In case you’re attending a “cookie exchange” party this year or just want to switch things up from the typical holiday sugar cookie cut outs…I have a recipe for you! This is an oldie, but goodie that I have been making for many years. They do contain refined white sugar (gasp!), which means they don’t follow our real food rules to a T. But, other than that they are made completely from scratch and therefore light years beyond any of those packaged cookie dough rolls or boxed cookies you’ll find for sale these days. So for that reason alone – I think these are a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth this holiday season (in true moderation of course)!
Now I did make these cookies into cute little shapes with the help of my cookie press (that I’ve had forever and love). I also tried this recipe without using the press for those of you who may not have one, and while they came out just fine, our preference (mainly for texture reasons) is definitely to make this recipe with the press. They just come out a lot more crisp with the press, which I think is best with these flavors. Plus, aren’t they just adorable in all these fun shapes? And bonus – if you wanted to dip these cookies in melted chocolate (and let them harden of course) you’d have yourself some homemade Thin Mints. Yum! 
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened (but not melted)
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons peppermint extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (100% cacao)
- 1½ cups whole-wheat flour
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large bowl mix the butter and sugar with an electric whisk or beaters until well combined. Drop in the egg, vanilla, peppermint, and salt and continue mixing. Reduce the speed to low and add in the cocoa powder and flour until well blended. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Pack the dough into the cookie press and fit it with your desired design plate. Press the dough onto ungreased cookie sheets (if the dough is too cold it won’t “release” from the press onto the cookie sheet very easily). Continue pressing out cookies using as many different design plates as you’d like (that’s the fun part!) spacing the cookies about 1″ apart.
- Bake until firm to the touch, about 10 minutes. Cool on drying racks and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Alternatively you could freeze them for later!
Just took the first pan from the oven of the second batch I made! These are oh so good!!! Preferred them the next day rather than straight from the oven. Trying this batch with melted chocolate. Thanks for this and SO many other recipes.
How about with Stevia, Truvia or others like that? I wonder how it would be. I think I might try it; we try not to use sugar either. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Erin. Here is a little information about stevia: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2013/04/25/stevia-food-babe-investigates/. ~Amy
Each year I bake hundreds of cookies to send to friends and family for the holidays.
I was super jazzed to try this recipe today, as I love your blog.
Unfortunately, the first pan ran all over. The spritz wreath design totally lost, though they remained mostly discrete large circles. The good news is, I think they might make some of the best ice cream sandwiches, ever. The other two sheets are pressed and chilling in the fridge. Hopefully after chilling they will keep together and make adorable wreaths.
P.S. I did used softened (not melted) butter.
I have made many batches of these this week. I did make a batch with coconut sugar and all oat flour for the flour. The taste came out great but I couldn’t get that mixture to work with my press. I scooped out small balls and once cooked they were a flat crispy round cookie that tasted great, but looked boring. I am drizzling chocolate over them to give them a fancy look.
Has anyone tried this with crushed peppermints? Just curious because I’m looking forward to making these and I’m out of peppermint extract. Thanks
Hi Brittany. We have not. Let us know if you try. ~Amy
I am only getting maybe 2 1/2 dozen using a cookie press. Am I doing something wrong, or does it depend in the disk you use? I was really hoping to get 4 dozen, but not anywhere close.
Hi Amy. It should yield about four dozen. You might just be pressing out too much dough. ~Amy
Like Little Green Pouch
Whoops! Wrong page…
What type of chocolate would you dip them in? I have bad luck with melting chocolate and wonder if I’m missing something!
Hi Karissa. We look for the “cleanest” dark chocolate chips we can find at Earth Fare or Whole Foods-like stores. As far as method goes,this might help: http://www.bhg.com/recipes/desserts/chocolate/chocolate-melt-dip-or-drizzle/. ~Amy
Can I sub Vegan Butter? Can’t do the lactose.
Hi Barbara. We typically sub for butter with coconut oil. Here is some info on cooking with it: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/02/07/how-to-cook-with-coconut-oil/. ~Amy
What would you use to make the melted chocolate to make them into “thin mints”? Thanks!!
Hi Sara. Just dip them in melted dark chocolate.
~Amy
Made these for our daycare cookie exchange, they turned out great! Easy recipe, ours made only about 36 each batch, but I doubled it. Thank you for sharing!
Has anyone tried these with melted chocolate? I was wondering if milk chocolate or dark chocolate would taste better.
Hi Carly. We love dark!
~Amy
We followed the recipe as written and they were so easy. The kids loved using the press. It worked perfectly. The batter was perfect, but the kids thought that the cookies werent sweet enough. I like the whole wheat flavor and texture. Thanks for sharing!
I made these using 1/2 honey and 1/2 coconut sugar in place of the white sugar. They turned out so yummy!!
Thank you for the recipe!!
I made them replacing all the sugar with raw maple syrup and they turned out great as well.
How much maple syrup did you use?
I just used the same measurement – 3/4 cup sugar for 3/4 cup maple syrup.
I made these using coconut oil instead of butter and coconut palm sugar instead of white sugar. I did not have a press so I used cookie cutters. They were amaze-balls!!! Ate about 10 of those little suckers and am going to try to dip a few in chocolate tomorrow. Thanks for another delicious recipe!
What if you do not own a cookie press?
Hi there. One reader suggested rolling them in little balls and pressing them with a glass. ~Amy
I have never owned or used a cookie press, but after reading this recipe, I had to have one! Also, I love baking at the holidays and I was eager to try some cleaner recipes. These cookies were delicious. I dipped them in some semi-sweet chocolate and they were great. Thanks for another winning recipe!
where to you get coconut sugar? can’t wait to try these cookies
Hi there. Coconut sugar can be found at health food stores and is in many mainstream groceries now, too. ~Amy
These are absolutely smashing!!! I loved these little babies.
Can I use white whole wheat flour? Is there a ratio difference?
Thank you!
Hello Angela. You can exchange 1:1 and should work just fine. ~Amy