
These are delicious!!! I’ve already made them twice for family & friends and plan to make them a third time.
So happy to hear that! Glad you are enjoying this recipe ❤️🙂
This is by far my favorite recipe! Absolutely delicious cookie. You can keep them in the fridge and eat the cold, tastes like a brownie cookie. I get so many compliments when I make these! Highly recommend!
So glad you love these! Great idea to eat them straight out of the fridge, too.
Just made these cookies today, They came out ok, butI encountered a problem with the white chocolate chips not melting properly. It didn’t have the correct consistency for drizzling onto the cookies, even though I melted the same way as the dark chocolate, except I included a little butter as noted in the comments versus coconut oil. The white chocolate had a dry pasty consistency which I read can be due to either the temperature or the white chocolate coming into contact with water. I used the same pot which I had washed so it’s possible perhaps it wasn’t dry completely. Based on the recipe, I didn’t anticipate the white chocolate not getting to the right consistency. After two frustrating times with no success I found something online about salvaging the white chocolate by adding a few teaspoons at a time of boiled hot water to get the right consistency. Although a little diluted it sort of worked out, but overall was disappointed that it didn’t have the right consistency out of the gate, Skipped the peppermint or sprinkles as unfortunately everything has Red 40 in it and not convinced this is safe for consumption, although not banned in the US. If I make these again, I think I would perfect to frost the cookies.
Sorry to hear the white chocolate chips didn’t melt correctly! It sounds like they may have come in contact with water and started to seize up. If the chocolate starts to solidify slightly you can always put it back on the heat with a little coconut oil or butter to help smooth it out. I hope you enjoyed the cookies themselves!
I can’t wait to try these! I just finished my chocolate coating and am waiting for it to cool before my taste test.
I had an issue with my white chocolate drizzle. My white chocolate chips went from warm chips to toasted chewy mush in one 30 sec microwave interval (yes, I stirred them). Maybe my chips are old or there’s some other cause, but just keep an eye on your white chocolate or to be extra safe, go the stovetop route! This was the last of my white choc chips so sadly mine will be sans drizzle, but something tells me they’re gonna be amazing anyway.
Thanks for a great holiday recipe!
Wow! These are amazing! The dipped dark chocolate with the white chocolate drizzle and candy canes on top are what make this cookie so good!