These Loaded Peppermint Bark Pretzel Cookies are everything I love in a festive holiday bake! A soft, chewy peppermint sugar cookie base loaded with chocolate chips, crushed peppermints, chopped peppermint bark, and chocolate covered peppermint pretzels. These are the perfect balance of sweet, decadent, and minty plus they have a nice salty crunch from the pretzels! You’ll love the short chill time and melted butter base for easy baking.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
Recipe: Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
Ready In:1 hour
Serves: 18 cookies
Staple Ingredients: peppermint bark, chocolate covered pretzels, eggs, butter, chocolate chip, crushed peppermints, peppermint extract.
What Makes It Special: I love the combination of flavors and textures in the cookies! The peppermint bark adds the creamy white chocolate, crushed peppermints and pretzels add a crunchy texture, and everything comes together in a soft vanilla peppermint cookie base. No mixer needed, these are made with melted butter and only need to chill for 15-30 minutes, so you can have cookie in no time!
These loaded white chocolate peppermint cookies are the kind of holiday treat that disappears fast! They’re super chewy with little crispy bits of peppermint and chocolate covered pretzels. Peppermint extract and peppermint bark add a perfectly minty flavor! I got white chocolate peppermint bark and chocolate covered star pretzels from Aldi.
If you’re in the holiday baking mood, you might also love my Egg Nog Oatmeal Cream Pies or these Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies! Find all of my Christmas recipes and dessert recipes here for more baking inspiration!
More Peppermint Recipes
Key Cookie Ingredients
- Butter: Melted butter gives these cookies a soft and chewy texture. Let it cool slightly so it does not scramble the eggs.
- Granulated Sugar: Classic white sugar keeps the cookies light in color and perfectly sweet.
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs mix more smoothly into the melted butter and help the cookies stay tender.
- Peppermint Extract: A little goes a long way. Adjust the amount based on how minty you like your cookies.
- All-purpose Flour: The base of the dough. Spoon and level for accuracy so the cookies do not turn out dry.
- Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips: Add richness and melty pockets of chocolate. Milk or dark chocolate chips both work or use a chopped chocolate bar.
- Crushed Peppermint Candies: Adds crunch and extra peppermint flavor. Candy canes, star mints, or any peppermint candies are great.
- White Chocolate Peppermint Bark: The star mix in that gives each cookie holiday flavor. Chop into small pieces so it distributes evenly.
- White Chocolate Covered Pretzels: Adds salty crunch and texture. Any chocolate covered pretzel works, or plain pretzels if that is what you have.
How to Make the Peppermint Cookies
Let’s talk a little about how to make the peppermint bark cookies (The printable instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Quick overview:
- Mix wet ingredients together, add in dry ingredients.
- Fold in chopped peppermint, pretzels, and peppermint bark.
- Chill, scoop, bake and enjoy!
- In a large mixing bowl combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and peppermint extract. Mix to combine.
- To the wet ingredients add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until evenly combined. Fold in the chocolate chips, crushed peppermints, pretzels, and peppermint bark. Cover and chill dough for 25-30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a portion scoop or cookie scoop to scoop 1- 1/2 oz. scoops of cookie dough, roll into a ball and place 2-3″ apart on the prepared baking sheet. If desired, press extra peppermint bark or chocolate on top of the cookies before baking.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes until slightly golden brown, the cookies will still be soft. Allow to cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to a week!
You Can Freeze This Cookie Dough
Simply make the cookie dough according to the recipe, scoop even sized amounts of dough onto a sheet pan and place in the freezer until hard. Transfer the cookie dough to an airtight container or freezer bag labeled with the date, type of cookie, and baking instructions (or reference back to this post for baking directions!). Keep in your freezer stash for 3-4 months. Remove desired cookie dough when needed, thaw, bake, and enjoy! You may even want to make a double batch!
Rachel’s Baking Tips
- Use room temperature eggs: Cold eggs can firm up the melted butter and change the texture of your dough. Room temp helps everything mix smoothly!
- Don’t overmix the dough: Overmixing leads to tough cookies instead of soft and chewy ones, just mix until flour is incorporated.
