Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Everyone in your family will love these buttery peppermint shortbread cookies. With only six ingredients, these slice and bake cookies are easy to whip up.
How long it takes: 15 minutes prep, 30 minutes chilling time, and 13 minutes per batch to bake
Equipment you’ll need: mixer, baking sheet, parchment paper
Servings: makes about 40 cookies, depending on size
Today I’m bringing you more butter love with one of my favorite types of cookies — shortbread.
It might have a little to do with how easy these cookies are to make (SO easy), but it also has a lot to do with the rich buttery taste and the melt-in-your-mouth texture. I really just adore shortbread.
These peppermint shortbread cookies are loaded with sweet peppermint chips. They’re great with a cup of coffee or tea. Who knows? Santa might even dig a few with his milk.
Easy Slice-and-Bake Cookies
Make the dough ahead of time. These shortbread cookies are slice-and-bake cookies. Simply put, you can whip up a batch of the dough, form it into a log, and throw it in the fridge or freezer. I have a bunch of these convenient slice and bake cookie recipes.
Bake the cookies when you need them. When you happen to have unexpected guests, all you need to do is slice off what you need, stick them in the oven and voila! Fresh cookies. Everyone will think you’re amazing. And you are!
“Best cookies ever! Love them. We dress them with drizzled dark chocolate and more peppermint chips.”
Ingredient Notes
A simple list of ingredients really lets the flavors of both the butter and the peppermint shine.
- Butter: Use good-quality unsalted butter for these cookies. Make sure it’s softened or at room temperature.
- Powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar): Because this sugar is so fine, the cookies just melt in your mouth.
- All-purpose flour, pure vanilla extract, salt: These common pantry items are basics in cookie-making.
- Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips: These chips are really the star of the show here. Keep reading for substitutions you can make if you aren’t able to find them.
How To Make Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
Make dough. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla until creamy and smooth. Add the flour and mix just until blended. Fold in the peppermint chips.
Form dough log. On a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper, form a nice even log, about 12 to 14 inches long (or two logs, 6 to 7 inches long). Wrap the paper around the dough and freeze it for thirty minutes.
Bake. Meanwhile, get your oven preheating. After thirty minutes, remove the dough log from the freezer, unwrap it, and slice it into quarter-inch slices. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and bake them.
No stand mixer?
I realize that not everyone has a stand mixer (or it’s stored in the basement and you don’t feel like hauling it out). You can make the cookie dough with a good hand mixer or even by hand. You’ll probably have to stir the flour in by hand anyways because the dough gets pretty stiff.
Serving Suggestions
Rich shortbread is perfect with almost any beverage: coffee, tea, hot cocoa, or even wine. These peppermint shortbread cookies may not go well with wine but they are perfect with homemade eggnog, microwave hot cocoa, or a vanilla bourbon fizz. Peppermint shortbread makes good dippers for creamy hot chocolate dip, too. (Be sure to try my gingerbread shortbread cookies, too!)
Recipe Variations
- Add a finishing touch of chocolate. I love those thin mint Girl Scout cookies, don’t you? Try drizzling these peppermint cookies with melted chocolate chocolate chips. (If you love the peppermint/chocolate connection, check out these peppermint chocolate sugar cookies. They are the easiest cut-out cookies to roll out!)
- Can’t find Andes Peppermint Baking Chips? Try Andes Creme de Menthe chips. English toffee chips can be used instead for a whole different flavor!
Baked cookies: Once the cookies are completely cool, store them at room temperature for up to a week in a tightly covered container, or in the freezer for up to a month.
Unbaked cookie dough: Double-wrap the log of dough, using plastic wrap or foil, then place it in a freezer container or bag. It will keep for up to 3 months. To bake, remove dough from the freezer and allow to warm up for a half hour or so. Slice and bake as directed.
More Slice and Bake Cookies
Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup Andes peppermint crunch baking chips
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth.1 cup unsalted butter, softened, ¾ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon salt
- Gradually add flour and mix on low until combined.2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- Add Andes baking chips and continue mixing on low until fully combined.¾ cup Andes peppermint crunch baking chips
- On wax paper or parchment paper, form into a 12- to 14-inch log and freeze at least 30 minutes or until firm.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Cut the shortbread dough into ¼ -inch slices and bake for 13 to 15 minutes on parchment lined baking sheets.
- Cool on baking sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
- Decorating tips: If you want to make these even more festive, dip cookies halfway into melted chocolate and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
- Freezing dough: Dough logs can be frozen for up to three months. Wrap well and label. Allow the logs to warm up at room temperature for a half hour before slicing and baking as directed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
These look great! But how many cookies will you get out of this recipe? Thanks!
About 40, depending on size/thickness.
Thanks! I just made them and got exactly three dozen :-) they look great, and taste good too. Fun recipe!
haha nice! We were only 4 off! Impressive. Did you dip them in chocolate? I want to make them again just so I can dip them in chocolate. :)
Actually, I was going to put them with nutella, but couldn’t find the Andes crunch bits, so I used Ghirardelli peppermint bark and crushed it up instead. Since that has chocolate in it, I skipped adding chocolate, and really enjoyed the result :-)
Oh my goodness, sounds amazing! I think I better make them again though…you know…just to verify. ;)
These are so festive and look delicious!
Love the chocolate dip idea! Just added these to my Christmas bake list.
Slice and bake? Doesn’t get easier than this.
Slice and bake shortbread is so great this time of year! Or, any time of year, really! :)
Ohmygoodness, these look yummy! Do you think you could use crushed up candy cakes in this? I never know what to do with all of them!
I’m wondering the same thing. I need to use them up, all those extra candy canes.
You could try, but they melt more than these chips do and they get harder and will get stuck in your teeth. I haven’t tested it personally so I can’t promise they’ll turn out.
I just found this recipe yesterday and decided to gamble on the candy canes. I crushed them up in my Ninja for few seconds so the bits were small – almost sprinkle-like, and then added them to the dough. They don’t stick to your teeth and you still get that peppermint flavor and coloring.
So smart! I use a meat tenderizer mallet (the flat side) and smash them into very small pieces in a ziploc bag.
Don’t try using candy cane chips. I tried this and ended up with a plan of sweet chewy goop. Your kids might think it’s candy. The cookies all melted together. They do NOt work in this recipe. It’s unfortunate that the Andes chips are now only available on line.
Yeah they unfortunately do not work…sorry you had to find out the hard way!
These are so pretty!
I like to keep a batch of shortbread in the freezer too… mainly for my eating pleasure :) But in theory it’s in case of last minute visitors.
Mmm these look great!
yummy