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    Home » Recipes » Christmas Cookies

    Easy Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies

    Published: Nov 9, 2012 · Modified: Feb 1, 2020 by Tiffany Dahle · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    Make these interactive chocolate peppermint bark cookies with your kids this holiday season. They will love personalizing each cookie with a custom creation.

    Easy chocolate peppermint bark cookies to bake with kids. So much fun making custom candy bark topped cookies together this holiday season.

    When we bought our new home this summer, I could not wait to get unsettled and use our new kitchen island for a big baking session with the girls. The Peanut knew that is exactly why we picked this house with this kitchen and she's been begging for cookies since the move.

    I wanted our first baking session with Little Pea to be special. Normally, just the Peanut is my helper so it was a big deal that she had to share me. I wanted to choose a recipe that would give both girls something important they could do to help but also have something important to do individually so they both felt really involved.

    Two little girls ready for holiday baking fun in the kitchen.

    I decided to go with these peppermint candy bark cookies because they combine a cookie dough I know like the back of my hand but allowed for the girls to do some customized decorating on their own.

    Interactive chocolate peppermint bark cookies are so fun to bake with kids. Let them customize each one with their favorite candy toppings.

    Little Pea was much more interested in eating the bowls full of M&Ms on their own rather than waiting to sprinkle them on top of her cookies:

    A toddler eats all the holiday candy instead of putting it on top of her chocolate peppermint bark cookies.

    The Peanut decided to copy an idea we saw on Pinterest together and tried to decorate hers like a snowman's face using leftover candy corn from Halloween. I guess it's true that a super cute cookie tastes even better:

    A young girl eats chocolate peppermint bark cookies with her sister.

    NOTE: I've found that kids tire quickly of decorating cookies. We discovered that 1 cookie sheet was plenty of fun for one session but I still started by making the entire batch of dough.

    I simply baked 12 cookies for the girls on the day we wanted to play in the kitchen and then froze the remaining dough already prepared in cookie dough balls. We will enjoy the frozen dough balls with Ande's Candies pushed into the dough before baking next time.

    You could also press peanut butter chunks or other candies of your choice into the chocolate cookie dough, it's a very versatile cookie recipe.

    Just reduce the recipe for the frosting by half if you only plan to bake a few cookies in one session.

    The best chocolate peppermint bark cookies to bake with kids:

    📖 Recipe

    A blue platter with chocolate peppermint barks decorated in crushed candy canes and M&Ms.

    Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies

    5 from 1 vote
    These adorable and fun chocolate peppermint bark cookies are so fun to bake with kids. Let them decorate each one with a mix of fun candy toppings.
    TOTAL TIME 30 minutes minutes
    PREP TIME 15 minutes minutes
    COOK TIME 15 minutes minutes
    YIELD 36 cookies
    PIN RECIPE FOR LATER PRINT RECIPE NOW

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature
    • 1 cup light brown sugar packed
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2 eggs at room temperature
    • ⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa
    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

    For the Topping: 

    • 22 oz. white chocolate chips
    • Milk
    • Assorted candies: We used crushed peppermint candies, M&M's, mini-chocolate chips, red hots, and leftover candy corn for snowmen noses

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
    • Cream the butter and two sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the chocolate with the mixer on low speed until just combined.
    • Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly.
      Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone).
      Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

    To prepare the topping & decorate:

    • In a metal mixing bowl set over a pot of simmering water, slowly melt the white chocolate chips. You may need to add a splash of milk here or there to keep it from seizing. I added about a tablespoon to mine to keep it the right consistency. With a small frosting spatula or butter knife, spread a nice layer of chocolate on each cookie. Careful to not burn your fingers.
    • The chocolate will cool quickly so have your children decorate the cookies 1 at a time as you hand them over. Though the chocolate was hot to touch while I spread it on the cookie, my girls had no problems with it. Please just warn your helpers to just sprinkle the decorations and not handle the hot cookies till they've cooled just to be safe.
    COURSECookies
    CUISINEAmerican
    AUTHORTiffany Dahle

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    Looking for more easy Christmas cookie ideas to bake with kids?

    Holiday baking with kids is so fun, but it's a smart mom that picks an easy recipe to start with. Here are some of our very favorites:

    • The only gingerbread cookies recipe you'll ever need
    • The only sugar cookies recipe you'll ever need
    • How to bake the BEST peanut butter blossoms ever
    • Foolproof Mexican hot chocolate cookies are a perfect surprise
    • 10 semi homemade Christmas cookies that will save your sanity

    More Easy Christmas Cookies Recipes

    • A plate of festive M&M cookies feature red, pink, green, and white candies for the holidays.
      M&M Cookies with Cornflakes & Oats
    • Baked chocolate chip walnut cookies with chocolate chips sprinkled over the top.
      Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
    • A photo collage shows a variety of 2-color Christmas cookie designs.
      2-Color Christmas Cookie Designs
    • A tree shaped sugar cookie has a green royal icing border that was piped on. The piping bag rests next to it.
      How to Decorate Cookies with Royal Icing

    Reader Interactions

    Trackbacks

    1. How to bake the BEST peanut butter blossoms ever says:
      February 4, 2020 at 5:36 pm

      […] Peppermint candy bark cookies […]

      Reply
    2. Family-friendly New Year's Eve recipes you can make ahead says:
      December 8, 2019 at 9:47 am

      […] Peppermint candy bark cookies […]

      Reply
    3. Christmas Cookies Recipe - Hoosier Homemade says:
      December 3, 2019 at 11:52 am

      […] Candy Bark Cookies from Peanut Blossom […]

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Tiffany!
    I believe a great family recipe is one that makes everyone at the table happy, not just the kids. I'm the author of two bestselling cookbooks for kids that are chock full of recipes everyone in your family will love. I'm also the hostess of the best online book club for moms.

    More about me →

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