- Chop the mix ins small: Break the peppermint bark and pretzels into bite sized pieces so they distribute evenly and don’t create big chunks in the cookies.
- Underbake slightly: Pull them from the oven when the edges look set but the centers still look a little soft. They’ll finish baking on sheet pan while they cool.
- Save a few mix ins for the tops: Press a few chunks of peppermint bark or chocolate chip cookies on top before baking for a gooey finish.
- Let them cool on the pan: These cookies are extra soft when hot, let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack!
Chewy Peppermint Bark Cookies
Equipment
- 1 oz. portion scoop, Optional
Ingredients
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups Granulated sugar
- 2 whole Eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsps Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Peppermint Extract
- 2 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup Crushed peppermint candies , like star mints or candy canes
- 5 oz. White chocolate peppermint bark , chopped
- 5 oz. White chocolate covered pretzels, any kind or flavor will work, plain pretzels work too
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and peppermint extract. Mix to combine.1 cup Unsalted Butter, 1 1/2 cups Granulated sugar, 2 whole Eggs, 2 tsps Vanilla Extract, 1 tsp Peppermint Extract
- To the wet ingredients add in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until evenly combined. Fold in the chocolate chips, crushed peppermints, pretzels, and peppermint bark. Cover and chill dough for 25-30 minutes.2 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour, 1 tsp Baking Soda, 1 tsp Salt, 1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1/4 cup Crushed peppermint candies , 5 oz. White chocolate peppermint bark , 5 oz. White chocolate covered pretzels
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a portion scoop or cookie scoop to scoop 1- 1/2 oz. scoops of cookie dough, roll into a ball and place 2-3" apart on the prepared baking sheet. If desired, press extra peppermint bark or chocolate on top of the cookies before baking.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes until slightly golden brown, the cookies will still be soft. Allow to cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to a week!
Notes
- Break mix ins into small pieces: This helps the chocolate, peppermint bark, and pretzels distribute evenly.
- Portion scoop: Use a portion scoop for even sized cookies that bake evenly.
- Save some mix ins for topping: press extra peppermint bark or chocolate on top of the cookies before baking for a gooey, bakery-style finish.
- Underbake slightly: Pull the cookies when the edges look set and the centers still look soft. They will finish baking slightly while cooling.
Nutrition
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Storage, Serving, & Reheating
Storage:
Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week!
Serving:
These cookies are best at room temperature or slightly warm. If you’re serving them on a holiday tray, sprinkle a little crushed peppermint over the top for a festive touch.
Freezing:
Freeze the baked cookies in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature. You can also freeze the dough balls and bake straight from frozen.
Reheating:
Warm a baked cookie in the microwave for 6 to 8 seconds to bring back that soft texture without melting the peppermint bark.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Regular pretzels work great and still give you that salty crunch. The chocolate covered ones just add a little extra richness, use any holiday version you’d like.
A small amount goes a long way! Extract gives the cookies their classic minty flavor, but you can skip it if you prefer a more subtle peppermint taste from the bark only.
Yes! Chill the dough for up to 24 hours. Let it soften slightly before scooping so the cookies bake evenly, or scoop dough balls before chilling.
Absolutely. Scoop the dough into balls, freeze on a sheet pan, then store in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen and add one to two extra minutes as needed.
You can use chopped white chocolate, Andes mints, or even peppermint baking chips!
Helpful Recipe Tools
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- Portion Scoops – my go to for getting even sized cookies that bake perfectly each time!
- USA Pan Half Sheet Pan – my go-to sheet pans, these are truly non-stick and clean up nicely.
- Rubber Spatula – a must have! I like these because they don’t come apart so I don’t have to worry about water getting inside the spatula and causing mold.
- Pyrex Mixing Bowl Set – I love this set of nesting bowls. I use them for everything, Pyrex glass does not break easily so you can trust on these bowls for years, plus they come in 3 useful sizes and can be stacked!
Did you try this recipe?
Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment below and sharing your final dish on Instagram, Facebook, & Pinterest!
Cheers!
-Rachel
