Rich, decadent, soft and chewy double chocolate cookies are sandwiched together with a tangy cream cheese filling. Rolled in crushed candy canes and drizzled with white chocolate for extra flavor and holiday festiveness! They're the PERFECT Christmas cookie!
8ouncescream cheesesoftened (brick style, not in a tub or 'spreadable', not reduced fat nor lite)
½cupunsalted butter
3cupsconfectioners' sugarsifted if lumpy
1teaspoonvanilla extract
¼teaspoonsalt
Assembly
1cuppeppermint candy canescrushed
1cupwhite chocolate melting wafers
Instructions
Cookies
Preheat oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with Silpat liners or spray well with cooking spray; set aside.
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or large bowl and handheld electric mixer, add the butter, sugars, and beat until fluffy; about 3 to 5 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the egg, vanilla extract, and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl; set aside.
To a separate medium bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and whisk to combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet in the large mixing bowl, and beat until just combined; don't overmix.
Stir in the chocolate chips and peppermint chips* (See Notes) by hand.
Place balls on prepared baking sheets spaced at least two inches apart, and if desired, add a few additional chocolate chips to the top of each dough ball.
Bake for approximately 10 minutes, but start checking at 8 minutes because all ovens bake differently. Tip - For optimal results bake one sheet of cookies at time, on the center oven rack, and rotate baking sheet midway through baking to ensure even baking.
Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet momentarily until they're firm enough to be transferred to a wire rack; they will firm up as they cool. Tip - So don't be afraid to pull them out of the oven if they don't appear to be fully set.
Filling
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or large bowl and handheld electric mixer, add the cream cheese, butter, and beat until fluffy; about 3 to 5 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat to incorporate. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add vanilla, salt, and beat to incorporate.
Assembly
Pipe or spoon a ½-inch thick layer of filling on the underside of a cookie all the way to the edges.
Place another cookie (the underside of it) on top, and lightly squeeze together to seal. Repeat until all cookies are gone.
Roll the edges of the filling through crushed candy canes.** (See Notes) Allow to set for at least 30 minutes so they can adhered.
To a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate melting wafers as indicated on the packaging directions.*** (See Notes)
Drizzle the melting white chocolate over the cookies using a small spoon. Alternatively you can place it inside a small baggie, snip the corner, and drizzle.
See Notes**** below for storage options.
Notes
*Peppermint chips are definitely a seasonal item. I like to use the Andes Peppermint Crunch Baking Chips. They are fairly easy to find year round on Amazon. If you’re waiting to see them in actual stores, after Thanksgiving but before Christmas is the window in stores like Walmart, Target, or well-stocked supermarkets. **To make life easier, I buycrushed candy canes. Well worth the price paid to not have to smack candy canes inside a ziptop plastic bag with a rolling pin, but that method is also viable should you choose it.***Of all the types of chocolate, white chocolate is definitely the most finicky and tricky to melt. It is prone to seizing up and turning into a rock hard yet gritty mess that looks like a destroyed sand castle. In order to avoid that, I highly recommend using white chocolate candy melts or wafers.Specifically, the Ghirardelli White Chocolate Melting Wafersare great because they melt smoothly, evenly, and easily.If you don’t want to spring for those, then my second choice recommendation is a high quality white chocolate candy bar like Lindt. The higher the fat content, the better and easier it will be to melt.I do not recommend trying to melt white chocolate chips.****Food storage purists would likely recommend storing these cookies airtight in the fridge where they will keep for about 2 weeks. However, generally speaking I don’t like storing baked goods in the fridge because it dries them out and changes the texture.Therefore, I’m comfortable storing my double chocolate peppermint sandwich cookies airtight at room temp for up to about 3 days. After that, they belong in the fridge.The confectioners’ sugar preserves the cream cheese and butter sufficiently for me, but do as you feel most comfortable.You can also freeze these holiday sandwich cookies for 4 months in case you want to make them in advance.If you know you’re going that route, then keep them unassembled. Just freeze off the baked cookies and then when you’re ready to serve them, make the filling, and then fill and assemble them as directed.