These Gluten-Free Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies are one of the absolute best gluten-free Christmas cookie recipes! They're perfect to bring to parties, to have for an afternoon snack, and Santa will love them! 
If you're going to a holiday cookie exchange or any Christmas party, I'm telling you, if you bring these Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies, everyone will love you.
Everyone!
When my oldest son was only five-years old, he was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and is therefore gluten-free -- forever.
Since then, in addition to all of my other recipes, I've focused a lot on gluten-free baking -- especially cookies. And Christmas or not, this is one of our favorites. (It's tied with these easy Peanut Butter Cookies that I usually add chocolate chips to.)
Some Ingredient Notes
- crushed peppermint candy canes or peppermint candy canes - The smallest size candy canes typically come loosely wrapped, as opposed to the the larger ones, which are very difficult to unwrap. So purchase the former.
- 1 to 1 gluten-free all-purpose flour - This recipe has also been tested with Cup4Cup Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour, which consistently yields good results.
- salt - I almost always bake and cook with Kosher salt. (It’s coarse and salts foods in a subtle way that enhances their flavor without making them taste salty.)
- cocoa powder - This one is my favorite.
- unsalted butter - I always bake and cook with unsalted butter so I can control exactly how much salt is in the recipe.
- pure vanilla extract - Nielsen-Massey Vanilla is excellent.
How to Make Them
(More detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.)
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. In a large bowl, combine melted butter with the granulated sugar, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs and stir until they're fully incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and mix until you no longer see any dry spots.
- If you're using whole (not pre-crushed) candy canes, unwrap the candies and add them to a large zip-lock bag. Place that bag into a second bag and remove the air from both. Use a smooth-surfaced meat mallet or the bottom of a small skillet to gently pound on the bag to break them into tiny pieces. The smaller the better -- about half of it should be almost a powder and the rest should be in pieces somewhere between the size of rice grains and corn kernels.Remove 1 tablespoon of the crushed candy canes and set aside for garnish.
- Fold the rest of them into the dough, with the semisweet and white chocolate chips.
- Shape the cookie dough into balls, about 1½ tablespoons each, placing them on the parchment-lined sheet pan as you go. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour, and up to two days.
- About 15 minutes before you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F and line another sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Add powdered sugar to a shallow bowl and roll each ball of dough through it -- placing them on the parchment-lined sheet pan as you go, with a couple inches between them. Sprinkle each one with a pinch of the remaining tablespoon of crushed candy canes.
- Bake in the preheated oven just until they no longer look doughy, have flattened out by about 50% and are "crinkled," about 8 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes. Repeat until all of the cookies are baked.
Recipe Tips
- You can purchase pre-crushed candy canes or use about 24 (2.5-inch) peppermint candy canes as follows:  (This route takes about 10 extra minutes and is generally less expensive.)
- You can make these with regular all-purpose flour if keeping them gluten-free isn't important to you.
More Must-Try Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Nutella Cookies with Chocolate Chips
- Coconut Flour Cookies with Chocolate
- Triple Chocolate Gluten-Free Biscotti
- Oatmeal Chocolate Cherry Lace Cookies
Hopefully these gluten-free Christmas cookies will be a highlight of your holiday season!
Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup peppermint crushed candy canes (or about 2 dozen 2½-inch candy canes to crush)
- 1¾ cup Cup4Cup gluten-free all-purpose flour (or other 1 to 1 gluten-free flour -- or, regular all-purpose flour)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Prep the pan. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Prep the peppermint. If you're using whole (not pre-crushed) candy canes, unwrap the candies and add them to a large zip-lock bag. Place that bag into a second bag and remove the air from both. Use a smooth-surfaced meat mallet or the bottom of a small skillet to gently pound on the bag to break them into tiny pieces. The smaller the better -- about half of it should be almost a powder and the rest should be in pieces somewhere between the size of rice grains and corn kernels.Remove 1 tablespoon of the crushed candy canes and set aside for garnish.
