Mint chocolate shortbread cookies are buttery and tender mint chocolate cookies dipped in melted chocolate. If you love thin mint cookies, you'll want to give these shortbread cookies a try!
Mint chocolate shortbread cookies are a fantastic addition to your holiday cookie tray. They're easy to make and only require a handful of readily available ingredients.
Shortbread cookies are tender, buttery, and delicate. They require no leavening agents like baking powder or baking soda, so they don't rise like a traditional cookie.
When dipped in melted chocolate, these cookies resemble the classic thin mint cookie you may enjoy during girl scout cookie season. If you're a fan of thin mints, you'll probably enjoy these cookies too.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Butter - Unsalted butter and the listed salt can be substituted with salted butter if needed.
- All-purpose flour - Adds the proper amount of structure needed to balance with the wet ingredients in this recipe. I have not tested this recipe with other types of flours, so I do not recommend making substitutions.
- Granulated sugar - Adds sweetness and moisture to your cookies.
- Cocoa powder - Dutch cocoa or natural cocoa powder can be used in this recipe since there are no leavening agents involved.
- Peppermint extract - Can be substituted with vanilla extract if you don't care for peppermint flavor.
- Chocolate melting wafers - I recommend Ghirardelli or Mercken's brand melting wafers for best flavor. Chocolate melting wafers can be substituted with chocolate chips, but keep in mind that chocolate chips will not harden into a crisp candy coating like melting wafers do.
- Sprinkles - Optional, but add visual appeal to your cookies.
Tips for shortbread cookies
What is the secret to making good shortbread? Use high quality ingredients and measure those ingredients properly!
High quality ingredients - Since there are so few ingredients in this recipe, each one is very important. If possible, use a high quality butter like Kerrygold. It has a velvety texture and superior flavor, which translates into a more flavorful cookie.
Measure ingredients properly - The biggest issue I see in cookie making in general, but especially shortbread, is the improper measuring of ingredients. Since there are so few ingredients in this recipe, it is vital that each ingredient is measured exactly. Too much flour makes the dough too crumbly and dry to come together properly. Too much butter makes your cookies spread too much in the oven.
How do you accurately measure cookie ingredients? Use a kitchen scale. Every baking recipe on my website includes gram measurements in the recipe card.
If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method for flour. Gently spoon flour into the measuring cup until full, then level off the top with a knife. How accurate is the spoon and level method? It's not perfect, but better than scooping with the measuring cup. Check out my 10 tips for baking cookies post for photos of my flour measuring demonstration.
Why is my dough crumbly?
Shortbread cookie dough is very thick and crumbly, which in turn makes a very buttery, dense, and tender cookie. While your dough will look a bit crumbly while mixing, it should stick together when pinched between two fingers.
If your dough looks so crumbly that it won't form into a ball, it is likely that too much flour was added to the dough. You can try adding a tablespoon or two of water to help the dough come together, although this is not ideal.
To prevent crumbly dough, I highly recommend measuring your flour using a kitchen scale, rather than measuring with cups. If you're scooping flour out of a bin using the cup, this compacts the flour into the cup, adding up to 25% extra flour to the recipe. This makes the dough turn out dry and crumbly.
Can these be made without mint?
Yes, if you don't care for mint flavor, the peppermint extract can be substituted with vanilla extract instead.
Cookie storage
Mint chocolate shortbread cookies will keep for 3-5 days in a tightly sealed container.
To help keep cookies fresh for longer, place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. The bread will get stale while the cookies remain soft and fresh! Replace the bread slice as needed.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Mint Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (99 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) peppermint extract
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (42 g) natural cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces (230 g) chocolate melting wafers
- sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add peppermint extract and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Add flour mixture, half at a time, to butter mixture and stir until dough forms. Dough will be thick.
- Shape into a disc and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Cut dough in half. Place remaining half back in refrigerator. Dust counter top and rolling pin with flour, then roll dough to ¼" thickness. Cut off rounded edges, creating a large rectangle. Slice dough into small rectangles, about 1 inch by 2 inches. Place on baking sheet.
- Bake for about 11-13 minutes, or until edges are set and middle of cookie is still soft. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing cookies from baking sheet. Remove to cooling rack and allow to cool completely before dipping.
- Place melting wafers in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring until melted.
- Dip each cookie halfway into chocolate and tap to remove excess. Place on wax paper or parchment and immediately add sprinkles before chocolate sets. Allow to set for 1 hour at room temperature, or place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Your cookies will keep for 3-5 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, you can place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed.
- You can keep raw cookie dough in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cookie dough and baked cookies freeze well, up to 3 months in a sealed plastic container or freezer bag. Allow frozen cookie dough to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling out.
- Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
These cookies taste as good almost 1 week later as they did on the first day… if not better. We dunked ours in candy cane instead of sprinkles and it was delightful. I think I would probably opt for a small square cookie cutter next time so they all look the same. I am not gifted with a knife 🙂
Candy cane sounds like a great idea! Thank you for the great review Kelley 😊
Love the mint and chocolate together!