Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe (2024)

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Sugar cookies with a peppermint twist – this Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe belongs in every kitchen for the holidays. Full of holiday flavor, these soft sugar cookies will be a hit all season long.

PIN IT FOR LATER!

If you love peppermint, you’ll also love these Peppermint Kiss Cookies.

Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe (1)

We are well into December now – which means that I have already been going crazy with the holiday baking. And what says “Christmas cookies” more than peppermint and sugar cookies?? This Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe has become a favorite over the last few years. The peppermint is not too overwhelming, and the cookies themselves are not overly sweet. But the combination of the cookies and the frosting is perfection for me.

Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe (2)

Ingredients in this Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe

For the cookies, you will need:

  • Flour
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • salt
  • butter
  • sugar
  • eggs
  • peppermint extract
  • sour cream

For the frosting, you will need:

  • butter
  • peppermint extract
  • powdered sugar
  • salt
  • heavy cream
  • crushed candy canes
Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe (3)

How to make soft Sugar cookies

To make this soft sugar cookie recipe, start by combining the dry ingredients – the flour, baking powder and baking soda and the salt. Then beat the butter until it is smooth. Beat in the sugar, followed by the eggs and peppermint extract. Add in the sour cream. Only beat until combined. Divide the dough into two and wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Roll the dough out on a floured workspace. Roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness and cut circles with a circle cookie cutter.

Frost the cookie with the peppermint buttercream and top with crushed candy canes.

Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe (4)

Tips for making these peppermint soft sugar cookies

This dough will be sticky, especially before being refrigerated. Make sure you refrigerate the cough before trying to roll it out. If you do make the dough the night before, the dough might be too stiff to roll out. Simply let it sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes before rolling it out to make cookies.

If you don’t have a circle cookie cutter, you can use a jar or a cup with a wide mouth.

I like to cook my cookies on parchment paper or a silpat liner versus right on the cookie sheets.

Do not overbake the cookies. Take them out of the oven before the bottoms start to brown. You do not want these overbaked.

Store the cookies covered in the refrigerator. I like to just keep them on a baking sheet with a lid.

Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe (5)

More Peppermint Recipes

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Baked Peppermint Donuts
Peppermint Marshmallow Sauce
Peppermint and Cookie Popcorn
Red Velvet Peppermint Gooey Butter Cookies

Tools Used to Make These Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookies

A set of circle cookie cutters always comes in handy.

You’ll want parchment paper or a silpat liner for baking.

I think having a stand mixer makes recipes like this so much easier.

Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe (6)

Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe

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Author: Deborah Harroun

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 3 hours hours 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 36 cookies

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

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Sugar cookies with a peppermint twist - this Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe belongs in every kitchen for the holidays. Full of holiday flavor, these soft sugar cookies will be a hit all season long.

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 6 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter at room temperature
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream

For the frosting:

  • 1 cup butter at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 6 tablespoons heavy cream
  • crushed candy canes for decoration

Instructions

  • Combine the flour, baking powder, baking sod and salt in a medium bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.

  • In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) beat the butter and sugar until it is fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the sour cream and the peppermint extract, mix well. Gradually start adding the dry ingredients, beating just until combined.

  • Divide the mixture in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hours, or overnight.

  • Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

  • Lightly flour a workspace, then turn out one half of the dough onto the counter. Roll the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Dough will be a little bit sticky, so use flour as needed to avoid sticking.

  • Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out circles and transfer to prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies just until set, and still pale, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack or to a piece of waxed paper on the counter to cool completely.

  • To make the frosting, beat the butter in a large bowl until soft and fluffy. Add the peppermint extract. Start adding in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until completely combined. Add the salt and the cream and beat until light and fluffy.

  • Frost each cookie and top with crushed candy canes.

Recipe Notes:

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should only be used as a general guideline.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 290kcal (15%), Carbohydrates: 39g (13%), Protein: 3g (6%), Fat: 14g (22%), Saturated Fat: 8g (50%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 50mg (17%), Sodium: 83mg (4%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 24g (27%)

Keywords: peppermint sugar cookies, soft sugar cookies

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Meet Deborah

Welcome to Taste and Tell. Here you will find easy, fast and family friendly recipes. I am a believer that anyone can cook and that dinner doesn’t have to be complicated. Come join me in my kitchen! Read More

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Reader Interactions

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Comments

  1. Bethany Zimpel says

    I love this cookie! Everyone raves about them and I now make them every year. Worth the extra work.

    Reply

    • Deborah says

      I’m so glad you love them!

      Reply

  2. Carol says

    Made this recipe for my cookie exchange! It was easy and they were awesome!

    Reply

  3. rose says

    I love butter cookies. Thank you for sharing this with me

    Reply

  4. kaylan says

    I’m totally doing these for a cookie swap, about how many does one batch make?

    Reply

    • Deborah says

      One batch makes 4-5 dozen.

      Reply

  5. Becca says

    I made these a few days ago and everyone LOVED them! They are so super soft and I’m so happy with the peppermint taste. Instead of candy canes (i don’t like the way it makes your teeth feel haha) I substituted Andes baking chips. DELISH! Thanks so much for the recipe. Will be making them again!

