Peppermint Frosted Sugar Cookies

If you’re looking for the perfect holiday cookie for your next party or cookie exchange, then you must make these Peppermint Frosted Sugar Cookies. These pillowy soft sugar cookies, like the ones you find in the grocery store, are frosted with a hint of peppermint and topped with crushed candy canes, giving it that special holiday flavor.

What is it about the Christmas time of year that just makes me want to put peppermint in everything? From Peppermint White Chocolate Coffee Creamer to Peppermint Blossom Cookies, I can’t seem to get enough of that cool minty flavor in November and December. 

Don’t want to bake cookies? Then these no bake Peppermint Dream Bars have your name on them. This holiday lush recipe is going to be a highlight on your dessert table for sure!

Soft Peppermint Sugar Cookies take two classic holiday treats–candy canes and frosted cookies–and put them together in one tasty indulgence. 

This recipe was Day 1 of 2013’s 12 Days of Cookies! This is a fun tradition I do almost every holiday season on the blog, and I’m so excited to share all my favorite cookie recipes with you!
You can find past many of our holiday cookie recipes from years passed here!

The Perfect Sugar Cookie

Everyone loves a frosted sugar cookie, especially around the holidays. What I personally DON’T love is a frosted sugar cookie that gets hard just hours after it’s taken out of the oven. This frosted sugar cookie recipe has never once failed to make the perfect cookie that stays soft even days later. Greek yogurt in the dough helps give them a soft and tender texture. 

Adding peppermint extract to the frosting turned these cookies into a treat that tastes just like Christmas should. I like to decorate mine with crushed candy canes, but they are delicious just as is. 

Ingredients for Peppermint Frosted Sugar Cookies

You need just a handful of simple ingredients for this classic sugar cookie dough:

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups plain Greek yogurt – can substitute sour cream
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt

Ingredients for Peppermint Frosting

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 6 tablespoons heavy cream
• Food coloring, if desired
• Colored sprinkles and/or crushed candy cane pieces for decoration

How to make Sugar Cookies with Peppermint Frosting

This sugar cookie dough requires you to refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. I like to make the dough the day before I want to bake the cookies.

1.  First, cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. You can also use a large bowl and electric mixer. Mix on medium speed for about 4 minutes until the butter mixture is light and creamy.
2. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating each one completely. Add vanilla and yogurt, then mix well.
3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low speed. The dough will be sticky, but that’s okay!
4. Divide the dough in half onto separate sheets of plastic wrap. Form each half into a rectangle about 1 ½ inches thick. Cover completely in plastic wrap, then refrigerate overnight.
5. When you’re ready to bake, heat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. You can prepare two sheets ahead of time if you want.
6. Flour your work surface and rolling pin, then remove one dough rectangle from the fridge, unwrap it, and roll it out to about ¼ inch thickness.
7. Use a 2.5-inch cookie cutter to cut the dough into circles. Place each cookie on the cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.
8. Bake cookies for 7-9 minutes or until just barely golden. Remove the cookies from the sheets immediately and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Then you’ll do it all over again with the second rectangle of dough.

Tips for Rolling Cookie Dough

• Don’t skip the refrigeration process. You need cold, somewhat stiff dough for these peppermint cookies.
• Avoid over-flouring by laying out a large sheet of plastic wrap over the dough before you roll it out. Then roll on top of the plastic wrap until the dough is ¼ inch thick. Remove the wrap and cut as directed. Less mess this way!
• I have also rolled dough directly onto a Silpat, cut out the cookies an inch apart, and then removed the excess. Then you can just pick up the SilPat and put it on the baking sheet.

How to make Peppermint Frosting

Once the cookies have completely cooled, it’s time to add the frosting!

1. In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, and peppermint extract until light and fluffy.
2. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt with the mixer on low speed. Mix until smooth and creamy, though it will be somewhat dry at this point.
3. Add the cream one tablespoon at a time, incorporating each completely. Once it is all mixed in or has reached the consistency you want (you may not need all the heavy cream), beat on medium-high speed for about two minutes to make it all light and airy.
4. Add food coloring if desired and mix until thoroughly combined, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary.

Frost the cookies and top with sprinkles or peppermint candy.

How to store Peppermint Frosted Sugar Cookies

Allow the frosting to set before storing them in an airtight container with layers separated by wax paper. Keep them at room temperature for 3-5 days, or for longer storage, put them in the freezer. They will freeze for up to 1 month.

Can you make peppermint sugar cookies ahead of time?

Yes, you can also bake these cookies ahead of time, store them in the freezer, and then make a batch of frosting when you’re ready to serve them. 

More Christmas cookie recipes

If you like this cookie you may enjoy some other favorites from the blog:

• Cream Cheese Meltaways
• Salted Caramel Thumbprints
• Whipped Shortbread
• Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies
• Cream Cheese Cookies, 
• French Butter Cookies 
• Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Back in the day, I used to rate everything I made on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Peppermint Frosted Sugar Cookies earned 3 rolling pins. I admit that I personally prefer them without the peppermint in the frosting, using just the vanilla extract.
Mr. 365 said and I quote (with a turned up nose, resembling Mr. Scrooge), “I don’t need candy canes on my cookies.”