Description
Levain Bakery Chocolate Peppermint Cookies are decadent, large-sized cookies featuring a rich chocolate base studded with chocolate chips and peppermint crunch baking chips. Perfectly soft and slightly underbaked inside, these cookies deliver a festive combination of smooth cocoa and refreshing peppermint in every bite.
Ingredients
Scale
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup Cold Butter (cut into cubes)
- 2/3 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 2 1/2 cups Flour (may use 1 cup cake flour plus 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
Add-ins
- 1 1/2 cups Chocolate Chips
- 10 ounces Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit if making the classic 6-ounce cookies. For smaller sizes (3-5 ounces), preheat to 385 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure even baking without burning.
- Cream Butter and Sugars: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the cold cubed butter, brown sugar, and sugar using a mixer for 4 minutes until the mixture is light, fluffy, and well combined. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway to incorporate all ingredients evenly.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture, then mix for an additional 1 minute to blend everything smoothly.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients and Chips: Gently fold in the cocoa powder, flour blend, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Carefully fold in the chocolate chips and peppermint crunch baking chips to distribute throughout the dough without overmixing.
- Form Cookie Balls: Roll the dough into large balls weighing approximately 6 ounces each for the signature size. If preferred, make smaller balls of 3, 4, or 5 ounces. Arrange the dough balls on a light-colored baking sheet, spacing them well. Press down slightly on each ball if you want thinner cookies.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 11 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. The cookies should appear slightly underbaked when removed from the oven as they will continue to set while cooling on the baking sheet.
- Cool and Set: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes to finish setting before transferring or serving. This helps them maintain their gooey, soft texture inside.
Notes
- Using cold butter helps create the characteristic thick, pillowy texture of Levain’s cookies.
- Rolling dough balls at 6 ounces results in the classic bakery size, but smaller sizes yield equally delicious cookies that bake faster.
- Do not overbake the cookies; they will look underdone but will firm up during cooling.
- Pressing down dough balls before baking makes for thinner, more evenly baked cookies.
- The combination of cocoa powder and peppermint chips delivers a festive and rich flavor balance perfect for holidays or year-round.