    Reply

    • Deborah says

      I’m so glad to hear that you loved them!!

      Reply

  6. Kelli says

    I am assuming they added food coloring as well cause the frosting is pink?????

    Reply

    • Deborah says

      Yep – just add a few drops of red food coloring.

      Reply

  7. Lynsey says

    Could you freeze these?

    Reply

    • Deborah says

      I haven’t tried freezing them, but I’m guessing you could freeze them before frosting them.

      Reply

  8. Sarah says

    I loved the look of these cookies, but the batter was too difficult to handle. It really made the process frusterating. The cookies ended up tasting like flour rather than butter because of all the flour I had to use to keep the batter from sticking when rolled out onto parchment paper. The cookie tasted okay (especially if you want a biscuity, not very sweet cookie) but not great. Next time I will try to create the same “look” using my favorite sugar cookie receipe. The frosting wasn’t as creamy as I would have liked, either. And, the candy canes bled by the morning after. So, you should apply the candy canes right before serving.

    Reply

  9. Traci says

    Sad because I don’t have 6 cups of flour in the house 🙁 oh well…they will have to wait until this weekend! These look so good! I’ll be asking them for a pregnant friend who is craving craving craving peppermint! (And me…who is not pregnant but just loves to eat cookies 😉

    Reply

  10. Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says

    Nothing says Christmas cookies more than these! I can’t wait to make these with my niece!

    Reply

  11. Lori @ RecipeGirl says

    I LOVE butter cookies… what a yummy holiday version!

    Reply

  12. Rachel Cooks says

    Oh yum! These look divine!

    Reply

  13. Kristen says

    Those look so good! Love the pink!

    Reply

  14. Cassie | Bake Your Day says

    I love how soft and fluffy these are. And that frosting…hand over a spoon!

    Reply

  15. Joanne says

    I looovveee peppermint in my cookies and you’re so right – tis the season!

    Reply

  16. Erin @ Texanerin Baking says

    These are so festive! And so soft looking. Next time I go to the US I’m buying peppermint extract and candy canes for sure!

    Reply

  17. Emily says

    SO festive–love them!

    Reply

  18. Roxana | Roxana's Home Baking says

    I love making cookies, in fact I have to make few more these days for our cookie swap later next week. I love how soft these look like, definitely a must make!
    Thanks for sharing Deborah

    Reply

  19. Averie @ Averie Cooks says

    I have wanted to make Lofthouse-ish type cookies for ages – and love the idea of peppermint! I’ve always talked myself out of similar recipes to this due to the batch size – and difficutlty in halving 3 egg recipes – but gosh, I want.them.now. They look fabulous!

    Reply

  20. Becca @ Crumbs and Chaos says

    LOVE the looks of these 🙂 I can’t get enough peppermint right now!!

    Reply

  21. kelley {mountain mama cooks} says

    The look so soft and fluffy! I need a good soft sugar cookie recipe and these would be great for Christmas!

    Reply

  22. Laura (Tutti Dolci) says

    Beautiful cookies, Deborah! Perfect for the holidays!

    Reply

  23. patsy says

    Not only festive, but perfect for the season! They look like they would be hard to resist!

    Reply

  24. Laura says

    Peppermint is totally the holidays to me too! Love these! Pinning now! How long do they keep?

    Reply

    • Deborah says

      @Laura, I would guess that they would be good for a couple of days, but the candy canes on top will probably start to bleed. They do stay soft, though, so you might even get them to last a little longer (if you don’t eat them all first!!)

      Reply

      • Patty says

        Can You freeze these and add the candy later?

      • Deborah says

        I haven’t tried freezing these, so I couldn’t say for sure, but my guess would be that they would freeze just fine.

  25. Chels R. says

    Mmm, these look yummy and I love the pink frosting!

    Reply

  26. Jennifer @ Mother Thyme says

    These definitely need to go on my cookie baking list!

    Reply

  27. Frieda says

    I’m a big fan of a soft frosted cookie…these look amazing & 100 x better than the ones in a plastic clam shell container in the grocery store that my kids beg me to buy!

    Reply

  28. vanillasugarblog says

    I’m just getting through my gingerbread kick, then I move on to peppermint.
    lol

    Reply

  29. Rosa says

    So pretty and festive!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply

  30. Blog is the New black says

    These look great! I just made brownies with peppermint frosting and my husband went nuts!

    Reply

  31. Katrina says

    These are so fancy! Love the look of them. Yum!

    Reply

Peppermint Holiday Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient to keep cookies soft? ›

Light corn syrup is another ingredient that you can add to cookie dough that will help it stay softer longer. The corn syrup you buy at the grocery store is not the high-fructose corn syrup that soft drinks are made with; it's a sugar that is liquid at room temperature and helps other sugars say liquid at high heat.

How to make cookies that stay soft? ›

More Tips for Cookie Success
  1. Don't overmix. Only mix the cookie batter until the ingredients are incorporated. ...
  2. Preheat the oven for a precise temperature and baking time.
  3. Use more than one baking sheet, even if baking one batch at a time. ...
  4. Follow your recipe's instructions. ...
  5. Don't stack cookies while they're still warm.
Nov 13, 2023

How to soften sugar cookies? ›

Microwaving them. If you cover your cookies with a wet paper towel and nuke them for a few seconds, they should soften up enough to eat.

Why aren t my sugar cookies soft? ›

All-purpose flour – Make sure to weigh your flour accurately. If you add too much flour, your cookies won't spread at all and won't be soft or chewy. Baking powder – This gives the sugar cookies lift, without adding too much spread or browning.

What ingredient makes cookies harden? ›

Baking powder

Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate and acidic salts. The reaction of these two ingredients results in a cookie that is soft and thick, but slightly harder.

What makes cookies stay fluffy? ›

Butter keeps cookies fluffy in two ways. First, creaming cold butter with sugar creates tiny, uniform air pockets that will remain in the dough it bakes up. Second, cold butter naturally takes a longer time to melt in the oven.

Why do my cookies get hard right after I bake them? ›

They go from soft to hard because they start to dry out, and it begins as soon as you pull them from the oven. (Yikes.) Whatever moisture is left in the cookies is always in a state of evaporation. At the same time, the sugars and starches are solidifying.

How to make cookies chewy not hard? ›

If you enjoy your cookies soft and chewy, chances are likely the recipe contains a common ingredient that serves a very specific purpose. No, it's not granulated sugar, nor the butter. It's not the egg, all-purpose flour, or even the vanilla extract. The simple, yet oh-so-necessary component is cornstarch.

Why did my cookies come out hard? ›

the more you mix cookie dough. the more the gluten develops and they become hard and dry and an unfavorable texture.

Why are my sugar cookies always hard? ›

Working the dough too much.

bad habit of mixing in the dry ingredients until they were completely incorporated. And then mixing the dough even more, for no good reason. Thankfully I was eventually steered in the right direction. Over-working the dough yields a tough cookie, which is not at all what you want.

Why are my sugar cookies not hard? ›

But if you roll the dough out too thick, then they won't cook through and become dense and, honestly, pretty gross. The ideal thickness to roll out your sugar cookie dough is about 1/4"--that way, they'll be tough enough to be handled and decorated, but thin enough to stay a little crunchy.

What is the trick to sugar cookies? ›

From the dough to the baking to the icing, our guide will leave you with the perfect sugar cookie this holiday season.
  1. Opt for Room Temperature Eggs. ...
  2. Splurge on "Pure" Vanilla Extract. ...
  3. Whisk the Flour. ...
  4. Chill the Dough. ...
  5. Refrain from Overmixing. ...
  6. Go Easy on the Flour. ...
  7. Bake on Parchment Paper.
Dec 16, 2014

How long should you chill sugar cookie dough? ›

Transfer the dough, still between the two pieces of parchment paper, to a baking sheet. Chill in the fridge for at least two hours to allow the dough to firm up, and up to three days ahead. Proceed with the recipe as written - such as my easy sugar cookie recipe.

Are sugar cookies better with butter or shortening? ›

Which One Should I Use in Cookies? Basically, cookies made with butter spread more and are flatter and crisper if baked long enough. However, they are more flavorful than cookies made with shortening. Cookies made with shortening bake up taller and are more tender, but aren't as flavorful.

What makes cookies chewy and not hard? ›

If you enjoy your cookies soft and chewy, chances are likely the recipe contains a common ingredient that serves a very specific purpose. No, it's not granulated sugar, nor the butter. It's not the egg, all-purpose flour, or even the vanilla extract. The simple, yet oh-so-necessary component is cornstarch.

What makes cookies soft and flat? ›

Explore the following reasons why cookies spread too much so you can achieve better results the next time you bake.
  1. OVEN IS TOO HOT. ...
  2. INGREDIENTS MEASURED INCORRECTLY. ...
  3. BAKING SHEET IS TOO HOT. ...
  4. BUTTER IS TOO SOFT. ...
  5. BAKING SHEET IS OVER-GREASED. ...
  6. DOUGH WASN'T CHILLED BEFORE BAKING. ...
  7. DOUGH IS OVERMIXED. ...
  8. BAKING SHEET WAS OVERCROWDED.

What does adding cornstarch to cookies do? ›

1. Cookies. Cornstarch does kind of incredible things to cookies. I mean not only does it give them soft centers, prevents them from spreading, and makes them somewhat thick (in a good way), but it also contributes to the chewiness factor, which, in my opinion, is the most important cookie attribute.

What are three factors that contribute to a chewy cookie? ›

Salted butter, softened – I prefer salted butter but you can also use unsalted and add an extra pinch of salt to the dough. Brown sugar – Just brown sugar because we will get the 'granulated sugar' flavor from the corn syrup. Corn syrup – The corn syrup is what makes these cookies CHEWY FOR DAYS.

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