- Make the batter. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, sifted cocoa powder and baking powder. Mix to blend and set aside.In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter with the granulated sugar, vanilla and salt. Then add the eggs and stir until they're fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth.Add the dry ingredients and mix until you no longer see any dry spots.
- Add candy canes & chocolate chips. Remove 1 tablespoon of the crushed candy canes and set aside for garnish. Fold the rest of them into the dough, with the semisweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips.
- Shape. Shape the cookie dough into balls, about 1½ tablespoons each. Roll them between your hands to make them smooth, placing them on the parchment-lined sheet pan as you go. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour, and up to a couple of days.
- Set oven and prep another pan. About 15 minutes before you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F, adjust a rack towards the center of the oven and line another sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Prep to bake with powdered sugar and candy canes. Add the powdered sugar to a shallow bowl. Gently roll each ball of refrigerated dough through it -- placing them on the parchment-lined sheet pan as you go, with a couple inches between them. Sprinkle each one with a pinch of the remaining tablespoon of crushed candy canes that were set aside.
- Bake. Bake in the preheated 350°F oven just until they no longer look doughy, have flattened out by about 50% and are "crinkled," about 8 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes. Repeat until all of the cookies are baked.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Cooking On The Weekends is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon affiliate links are for your convenience at no additional cost to you.
Terra
Made these as holiday gifts and they have been a HUGE hit! everyone wants the recipe. The texture and flavor are spot on!
Valentina
Hi Terra. Thanks so much for writing in - I'm so happy these were a hit! You made my day. Happy Holidays, Valentina
Healthy World Cuisine
These gluten free chocolate peppermint cookies were the first ones to disappear from the cookie tray. So festive and chewy - hard to resist.
Valentina
Makes me happy. Thanks so much and a very happy holiday season to you. 🙂 ~Valentina
2pots2cook
... almost missed these babies.... have some candy canes left and these are just perfect to use for my GF friends. Thank you dear !
valentina
Thank you! 🙂 ~Valentina
David @ Spiced
That really would be a challenge eating out with gluten sensitivity. It feels like things have gotten better in that area, but I'm sure it's still not easy. It's awesome that you have this gluten-free cookie recipe for Christmas! This sounds super fudgy and delicious...just the way I like my chocolate cookies! Yum!
valentina
Fudgy and delicious, indeed. And yes, it's much easier to be gluten-free these days. Thanks for checking out my recipe, David. As always! 🙂 ~Valentina
Laurel
Hi! Question...if my gluten free flour has xanthan gum in it, do I still need to add extra?
valentina
Hi Laurel, Thanks for writing in. Is your gluten-free flour a "cup for cup," or "1 to 1?" If so, you don't need to use the full amount, but since it's for cookies, I'd still use some. (For a cake of muffins, something made in a pan, it wouldn't be as imperative, but gluten-free cookies really need help holding their shape.) I wouldn't use less than 1/4 teaspoon if you're using one of the aforementioned flours. Otherwise use the full 1/2 teaspoon. I hope this helps and I hope you love the cookies! 🙂 ~Valentina
Isabelle Cody
Hey Valentina, thanks for taking the time to share this. My younger brother was also diagnosed with Celiac disease 3 years ago. But like you said, it’s not life-threatening and easy to manage. He is still doing pretty fine with it.
valentina
Hi Isabelle, so happy you found these cookies. I hope your brother will like them, and you too. 🙂 Thanks so much.
Danielle
I love peppermint cookies this time on year and yours look amazing!
valentina
I'm so into peppermint during the holidays. I just love it. Thank you! 😀
Chichi Uguru
Chocolate and mint are a delightful combination. I love that this is gluten free.
valentina
Many thanks! 🙂
Danielle Wolter
This is so sweet! I love that there are so many options out there now so you can create these treats for your son. And these look amazing!
valentina
Thanks, Danielle! He's a pretty lucky guy. IMHO, of course. 😉