Loaded with crushed Oreos, festive peppermint chips, and chocolate chips, these thick and chewy Peppermint Oreo Cookies are perfect for gifting, cookie exchanges, or enjoying with a cozy mug of hot cocoa. This easy, no-chill recipe comes together in one bowl, making it ideal for the busy holiday season
If you love cookies and cream, then you are going to be obsessed with this peppermint version. I can never get enough chocolate and peppermint in December, so this year I decided to combine cookies and cream with classic holiday peppermint, and these Peppermint Oreo Cookies deliver that festive punch in every single bite.
These cookies are soft and chewy and loaded with the perfect mix of crushed Oreo cookies, rich chocolate chips, and cool peppermint flavor. They bake up thick and gooey with crisp edges and festive pops of crushed cookies and peppermint chips throughout.
The cookie dough comes together in one bowl with no mixer and no chilling required, which makes them perfect for busy holiday baking. Whether you are making a batch for a cookie exchange, gifting them to friends, or saving a tray for your family, these Peppermint Oreo Cookies disappear fast.
If you love cookies as much as I do try my sugar cookie blossoms, peppermint chocolate chip cookies or gingerbread cookies.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make: No electric mixer required and everything comes together in one bowl.
- Festive Flavor Bomb: It’s a triple threat of flavor: rich chocolate chips, creamy Oreo chunks, and bright, cool peppermint.
- Freezer-Friendly Dough: The dough freezes beautifully, allowing you to prep ahead and bake warm cookies on demand throughout the holiday season.
- No chilling required: So the dough goes straight from the mixing bowl to the oven, saving time while still delivering consistently thick and delicious cookies.
Ingredient Notes
- Unsalted Butter: Make sure the butter is not cold but slightly firm and almost softened to room temperature. This helps the cookies stay thick and chewy.
- Light Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar: The combination is key. Brown sugar adds moisture and chewiness, while granulated sugar helps with structure and aids in spread. You can use dark brown sugar as well.
- All-Purpose Flour: For best results, measure using a kitchen scale. If using measuring cups, fluff the flour, then spoon and level to avoid packing in too much.
- Oreo Chunks: Use standard Oreos or Peppermint Oreos for an extra mint kick. Do not crush them into fine crumbs! We want distinct, larger chunks (about ¼ to ½inch pieces) for texture and presentation.
- Peppermint Chips: I like using Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips. You can use crushed candy canes or chopped up peppermint bark as well.
- Chocolate chips: I used a combination of white and dark chocolate chips because thats my favorite but semisweet or milk chocolate would also be good here. You can also skip them if you prefer.
Substitutions & Variations
- Chocolate Base: For a deep chocolate flavor, replace ½ cup of the all-purpose flour with ¼ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder.
- More Peppermint: If you prefer the peppermint flavor to be stronger add ¼ teaspoon of pure peppermint extract to the dough.
- Use Candy Canes: Crush starlight mints or candy canes for a topping, but avoid folding them into the dough, as they can melt or dissolve too quickly.
- Mint: If you prefer the flavor of mint instead of peppermint, you can use Andes mint bits and add ¼ teaspoon of mint extract.
- Using different mix-ins. This recipe is super versatile and you can use whatever mix-ins you like. Peanuts, Pecans, and Walnuts are all fabulous nutty choices for holiday treats, and who doesn’t love a cookie with M&Ms or Reese’s Cups.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here is how to make these Oreo peppermint cookies. You can use a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer.
Prep: Preheat your oven to 350F (175C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
Cream Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
Add Egg & Extract: Beat in the egg and vanilla extract until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Combine Dry Ingredients: Whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, mixing on low speed just until the flour disappears. Do not overmix.
Fold in Mix-Ins: Gently fold in the Oreo cookie chunks, chocolate chips and peppermint chips by hand using a spatula. Mix only until distributed.
