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Gluten-Free Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

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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!      Gluten-Free Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies stacked on pink tissue paper

If you’re going to a holiday cookie exchange, I’m telling you, if you bring Gluten-Free Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies, everyone will love you.

Everyone!

Inspiration

It’s been several years since my oldest son was diagnosed with Celiac Disease — he was only five-years-old at the time.

Sometimes I forget it can be hard for him when he can’t eat everything that most people can. In fact, when he complains, (which is rare), I’m probably too hard on him.

You see, I’ve just always felt so blessed that compared to so many diseases one could have, Celiac Disease is one that can be easy to manage. It’s not life threatening and does not require medication.

powdered sugar-coated balls of gluten-free chocolate peppermint crinkle cookie dough

I’m not saying it’s easy for everyone.

And believe me, I get that he hates asking the waiter if the tortilla chips, which are usually gluten-free, have been fried in oil where something with gluten may have been fried.

(The answer is usually yes, by the way.)

Gluten-Free Chocolte Peppermint cookies lined up on parchment paper

You have to be very careful about cross contamination with Celiac Disease. We have two toasters, and certain pans in the house are only for gluten-free cooking.

It always warms my heart completely to see how excited and happy he is when I create a new gluten-free dessert for him. And this Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie recipe is no exception.

What’s in this recipe?

  • peppermint crushed candy canes
  • gluten-free all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder and xanthan gum
  • cocoa powder
  • butter
  • sugar
  • vanilla
  • eggs
  • semisweet chocolate chips

Are you getting an idea of how delicious they must be?

red and white candy canes

Recipe Tip

If you don’t have pre-crushed candy canes, use 12 (5-inch) peppermint candy canes as follows:

If the candy canes are wrapped, unwrap them. Then add them to a large zip-lock bag. Remove the air and seal the bag. Then place that bag into a second bag and remove the air from it as well. Now use a smooth-surfaced meat mallet or the bottom of your smallest sauté pan 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.

(This route takes about 10 extra minutes and is generally less expensive.)

broken bits of red and white candy canes

I’ve made dozens of gluten-free cookie recipes over the years and this new recipe has made it to the top of my list.

small stack of gluten-free chocolate peppermint cookies, on pink tissue paper

Gluten-free or not, I think you will love these cookies!

Enjoy every last crumb of these Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies, and I hope they become one of your favorite gluten-free Christmas cookie recipes, too!

small stack of peppermint crinkle cookies

Gluten-Free Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

Valentina K. Wein
These Gluten-Free Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies are the ultimate gluten-free holiday cookie! They're perfect to bring to parties, to have for an afternoon snack, and Santa will love them!
*Makes about 4½ dozen cookies.
*Please note that only ½ hour of the prep time is active.
5 from 9 votes
Print
Prep Time 1 hr 30 mins
Cook Time 8 mins
Total Time 1 hr 38 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 26
Calories 184 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Instructions
 

  • Prep the pan. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Make the batter. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the gluten-free flour, sifted cocoa powder, baking powder and xanthan gum. 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

Calorie count is only an estimate.
Keywords cookies for a party, great for cookie exchange, holiday cookies, gluten-free Christmas cookie recipes
Have you tried this recipe?I'd love to see it on Instagram! Tag me at @cookingontheweekends or leave a comment & rating below.

 

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Comments

  2. Melissa says

    A perfect example of gluten-free food being beautiful and delicious! Eating at restaurants can be a bit of a pain (and embarrassing to the “normal” eaters in my family) but we do what we must to stay healthy.

    Reply

  5. Helen says

    It’s very lovely that you create tasty things for your son to eat. I do feel it’s important that just because you can’t have something, you shouldn’t do without at all.
    Your recipe does sound very tasty and worthy of any Christmas treat situation.

    Reply

  9. Jane says

    So delish! Love that you’ve cracked the candy canes up into it – they never get eaten round here so this is a great way to use them up 🙂

    Reply

  10. Adrianne Jamieson says

    What super cute and festive looking cookies!! I love how perfect they are for this time of year. It is great that you have been able to come up with cookies that your eldest can eat. I will give these a go, cheers!

    Reply

    • valentina says

      Thanks so much, Adrianne! I hope you love them, and I wish you a very happy holiday season! (A delicious one, too!)

      Reply

  14. Isabelle Cody says

    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.

    Reply

    • valentina says

      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

      Reply

  16. David @ Spiced says

    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!

    Reply

    • valentina says

      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

      Reply

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