These Peppermint Bark Cookies are gluten-free, vegan, and allergy-free! Made with a soft and chewy chocolate brownie cookie, dipped in sweet dairy-free white chocolate, and sprinkled with crushed peppermint candy canes! These fudgy chocolate peppermint Christmas cookies are quick and easy to make, with all the holiday flavors of your favorite no-bake Christmas candy!
The famous peppermint bark, transformed into a soft, decadent, chocolate cookie, dipped in sweet and creamy white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed peppermint candy. When it's cookie season, it only makes sense to turn your favorite chocolate candy into a cookie, right? Festive and irresistible, these cookies are gluten-free, vegan, and allergy-free so they're perfect for bake sales, holiday gifting, and every Christmas cookie exchange you have on the list!
What's Peppermint Bark?
Peppermint bark is a classic chocolate candy that comes out during Christmas, combining a layer of rich dark chocolate with sweet white chocolate, and sprinkles with crushed peppermint candy. (Some people use all dark chocolate or all white chocolate and don't layer the two, which is wrong, full stop.) Chocolate bark has been around since the '60s, an Americanized version of French mendiants. However, peppermint bark was popularized by Williams Sonoma in 1998 when they began selling the creation to the masses. Now you'll find brands like Ghirardelli and Dove selling it and all the homemade versions people gift!
Why You'll Love This Cookie Recipe
We've got the classic bark, popcorn, muddy buddies, bread, brownies, and now it's time for cookies! The chocolatey minty trio makes a perfect flavor combination for the most delicious holiday cookies that taste like Christmas with each fudgy bite! Of course, these cookies are gluten-free, vegan, and top allergen-free so all your family and friends can enjoy them this holiday season! These cookies are:
- Gluten-Free
- Vegan & Vegetarian
- Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Corn-Free, Coconut-Free)
- Kid-Friendly
- Quick, Easy, Simple Ingredients
- Make-Ahead & Freezer-Friendly
- Perfect Dessert for Christmas, Holidays, & Cookie Exchanges
Ingredients For Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
- Gluten-Free Flour: Use your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour as the base of these chocolate cookies.
- Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder (or cacao powder) is where all the chocolate fudge brownie flavor comes from! Rich and delicious, no chocolate chips required.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda + Salt: For leavening and keeping your cookies, soft, fluffy, and perfectly chewy inside like a brownie!
- Granulated Sugar: You can use a sugar-free sweetener or your choice of granulated white sugar.
- Brown Sugar: A little bit of light brown sugar, or sugar-free brown sugar, helps keep these soft cookies nice and moist. Make sure to use light brown sugar, not dark, so the molasses flavor isn't overpowering.
- Vegan Butter: By using melted butter in cookies, you achieve a fudgy, chewy texture without cakiness. That's why the chocolate cookie base is so similar to a chewy brownie in this recipe.
- Non-Dairy Milk: A splash of plain unsweetened non-dairy milk helps get the cookie dough to the right consistency.
- Peppermint Extract: Pure peppermint extract mixed and baked into the cookie dough ensures you get peppermint flavor in each bite. (Note: NOT mint extract).
- Vegan White Chocolate: To melt and dip the baked chocolate cookie into and act as the glue for the crushed peppermint candy. You can use these allergy-free white chocolate chips or this vegan white chocolate bar.
- Candy Canes: Peppermint candy canes or round peppermint candies work! Toss them in a bag and give them a whack with a rubber hammer or mallet.
How To Make Peppermint Bark Cookies
- Whisk together the gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until smooth.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the stick of vegan butter, then mix in both sugars and peppermint extract until combined and the sugars are melted.
- Add the melted butter mixture to the bowl of whisked dry ingredients.
- Mix the dough together and add the non-dairy milk until the dough is soft and combined.
- On a lined baking sheet, use a cookie scoop to make 1-tablespoon-sized cookie dough balls on space them out on the sheet. Press the tops just slightly to smooth the dough a bit.
- Bake the cookies in a preheated oven at 350°F for 12 minutes.
- Remove the cookies and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Melt the vegan white chocolate in a bowl and add the crushed candy canes to another bowl.
- Once the cookies have cooled, dip one half into the melted white chocolate, place it down wax or parchment paper, then sprinkle on the crushed candy can piece before the white chocolate sets.
- Allow the chocolate on the cookies to set before serving. Place the cookies in the fridge for an hour or two to speed up the drying process.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- These cookies are like brownies so you don't need to chill the dough.
- Use a greased Silpat or parchment paper when baking the cookies. The cookies don't spread too much but it's best to do two batches. You'll want to smooth some of the large gaps on the tops of the unbaked dough, but don't press the dough balls flat, they should be nice and round.