Scoop and Bake: Use a large cookie scoop (2-2.5 tablespoons) to portion the dough. Place balls 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets. Press extra reserved Oreo pieces and peppermint chips onto the top of each dough ball.Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are light golden brown and set, but the centers still look soft.
Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes (allowing them to finish setting) before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips & Tricks
- Do Not Overbake: This is the most crucial step! Bake until the edges are set and slightly golden, but the centers still look slightly pale and underdone. They will continue to set on the hot baking sheet.
- The Scoot Method: Immediately after pulling the cookies from the oven, use a large, round biscuit cutter or a bowl slightly larger than the cookies and gently scoot it around the edges of the warm cookies. This forces them into perfect circles.
- Leave the Oreo chunks larger: Finely crushed crumbs might disappear into the dough while bigger pieces give that signature cookies and cream bite.
- Reserve Toppings: Reserve a handful of Oreo chunks and peppermint chips/candy cane pieces to press gently into the tops of the cookies before baking. This makes the finished cookies look professional and festive.
- Measure Flour Accurately: For best results, I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your flour. If you're using measuring cups, stir the flour to aerate it, then spoon it into the cup and level it off. It's very easy to overmeasure flour if you scoop directly from the container.
Recipe FAQ's
This happens if your butter was too soft or melted. Make sure the butter is softened but still slightly cool before mixing. If the dough feels too soft, place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes before baking.
Yes, the cookie dough can be made up to 3 days in advance if you refrigerate it. Simply wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap, place it in a Ziploc bag, and keep it in the fridge. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, thaw the dough to room temperature first, or add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
Yes, you can! Use regular white chocolate chips and add a small amount (like ¼ teaspoon) of pure peppermint extract to the dough to ensure you still get that signature peppermint flavor.
Yes. If you cannot find or do not prefer Oreos, you can use any type of chocolate sandwich cookie. They will still give you that same cookies and cream flavor and texture.
Storage & Freezing
- Storage (Baked Cookies): Store fully cooled peppermint Oreo cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4-5 days. For best results, place a slice of bread in the container to help keep them soft.
- Freezing Dough (Unbaked): Scoop the dough into balls, place them on a tray, and freeze until solid. Transfer the frozen cookie dough balls to a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
- Freezing Cookies (Baked): Once completely cooled, freeze the cookies in a freezer-safe container with parchment paper layered between them for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
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Recipe
Peppermint Oreo Cookies
Equipment
- 2 large baking sheets
- Stand or Hand Mixer
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 grams) Unsalted Butter * almost to room temperature
- ½ cup (110 grams) Light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50 grams) Granulated White Sugar
- 1 Large Egg at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ cups (190 grams) All-Purpose Flour spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ⅓ cup Andes Peppermint bits or chips
- ½ cup (85 grams) dark chocolate chips
- ½ cup (85 grams) white chocolate chips
- 1 cup Oreos chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together the softened unsalted butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).
- Beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla extract, until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. Be careful not to overmix!
- Gently fold in the peppermint bits, both kinds of chocolate chips and chopped Oreo pieces until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Scoop the dough using a 2.5 tablespoon cookie scoop and place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Optionally, Press extra reserved Oreo pieces and peppermint chips onto the top of each dough ball
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers look slightly puffy and soft. Remember, they will continue to set as they cool.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- * Make sure butter is not too soft: In order to skip the chill time make sure the butter is at almost room temperature but still slightly firm. If the butter is too soft the cookies might spread way too much in the oven.
- Measure flour carefully using a kitchen scale. If using cups, fluff the flour, then spoon and level. Too much flour can make the cookies dry.
- Do not overbake. The cookies should look slightly soft in the centers when you remove them from the oven. They will continue to set as they cool.
- For extra festive cookies, press additional oreos and peppermint bits on top right after baking.
- While the cookies are still warm, place a circular cookie cutter or a circular drinking glass around one of the cookies (it should be larger than the cookie so you don't cut off any edges) and give the cookies a spin. Swirling the cookie should help to smooth out any uneven edges and make the cookies perfectly circular.
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