I love a chocolate and peppermint moment, particularly during the Christmas season. I’ve baked a creamy chocolate peppermint cheesecake, whipped up white chocolate peppermint blondies, and filled cookie tins with chocolate peppermint crunch cookies. Next up? These fudgy candy cane whoopie pies. These sweet treats have it all: rich chocolate cookies, creamy peppermint- and vanilla-flavored frosting, and finely crushed candy canes.
The cookies:
Let’s start with the cookies. I wanted a rich, chocolatey cookie—more fudgy than crumbly. Adding melted bittersweet chocolate, a generous amount of unsweetened cocoa, and equal parts granulated and brown sugars gives the cookies a fudgy, slightly chewy texture reminiscent of whoopie pies, and still enough shape and structure to support the filling.
The frosting:
The creamy peppermint frosting comes together in minutes and has a balanced mint and vanilla flavor. We add 1 tablespoon of water with the extracts to help smooth out the frosting just enough to make it easily spreadable. If your kitchen is warm, though, you may not need a second tablespoon of water.
There will be enough frosting to fill each sandwich cookie generously, and any leftovers can be spread on graham crackers, cupcakes, or enjoyed right out of the container.
The candy canes:
Finally, what is a candy cane cookie without a few candy canes? Here we roll the sandwich cookies in finely crushed candy canes, but any holiday sprinkle or sanding sugar would be delightful here too.
Storage:
Are you saving these cookies for a special occasion? Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Did you make these cookies? Let us know in the comments!
