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These amazing Soft Batch Peppermint Twist Sugar Cookies are topped with peppermint cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with crushed candy canes; perfect for your Christmas cookie box!

Your Monday evening just needs these Soft Batch Peppermint Twist Sugar Cookies.

This month is all about Christmas cookies- and these are the BEST soft batch peppermint twist sugar cookies you will ever make! Promise.

I just love adding a little Christmas magic throughout the weekday’s in December, and baking is one way I love to cultivate that! As ironic as it may sound, I don’t have a huge sweet tooth. I know, I know… I post a lot of delicious sweets for you all; but the truth is, I enjoy the process of baking even more than consuming baked goods. Baking is an outlet to tap into my creative side while simultaneously creating precious memories with my girls in the kitchen. When it’s the Christmas season we’ll throw a Christmas vinyl on the record player, bake up a storm, taste test, decorate, make a huge mess in the kitchen and just have fun together. Then we give all the goodies away (you’re welcome mom). But I will admit, these cookies were hard to pass up- they’re just so incredibly good!

When I was brainstorming cookie ideas, I realized I had never had a peppermint sugar cookie before. Sugar cookies are one of my favorite cookies, and peppermint is a fav Christmas flavor, so the combo seemed like the perfect match. Like much of my kitchen inspiration will have me do, I just ran with the idea. Inspiration is funny like that: it will just come out of nowhere. But deep down I know this was an idea worth pursuing. So, I got to work to create the best peppermint sugar cookie, and let me tell you… I am so glad I did. These cookies are seriously beyond delicious and have officially made our “favorite Christmas cookie” list.

Plus, aren’t they so pretty and festive?! I’m obsessed.

If you’re looking for a fun cookie to add to your Christmas cookie box this year, be sure to add these to your list! Everyone devours these cookies and I guarantee they will be a huge hit!

So lets get to some of the details!

Soft Batch Peppermint Twist Sugar Cookie Details:

Simple pantry ingredients come together for these soft batch sugar cookies- many kitchen staples you probably already have on hand!

here is what you will need:

• 2 cookie sheets
• parchment paper
• salted butter
• canola oil
• granulated sugar
• powdered sugar
• baking soda
• cream of tarter
• sour cream
• eggs
• pure vanilla extract
• all purpose flour
• cream cheese
• peppermint extract OR 3 drops of pure peppermint essential oil
•  salt
• crushed candy canes for topping

A few tips and tricks:

• Measuring out the flour. Let’s talk about measuring flour the proper way. No one wants a dense, dry sugar cookie! Measuring the flour on a kitchen scale is the most accurate way to get the precise amount of flour. I added the amount of grams in the recipe card, but if If you don’t have a kitchen scale, no problem! Just make sure to fluff the flour in the container before scooping into your cup. Then using a spoon, spoon out the flour into the measuring cup until it is heaped over the top, and use a butter knife to gently level the top. Never pack down your flour!
• Room temperature butter and cream cheese: It’s essential to let the butter and cream cheese get to room temperature, or else the consistency will be off. No one wants clumpy frosting or dense cookies! If the butter or cream cheese is not warm enough, the ingredients wont emulsify properly. Allow the butter and cream cheese to sit out on the counter 1-2 hours before baking. If this is not possible, carefully warm the butter in the microwave for 6-9 seconds.
• Why cream of tarter? Cream of tarter has many wonderful benefits in the kitchen. When it comes to cookies, the acid helps the cookies rise. Tarter also gives cookies a lighter and chewier texture!
• Crushing the candy canes: For this recipe I used 2 large candy canes. To crush them, you can either add them to a food processor, or place them in a large zip loc bag and use a rolling pin to crush them into the desired consistency.
• Salted Butter? Wont these cookies be too salty with salted butter? No! I always use salted butter in my baking, and have never had a problem with anything being too salty! But if you’re ultra sensitive to salt, feel free to use salt free butter.
• Pure Vanilla extract: Pure, 100% vanilla extract is a must in baking! I am not a fan of the artificial imitation vanillas. I highly recommend getting the real stuff- it’s so worth it in the end! And yes, that is no typo- the recipe states 1 whole tablespoon of vanilla extract. Yum.

Making the Peppermint Twist Sugar Cookies:

Line two cookies sheets with parchment paper. I just love parchment paper- you never have to worry about your baked goods sticking!

First, you will begin by making the sugar cookie dough. Using the large bowl of a kitchen aid stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand held electric mixer), add the salted butter, oil, granulated sugar and powdered sugar. Sprinkle the baking soda, cream of tartar and salt across the top of the sugars evenly. Mix on medium speed until well-combined and creamy about 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Next, you will add the sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Continue mixing over medium speed for an additional 1-2 minutes until combined.

Slowly add the all purpose flour and beat until no pockets of flour remain. Be careful not to over mix!

Scoop the dough into about 3-tablespoon sized portions and roll into balls. Place several inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Add ½ cup of sugar into a bowl and lightly spray the bottom of a drinking glass with cooking spray. Dip the bottom of the glass into the sugar and press each cookie into an even thickness, about ½ inch thick. I have found there is no need to re-spary the bottom of the glass; one spray of cooking oil it enough to press each cookie!

Then you will bake the cookies until just set- mine took 9 minutes total. For these soft batch cookies, don’t bake the cookies until they are brown along the edges; or they will be dry. When you take them out of the oven they may appear to be under baked. Rest assured, they will be perfectly soft and chewy once cooled.

Place the freshly baked cookies on a cooling rack and start on the peppermint twist frosting!

Peppermint Twist Cream Cheese Frosting Rundown:

This peppermint twist cream cheese frosting is seriously amazing, and compliments the soft batch sugar cookies so incredibly well! One thing I love about cream cheese frosting is that it cuts back on the sweetness.

There’s just the right amount of pepperminty goodness in these cookies without being overpowering, but feel free to add more or less peppermint flavoring to your liking.

For this recipe you can use either peppermint extract or peppermint essential oil. If you use essential oil, 3-4 drops is all you need to get that great peppermint taste!

In a large bowl (I cleaned out the bowl I used for the sugar cookie dough), beat together the softened butter and cream cheese until completely smooth. Add the vanilla, peppermint extract (or peppermint essential oil), and salt. Beat well to combine. Next add the powdered sugar and then beat until the frosting is smooth, about 3 minutes.

When the cookies are completely cool, take about a tablespoon dollop of frosting on each cookie and spread with a spoon, spinning the spoon as you go to create a pretty swirl if desired. Top with crushed candy canes, then EAT!

Pretty easy, right?!

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you give these Soft Batch Peppermint Twist Sugar Cookies a try, please be sure to leave a comment and/or rating below! I truly love hearing from you! And if you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss a delicious recipe! We have a lot of yummy content coming your way- you definitely wont want to miss it!

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I hope you all have any amazing, cozy week and you feel inspired to try something new this Christmas season!

More Christmas Cookie Favorites to try this Season:

• White Chocolate Dipped Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies
• Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Brown Butter Shortbread Cookies
• Fudgy Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Recipe