Every year Christmas celebrating seems to start earlier and earlier. This year at my local Walgreens there was Halloween candy on one side and Christmas on the other, in September. Some people are sticklers about no Christmas stuff until after Thanksgiving, some not until December, and then there are those who get excited when the first Christmas song on the radio comes on. Now some do go a little overboard. There are my neighbors who put up Christmas lights in October. Though I just really like to think of the lights as extra illumination to help with the Neighborhood Crime Watch, and not to think of them as Christmas lights until the end of November.
I think the reason why people rush into the holiday season and start wanting to decorate in August is because for most people the holidays are a happy time. They want that recaptured. And I guess the figure the quicker they start to celebrate it, the better. 
My friend C doesn’t really start getting into the holidays early, but she does usually start thinking about what cookie she will make for cookie exchange. She consults me every year as to what she will be making. She likes simple, as she is not a big baker (and yet still my friend 
). This year she said she wanted to do a chocolate chip cookie but make it more holiday-ish with peppermint or something. So here is what I did with that. No these aren’t reinventing the wheel by any means. But they are chocolate and mint and really, those are flavors you can’t go wrong with.
So if you are annoyed by your neighbors and all there early Christmas decorating, just figure that they are trying to be in a better mood. A happier neighbor makes for a happier neighborhood.
Peppermint Crunch-Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
7 ounces milk chocolate chips
7 ounces Andes Peppermint Crunch Chips
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl by hand), beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla on medium speed just until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly incorporated, then stir in the flour mixture followed by the chocolate and peppermint chips.
On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into quarters. Shape each quarter into a log about 9 inches long. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, preferably for 24 hours (do this part for real please).
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Slice the logs into disks ¾ inch thick and place the disks 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. If the chips crumble out (and they will), simply push them back in, they reshape nicely.
Bake, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking, until the cookies are very lightly browned in the centers, about 10 minutes. If you like soft chocolate chip cookies, as I do, err on the side of underbaking.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.
Adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz
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Thanks for the recipe! I just tried it out using Trader Joe’s peppermint bark instead. They came out delicious!
http://dontmesswithmama.com/2011/12/20/peppermint-bark-cookies/
I couldn’t find these in chip form, but I used the individually wrapped peppermint crunch squares and just broke them up in a plastic bag. They came out great!
@Marilynn- good thinking!
I made these with Brach’s Star Brites peppermint candies. I just put them in a baggy and crushed them with a hammer (if you are thinking of doing that you might want to find another way… it was messy… even double bagged…) and they turned out great! Not sure what the consistency of the peppermint was supposed to be like but the chunks in my cookies were almost taffy-like… very sticky but delicious. Because the chunks were so small, they didn’t stick to your teeth, they were just like a slightly sticky cookie. My family and I loved them!
I’m relatively new to your page. It’s Feb and I already can’t wait until Christmas to try this recipe out!
Approx how many cookies does this reciepe yeild?
@laura- depends on what size you make your cookies. Probably the standard 2 1/2 dozen
Last year I had a Otis Spunkmeyer cookie that had these ingredients. I absolutely loved them. I have been looking for this recipe. Thanks
Walmart has the Andes Candies bits in their holiday baking section
I made these a couple weeks ago. It made 4 rolls, and I froze 3 of them. Chocolate chip cookies and peppermint, what a great combination. They were delicious. I have since then baked the frozen ones, and they were just as good if not better than the first time around. Thanks for the great recipe. And, I think I will use this as my cc cookie recipe from now on minus the peppermint chips.
Okay..so I just made the dough and it is SO, SO sticky . I added a bit more flour to the recipe but still really stick and messy to make into a log. I will be shocked if they come out! But if they are yummy as you all attest, I will admit!!
Just made these cookies for my share in the town cookie plates they give to seniors. The recipe turns out perfect. Mine yielded 5 dozen following the recipe to a t. Thanks so much for giving such specific directions. My last dozen is in the oven now, since I signed up to make 4 dozen , this dozen is all mine !!!!
I want to make these, but only have candy canes. Could I crush and use them?
@linda- yes though candy canes texture changes when baking
Hi , I made these last week and they were a hit , I am making this fir pur cookie exchange . i just have 2 questions !! Why didn’t you use baking powder , and can I use this way ( refrigerate over night ) with any cookie dough recipe ?
Thank you
@Riham- Because it’s a cookie and I don’t need it to rise. And I can’t say if it will work for every cookie or not every recipe is different.
I think I am going to try these with crushed candy canes – they sound wonderful.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Linda
O I just wrapped these and put in fridge to set and started cleaning up when I see 1/2 stick butter sitting there sigh. Then realized I only put 1/2 stick butter in them not 1 stick….is this going to mess it up? What should I do? THanks
@Tabitha- yes it will mess it up you are missing a large ingredient that is important to the cookie. You can try and bake them but they will most likely be very dry.
Thanks
I ended up calling my mom and she got me taking care of and the cookies fixed. The cookies are my new fav cookies Thanks for the recipe!
I am making these for the third time now now and they are fabulous! I couldn’t find the peppermint chips either, so just used candy canes that I crushed in a ziplock bag. Also didn’t put them into rolls first, just scooped onto parchment-lined cookie sheet and they were great!
I just made these tonight. I did not in fact, do the logs as intended, it was perfect and stiff that moment! Maybe because I did it by hand? So I did not do the refrigeration step and there was no harm done =D I also used the Andes mints in rectangle form. I chopped them up for 7 ounces (About a package and a short row). They came out great and everyone in this house loves them!
Do they freeze well after baking? I need to make quite a few and am starting early.
@sharon- if you use candy canes they will not freeze well (some people subbed candy canes instead of Andes chips). If you use the chips they should freeze well.
I baked these tonight and they are delicious! However, they turned out very thin and flat. Is that normal, or did I do something wrong? The cookies in the pictures here look much thicker. Thank you!!
@Amy- could depend on a few things…mine could be thicker for the mere fact that I cut them thicker perhaps. If they spread too much try increasing your flour a little next time.
These were quite a hit at my office cookie exchange. I made them with the two flavors of Andes chips — the peppermint and the “after dinner” mint. Yum!
I just made these, and they’re delicious! I had to improvise a bit as I couldn’t find the Andes peppermint crunch chips in my local stores and I didn’t have time to order them from Amazon. I used the normal Andes mint chips and then the Tollhouse red and green semi-sweet morsels to add the Christmas-y look. Thanks for sharing the recipe