- If you don't have a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, you can use a tablespoon measuring spoon to portion out the dough for 16 cookies.
- Don't over-bake the cookies! I found 12 minutes to be perfect before taking the cookies out of the oven allowing them to sit on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Grease a small bowl before slowly melting the vegan white chocolate. Start by heating it at 30-second intervals on high in the microwave, stirring in between intervals until fully melted.
How To Store Vegan Peppermint Bark Cookies
Once the cookies have cooled and the chocolate has set, you can store the decorated chocolate cookies in an airtight container for 5-7 days at room temperature or in the fridge. I prefer to store them in a single layer (one of these big containers is great!), with wax or parchment paper underneath so the candy pieces don't get knocked off by stacked cookies.
How To Freeze
Freeze the cookies flat in a single layer and once frozen you can carefully stack them by placing a piece of wax paper in between layers. However, it's best to keep them stored in a single layer because of the peppermint candy pieces. You can keep the cookies frozen in an airtight storage container or freezer storage bag for up to 4-6 months. Allow the cookies to thaw overnight in the fridge and then bring them to room temperature on the counter before serving.
More Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies:
- Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles
- Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
- Classic Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Classic Shortbread Cookies
- Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies
- Soft Molasses Cookies
- Iced Thumbprint Cookies
Peppermint Bark Cookies (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
These Peppermint Bark Cookies are gluten-free, vegan, and allergy-free! Made with a soft and chewy chocolate brownie cookie, dipped in sweet dairy-free white chocolate, and sprinkled with crushed peppermint candy canes! These fudgy chocolate peppermint Christmas cookies are quick and easy to make, with all the holiday flavors of your favorite no-bake Christmas candy!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 12 Minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 16 Cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cups Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
- ½ Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ½ Tsp Baking Powder
- ½ Tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ Tsp Salt
- 1 Stick (½ Cup) Vegan Butter
- ½ Cup Granulated Sweetener (or preferred granulated sugar)
- 2 TB Brown Sugar Sweetener (or preferred light brown sugar)
- 1 Tsp Pure Peppermint Extract
- 2 TB Unsweetened Plain Non-Dairy Milk
- 2 Cups Allergy-Free White Chocolate Chips or about 3 Bars
- 1 Cup Peppermint Candies (5-6 Peppermint Candy Canes)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the stick of vegan butter and then stir in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and peppermint extract until thick and smooth.
- Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix together. Add the two tablespoons of non-dairy milk and mix until the cookie dough is combined and smooth.
- Use a cookie scoop or 1 tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop out 16, 1-tablespoon-sized balls of dough and space them out on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpats. Smooth or press the tops on the cookie dough balls slightly, just enough to remove any large ridges.
- Bake the cookies in the oven for 12 minutes, remove and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cookies have cooled, melt the vegan white chocolate in a greased microwave-safe bowl, using 30-second intervals on high, stirring the chocolate in between to prevent burning.
- Crush the peppermint candy by placing it in a plastic bag and crushing it with a rubber mallet or other heavy object. Place the crushed pieces in another small bowl.
- Dip one-half of each cookie in the melted vegan white chocolate and place the dipped cookie on a sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper. Before the chocolate sets, sprinkle the top with the crushed peppermint candies.
- Allow the cookies to set at room temperature or place them in the fridge to speed up the process before serving the cookies.
Notes
Storage: Once the cookies have cooled and the chocolate has set, you can store the decorated chocolate cookies in an airtight container for 5-7 days at room temperature or in the fridge.
Freezing: Freeze the cookies flat in a single layer and once frozen you can carefully stack them by placing a piece of wax paper in between layers. However, it's best to keep them stored in a single layer because of the peppermint candy pieces. You can keep the cookies frozen in an airtight storage container or freezer storage bag for up to 4-6 months. Allow the cookies to thaw overnight in the fridge and then bring them to room temperature on the counter before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
Peppermint bark in any form is always a favorite and now you can make perfect gluten-free peppermint bark cookies to capitalize on the fact that it is cookie season!
So tell me:
+ What's been your favorite peppermint bark creation?
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Erin
Chocolate and peppermint together in a cookie is just the BEST combination! These sound so festive and utterly delicious!
Happy holidays to you and yours!
Rebecca Pytell
There's nothing better!
Julie
Ooo, these look good. And perfect for my dairy free friends. Thank you for sharing with us! 🙂
Rebecca Pytell
Enjoy, Julie!
Kerri
Hi, thanks for the great vegan holiday cookie recipe. I can finally use some of the million extra candy canes I seem to end up with every year. Love that you recommend No Whey chocolate, they're the best brand.
Rebecca Pytell
Their brand melts the best!
Michelle Miller
These cookies are so pretty! And they look delicious!
Rebecca Pytell
Hope you bake some!