Healthy White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Celebrate the joy of the holiday season with some healthy white chocolate peppermint cookies! With just a few simple ingredients, you can have these delicious cookies whipped up in no time. They look like they belong on the North Pole, but you can make them right in your kitchen!

Easy Gluten-Free White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Peppermint is one of the most iconic flavors of the winter holiday season! Bright red and white striped candy canes decorate Christmas trees. Peppermint mochas warm your hands as you shop for gifts. It's part energizing and part heart-warming, all in one!

These little cookies (+ this hot cocoa cookie recipe) pretty much sums up how I feel about Christmas. They look like you're about to hear sleigh bells or catch some snowflakes on your tongue.

You can't even tell that they are gluten-free! They are so rich and tasty that the fact that they are healthy is just a bonus.

I keep talking about them being Christmas cookies, but you can enjoy them all year long! I personally love peppermint anything all the time. If you do too, then keep reading, and I'll share my recipe with you.

Ingredients In Peppermint Cookie Recipe

This is a very simple and basic recipe that tastes like you bought the cookies at a bakery. Here's what I used:

• Butter: This is what gives the cookies their rich flavor. Use an entire stick of butter, which is ½ cup. Unsalted butter is best in this recipe! If you use salted butter, don't add more salt.
• Coconut Sugar: As a healthy sweetener, we will use ½ cup of coconut sugar.
• Eggs: This is the binding agent. You'll need 2 eggs for these cookies.
• Flavorings: To bring out the sweet taste, we will use a teaspoon of vanilla extract and ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract. Make sure not to over pour the peppermint extract as it is very potent so you don't want it to overtake the flavor of the cookie.
• Flour: In order to keep these cookies gluten-free, we will use 1 ½ cups of Bob's Blue 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour.
• Baking Powder: The baking powder gives the cookies a little lift. We will use just ½ teaspoon.
• Salt: We will just add a pinch of salt (about ¼ teaspoon) to bring out the flavors in these cookies. If you used salted butter, leave this out.
• Candy Canes: Crush up a few candy canes until you have ½ cup.
• White Chocolate Chips: We will use a cup of mini white chocolate chips in these yummy cookies.

Kitchen Tools Required

If you have ever made cookies before, you probably already have all the tools in your kitchen. Here is what I used when I made them:

• Cookie Sheet
• Parchment Paper
• Large Bowl
• Electric Mixer or Stand Mixer
• Small Mixing Bowl
• Cookie Scoop

For measuring, you will need 1 cup, ½ cup, ½ teaspoon, and ¼ teaspoon.

How To Make Yummy White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

First, preheat your oven to 350F and then line a baking sheet with some parchment paper.

Beat together butter and coconut sugar in a large bowl using a hand mixer, stand mixer, or a strong whisk.

Add in eggs, vanilla, and peppermint and beat until blended well.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, and stir them until they are completely combined. The mixture should be thick.

Add in crushed candy canes and white chocolate chips. Using a cookie scoop, scoop into tablespoon-size balls and place on baking sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Let cool.

Top with melted white chocolate and more crushed candy canes if desired.

Below are some common peppermint cookie questions. Don’t see the answer you’re looking for? Leave a comment at the bottom of this post!

What is an easy way to crush the candy canes?

The easiest way is to place your candy canes in a food processor and let the processor chop them up. It takes almost no effort!

Or, you can place the candy canes in a resealable plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them. This is a fun activity for the kids to help with.

Can I dip these in melted white chocolate?

Yes, you definitely can! In fact, it's a fun trend, and lots of people do it. Just melt some white chocolate chips and dip half the cookies into the melted chocolate. I like to sprinkle more candy cane pieces on top too.

What can I use if I don't have a cookie scoop?

If you don't have a cookie scoop, then use two tablespoons. The cookie dough is too sticky to use with your hands, so you will need to use some sort of utensil.

You'll also need to make sure each cookie is the same size. This way, they will bake evenly.

What can I use instead of parchment paper?

These white chocolate peppermint cookies are known to stick to baking sheets. If you don't have parchment paper, then I suggest using a silicone baking mat. You could also use your favorite baking spray. If you do, make sure you spray every single inch, or else parts of the cookies will stick to the tray.

These holiday cookies are really easy to store! Keep them at room temperature in an airtight container. They will stay fresh for up to a week.

Just make sure that wherever you keep them won't get too warm. If it gets warm or hot in your kitchen, move them to the refrigerator so that the white chocolate drizzle doesn't melt.

These cookies are also freezer-friendly! To freeze them, place them on the baking sheet in a single layer. Then, put the baking sheet in the freezer until all the cookies are completely frozen. Once they are frozen solid, you can put the cookies into a resealable freezer-safe food storage bag.

The cookies will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 6 months.

If you liked this recipe, you'll want to try these!

Here are some more of my favorite cookie recipes. Enjoy!

• Healthy Salted Caramel Cookies
• Healthy No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies
• Double Chocolate Mint Paleo Cookies
• Flourless Almond Butter Cookies
• Healthy White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Recipe by Erin Morrissey and Photos by The Mindful Hapa