cookie cups recipe

Introducing the cutest–and easiest–festive holiday treat. Peppermint Chocolate Cookie Cups are made with rich, fudgy chocolate cookie cups and filled with a silky peppermint cream.

peppermint cookie cups

These are baked in a muffin or cupcake pan for ease, and there’s no dough chilling required! You can even add a teaspoon or two of espresso powder to the cookie dough to give these a Peppermint Mocha vibe.

chocolate cookie cups

Once the cookie cups are baked and cooled, pipe in that gorgeous, creamy peppermint cream and top it with a flurry of crushed peppermint. (I even added crushed peppermint to the frosting!)

If you do that, be sure to crush the candy canes very finely (a food processor helps) so they don’t get stuck in your piping tip. And be sure to use an open round tip like a Wilton 2A rather than a star tip, because small bits can still get stuck in the slits in a star tip. Alternatively, you can dollop the cream in with a spoon if you don’t have a piping bag or piping tips. 

chocolate cookie cups with peppermint frosting

These delightful little treats can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for 1-2 days before serving. You can also double the entire cookie cup recipe if you want more servings! I recommend that, because these will fly off the plates at any holiday party–don’t say you weren’t warned!

easy holiday desserts

I hope you love these fudgy bites of peppermint goodness as much as we do. Scroll on for the complete recipe–and have a very happy holiday!

Cookie Cups Recipe

Prep time: 38 minutes

Yield: 14 cookie cups

Ingredients:

For the cookie cups:

  • ½ cup salted butter, softened at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • ¾ tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp peppermint extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 and ½ tbsp milk
  • 1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/8 tsp salt

For the peppermint cream:

  • 4 ounces cream cheese
  • 8 tbsp salted butter, softened at room temperature
  • Powdered sugar
  • Vanilla extract
  • ½ cup finely crushed candy canes

Instructions:

Make the cookie dough:

  • In a large bowl, cream the softened butter with an electric mixer on high speed.
  • Add the sugars to the butter mixture and mix until creamed together with the butter, about 1 minute.
  • Add the vanilla, peppermint extract, and egg and mix until just combined.
  • Add the milk, and mix until just incorporated.
  • Add the dry ingredients last, and mix until a slightly wet dough forms.

Bake:

  • Preheat your oven to 350° F.
  • Grease a cupcake or muffin pan well with nonstick spray.
  • Add 2 Tbsp (about 40 grams) of dough to each well, and gently press down a tiny bit. Bake for 7-8 minutes. They will look a bit underdone in the center, and puffy around the edges, when they come out, but will set up as they cool in the pan–any longer and they will end up dry.
  • Gently press a well into each cookie with the back of a teaspoon.
  • Let cool in the pan until cool enough to handle, then pop them out with a butter knife.

Save and store:

Dig in! Store cooled cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Did you try this easy holiday dessert recipe? Show us your cookie cups on Instagram or TikTok @lulus using #lovelulus! For more festive looks, head to our Holiday Shop! 

This recipe comes from our food contributor, Stephanie Simmons, of Blue Bowl. Her goal with her kitchen-tested recipes is to get you excited about cooking, show you how good food can taste, and prove that you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen to make a good meal.