Chocolate Fudge Cookies with White Chocolate Candy Cane Buttercream Frosting
Day 12 of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookie Recipes 2020
A fudgy, chocolate cookie topped with a decadent, fluffy white chocolate peppermint buttercream frosting. The chocolate cookie is soft and rich and this frosting….simply amazing! *These* cookies are the ones you’ll want to bring to your Christmas dinner…trust me you’ll get plenty of compliments on theses! I love being able to add crushed candy cane on top. You could also do sprinkles!
Also I’m sure you’ve noticed that today is my final day of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookie Recipes. This has been so much fun! And also so much work, haha! As I described here in the first post, Batch Cookies used to be a order/delivery service my husband and I ran a year ago. I fell in love with the photography I was doing and decided to pursue that passion instead of stress out about not burning other people’s cookies (haha) and we closed the business. I had started to share some of my cookie recipes to my photography Instagram page, only to have so many people tag me and ask for more. So one night, after getting another DM I decided that I should just start a cookie blog…and then it was almost Christmas and I somehow convinced myself it would be smart to do 12 days of Christmas recipes, many of which were new!
Anyway, I am so grateful to all of you who have been following me during these 12 days! It has been so fun to create in the kitchen once again but I am definitely ready to have a little bit of a break again! Thank you, thank you for supporting me in my creative endeavors! I truly appreciate all of you! I have been thinking about the right cookie recipe to end with and am so happy to share this one with you!
If you haven’t checked out my other 12 days of Christmas Cookie Recipes, you should try these oatmeal carmelita cookies or these orange cranberry white chocolate chip cookies.
Chocolate Fudge Cookies with White Chocolate Candy Cane Buttercream Frosting
About a year ago I made a stop at one of my favorite drink drive-thrus (that are very popular where I grew up in Utah) and saw they were offering a limited time cookie: a frosted chocolate peppermint cookie. With just one bite I was in love. The cookie was soft, cake like and the frosting was absolutely divine. This cookie was truly made of goodness from the holiday gods!
I’ve been dreaming about this cookie ever since I tried it, hoping we’d make it back to Utah this holiday season and I’d be able to partake again. However, Covid-19 had other plans in store for our holiday season this year, so sadly we will not be able to go to Utah. I guess I could make the 20 minute drive to the closest drink drive-thru but now that I’ve developed this recipe I can just make a whole batch! So I’ll stay home I guess
I also wanted to try and make the cookie a little bit fudgier than the one I had tried before. Personally I think chocolate fudge cookies are the best kind of chocolate cookie! I wanted it to be rich but not too rich…just the perfect amount of richness to add to that perfect peppermint flavor! The recipe I developed definitely fit the bill for me and I have to admit that the cookie is the perfect base for that creamy, fluffy white fluffy peppermint stuff that you’ll spoon on top of your cookie!
What makes cookies fudgy?
If you’re wanting to make cookies/brownies/bars more fudgy rather than cakey (fluffy) you must have a higher fat-to-flour ratio than cookies that are cakey. Most of my cookies are cakey and therefore call for more flour. These cookies though have less flour than most cookie recipes and that will leave you with a perfectly fudgy cookie!
How to Make Chocolate Fudge Cookies with White Chocolate Peppermint Buttercream Frosting
To make the cookies you will need the following ingredients:
- Cold Butter, cut into tablespoons
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- 1 Large Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Cocoa Powder
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- All Purpose Flour
- Cake Flour (you can use all AP flour if needed)
- Milk
To make the white chocolate candy cane buttercream frosting you will need the following ingredients:
- White Chocolate
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Unsalted Butter
- Vanilla
- Peppermint Extract
- Powdered Sugar, sifted
- Peppermint, crushed or Sprinkles (if you want!)
MIX. To make the chocolate fudge cookies, beat the cold butter on low in an electric mixer until somewhat softened. Add sugar and cream until butter is smooth. Add egg and vanilla and mix on LOW until well combined. Sift other ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to wet ingredients. Mix on low until well combined. Dough should be sticky and somewhat stiff. You may choose to refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes if you’d like your cookies to not spread in the oven. Colder dough=thicker cookies
MEASURE AND SCOOP. Measure cookie dough mounds into 3 ounces (small cookies) or 5 ounces (large cookies). Roll into balls. You will want your cookies nice and round for decorating, so I do like to roll the cookie dough for this recipe!
BAKE. Place cookie mounds onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mats to bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will be start to crack and not look as “wet” when they are finished baking. Once removed from the oven, allow them to cool on the sheet for at least 15 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool completely before frosting with buttercream.
MAKE BUTTERCREAM. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips and heavy cream for 30 seconds, stir until there are no remaining lumps. Place butter in a stand mixer and beat on high until light and fluffy. Add the white chocolate/cream mixture, salt, vanilla, peppermint extract, and heavy cream and mix until well combined. Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar while mixing on low until all sugar has been added. Turn to high and mix for 1-2 minutes until buttercream is nice and fluffy.
DECORATE. Frost the cooled cookies generously with the buttercream. Top with crushed candy canes or festive sprinkles!
Here is the recipe for these delicious, perfect Christmastime cookies! Enjoy!
Chocolate Fudge Cookies with White Chocolate Candy Cane Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 C Unsalted Butter, Cold, cut into tablespoons
- 1/2 C Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 C Brown Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1/2 C Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 C All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 C Cake Flour (May sub All Purpose Flour)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1-2 tbsp Milk
For the Buttercream
- 1/4 C White Chocolate Chips
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
- 3/4 C Unsalted Butter
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tsp peppermint extract
- 4-6 C Powdered Sugar (best if you sift)
Instructions
For the Cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with silicone mats or parchment paper.
- Cut cold butter into tablespoons. Add to stand mixer and mix on low until butter has somewhat softened.
- Add sugars to mixer and mix on low until sugars and butter are well combined.
- Add egg and vanilla to mixer, mix on low until there are no longer any lumps.
- Sift together the dry ingredients. Add to mixer, mix on low. Scrape sides of bowl until well combined.
- Measure dough mounds into 3 oz (small cookies) or 5 oz (jumbo cookies) and roll into round balls. (If cookie dough is too soft, let dough refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. Warm dough will make cookies fall flat) Place cookie dough balls 2-3 inches apart from one another on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will start to crack on top and look less wet when they're all done.
- Let cookies cool on cookie sheets for at least 15 minutes before removing. Cookies must be completely cool before frosting!
For the Buttercream:
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate chips and heavy cream for 30 seconds, stir until there are no remaining lumps.
- Place butter in a stand mixer and beat on high until light and fluffy.
- Add the white chocolate/cream mixture, salt, vanilla, peppermint extract, and heavy cream and mix until well combined.
- Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar while mixing on low until all sugar has been added.
- Turn mixer to high and mix for 1-2 minutes until the buttercream is nice and fluffy.
Assembly
- Frost cooled cookies with a generous amount of buttercream. Top with crushed candy cane or sprinkles.
Notes
For more holiday inspired cookies:
