Peppermint Frosted Sugar Cookies
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Christmas Cookie Season. Don’t fight me on the fact it’s not officially December yet. As soon as the first pair of pants is unbuttoned and turkey coma induced, I am ready to embrace Christmas baking in full force. I’m not the kind of blogger who is organized enough to bake my Christmas recipes in the summer in advance, so I am really all in right now with nonstop holiday baking. My mind is churning with new flavor combinations and cookie ideas, so get out your stretchy pants and over-sized sweaters and come along for the ride because I’ve got more recipes than you can imagine ready to bake up. So let’s kick off Christmas cookie season on a sweet note with these soft and chewy refreshingly minty Peppermint Frosted Sugar Cookies.
Here’s the thing about peppermint. I like the flavor of it, but subtly. Remember when we all discovered Altoids in middle school? Minty fresh if you have one, but more than that is like burn off your taste buds and flood your senses with mint overload never to taste again. Extreme? Maybe. But you get my point. Subtle peppermint is the key to this refreshing frosting that really compliments the soft and chewy sugar cookie it tops.
If you know me at all, you know I love a good Funfetti Cookie, and if you haven’t had one then you have not lived. Check out my recipe here for the easiest most delicious cookie ever. Basically, a super quick-to-bake soft sugar cookie with a simple frosting topped with fun sprinkles is the basic formula for a delicious cookie. I thought about making this sugar cookie peppermint, but I didn’t want to go full Altoid on y’all so I just kept the mint flavor more subtly in the frosting. You’re welcome.
I recommend between 1 and 1.5 teaspoons of peppermint extract for the frosting, but you can adjust it to your taste preference. I also suggest frosting the cookies after they come out of the oven, but making sure they are cooled to at least room temperature first. Having them still be a little fresh helps melt the frosting a bit which makes it easier to spread. You’ll want to top with sprinkles as soon as you frost the cookie to make sure they stick.
These are definitely a good cookie to balance out your holiday cookie tray. They will stay relatively fresh for a few days, are really quick to pull together, and will definitely brighten up your dessert table with festive sprinkles. And while I am a full blown believer in the power of homemade frosting, if you’re in a pinch you can definitely add some peppermint extract to canned frosting and go to town. I won’t judge. Santa might though, so if you’re in need of a last minute Doug Flutie hail Mary pass to get off the Naughty List with 3 seconds to go, the homemade frosting might be the extra inch you need in getting over the line onto that nice list. Just sayin’.
Peppermint Frosted Sugar Cookies
Yield: 26 Cookies
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes + 15 Minutes to Chill
Total Time: 45 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream or half & half
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- Sprinkles
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the egg and vanilla and beat well. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl before adding the dry ingredients.
- Sift together the flour and baking powder and slowly add to the wet batter and mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- On a sil-pat or parchment-lined baking sheet, use a medium cookie scoop to roll even-size balls of dough and place them at least two inches apart. Dip a flat-bottomed glass in flour and lightly press down the cookie to flatten a bit.
- Bake at 350ºF for 9 to 11 minutes, just until the edges are lightly golden. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and powdered sugar using a whisk attachment, slowly increasing the speed until it is on high.
- Add in the salt and slowly add the heavy cream, vanilla and peppermint extract and continue to beat on a high speed. You can add more cream or powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency.
- Once the cookies have finished cooling, use a spatula or butter knife to frost the cookies with a generous heap of peppermint frosting. Top with sprinkles and enjoy!