One of my favourite flavours of the holiday season is mint chocolate. Sure, I can eat an Andes Mint any time of year (and trust me, I do), but it hits different when the weather is cold, you’ve hung stockings with care and you’ve cuddled up on the couch watching The Holiday again.

These cookies are soft, buttery and light in texture. The buttery lightness means they melt in your mouth, making them the perfect sweet treat post large holiday meal – or for breakfast with a cup of coffee, which is how I am currently enjoying them.

Recipe: Frosted Mint Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

Cookies

¾ cup butter (room temperature)

¼ cup cream cheese (room temperature)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp peppermint extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ cup each white chocolate and dark chocolate chips

Frosting

½ cup butter (room temperature)

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp peppermint extract

Method

For the Cookies

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Cream together the butter and cream cheese until there are no lumps of cream cheese and everything seems evenly mixed. Beat in the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the eggs, again mixing until light and fluffy. Add the extracts and mix thoroughly.

Mix in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until the dough comes together. Then add both types of chocolate, mixing until evenly distributed.

Scoop out even sized spoonfuls of dough. I like mine on the smaller side (about 2 tablespoons), but they will work even as large as a ¼ cup.

After separating all the dough, roll each piece into a smooth ball. Then, using the bottom of a cup (I use a shot glass for small ones!) press down on the top of the ball. This will flatten the dough, and also leave an indentation that is perfect for filling with frosting.

Bake for 8-10 minutes for small cookies and around 12-15 for larger cookies. When you take them out of the oven they will still be soft. don’t worry – they will stiffen as they cool and will be easy to handle and frost.

Makes 24 small or 12 large cookies.

For the frosting

Cream together the butter, powdered sugar, milk and extracts until fluffy.

Once the cookies are cool, frost and decorate!

Additional Notes:

Use the block kind of cream cheese – the ones in the tubs often have additional oils added to them so that they are spreadable when cold. Those oils could drastically change the results of your cookie.

You don’t need the frosting, they’re delicious as is. But I’m of the opinion that frosting makes everything better, and definitely more festive.

The cookies will keep in the fridge around one week but trust me – they’ll be eaten by then!

P.S. I actually love them cold from the fridge!