Peppermint Chocolate Spritz Cookies

These chocolate-dipped Peppermint Chocolate Spritz Cookies combine a tender chocolate mint cookie with a layer of rich, dark chocolate. Make them for your holiday cookie tray, chop them up to mix into peppermint ice cream, or give heart spritz cookies to your boo on Valentine’s Day.

Read on for all the tips and tricks for troubleshooting spritz cookies. Or just grab your cookie press, hit that Jump to Recipe button. And let’s make some chocolate peppermint spritz cookies!

Dipped and undipped heart-shaped chocolate peppermint spritz cookies on a plate.
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What are spritz cookies?

Spritz cookies are not a particular cookie type but refer to the method of extruding cookie batter into different shapes using a cookie press. The word “spritz” comes from either Yiddish or German meaning “spray” – same as for the spritz cocktail.

 

Ingredients

You don’t need any special ingredients to make a chocolate spritz cookie. They use butter and sugar, flour and cocoa powder, and a touch of peppermint extract.

I am no expert in tempering chocolate. But Kenji Lopez-Alt is, if you want to read about how to temper chocolate by hand. Or you can try out a tempering chocolate machine to make the process somewhat easier.

Tempered chocolate gives a special shine and snap that my taste testers preferred, but you can also just dip these cookies in melted chocolate or Ghirardelli chocolate wafers. Add some sprinkles or chopped peppermint candies, and you might not even notice the difference!

Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.

Recipe tips and tricks

These chocolate spritz cookies are super easy because they don’t involve melting chocolate like my brownie crinkle cookies do. The spritz cookie recipe just uses a standard creaming method.

First, beat the butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy (Panel #1 below). Then beat in the egg, vanilla, and peppermint extract (Panel #2). Finally, add the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt (Panel #3).

three panels showing the steps in making the chocolate spritz cookie batter.

Tip from the wise quacker: unlike other cookies, spritz cookie dough should not be chilled before shaping. You need the batter to be soft so it can be shpritzed from your press.

Feel free to use whichever cookie press discs you like with these peppermint chocolate cookies. I always experiment with a few shapes for variety and to see which ones perform most reliably with the particular cookie dough.

four cookie press discs.

Once you get going, there’s no need to space spritz cookies widely on your baking sheet. They don’t spread much at all.

baking sheet filled with unbaked heart-shaped chocolate peppermint spritz cookies.

Bake the peppermint chocolate spritz cookies for about 8 minutes for soft cookies or a minute or so longer for crisper cookies. Then let the pan cool before spritzing another batch.

baking sheet with baked heart-shaped chocolate peppermint spritz cookies.

Let your chocolate mint spritz cookies cool fully before dipping them in more chocolate. Tempered chocolate tastes best but you can also use melted chocolate without tempering.

Tempering chocolate requires patience and precision, and I’d encourage you to try it when you have the time. I’ve tried tempering probably a dozen times in the last few years. You can see my peanut butter bonbons and my coffee truffles for examples of past attempts.

Spritz cookies troubleshooting

We all have cookie press problems from time to time. Sometimes I press the trigger and my spritz cookies don’t release from the press. I hate that.

It’s no big deal to scrape off an occasional failed chocolate spritz cookie. Just put the dough back in your mixing bowl. But if you’re repeatedly having cookie press problems and every spritz fails, here are a few tricks to try.

  • Make sure you’re putting the press directly on your baking sheet and pressing down. I like silicone mats, but some bakers swear by spritzing cookies directly on chilled cookie sheets.
  • Don’t try to use cold cookie dough in a cookie press or dough with large bits like chocolate chips.
  • Try changing your disc to see if a different shape works better.
  • Try packing your press only half full.
  • Hold the trigger a smidge longer. My press clicks to signal a successful cookie release.

Recipe FAQs

Can I freeze these chocolate spritz cookies?

You can freeze the chocolate cookie dough or the baked cookies before dipping them in chocolate. But it’s best to avoid freezing the cookies after they’ve been dipped in chocolate because they are likely to develop a “bloom” that is result of the chocolate coming out of temper.

What cookie press do you use?

I have a Williams and Sonoma cookie press that I have had for decades. All the 2022 reviews seem to love the OXO Good Grips cookie press.

If you’re making a cookie tray or doing other holiday baking, check out other Ugly Duckling Bakery cookies and brownies. And don’t forget the fan favorite chocolate and peanut butter fudge!

Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.

Recipe

Chocolate Peppermint Spritz Cookies

5 from 1 vote
Category: Cookies
Cuisine: Unspecified
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Tempering chocolate and dipping cookies: 2 hours
Total Time: 3 hours
Servings: 96 cookies
Calories: 35kcal
These chocolate-dipped peppermint chocolate spritz cookies combine a tender chocolate mint cookie with a layer of rich, dark chocolate. Chop them up to mix them into a peppermint ice cream, or make the chocolate spritz cookies heart-shaped to share with your boo on Valentine's Day.
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Equipment

  • Stand mixer or hand mixer
  • Cookie press

Ingredients

Chocolate peppermint spritz cookies

  • cups all purpose flour (281 grams)
  • cup baking cocoa (27 grams)
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (16 tablespoons or 227 grams) softened
  • cup granulated sugar (133 grams)
  • 1 egg room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Tempered chocolate

  • 1 to 2 pounds dark chocolate

Instructions

  • Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a medium sized bowl.
    2¼ cups all purpose flour, ⅓ cup baking cocoa, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • Heat your oven to 350°F and place your oven racks towards the middle of the oven.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer, or a medium to large bowl if using a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about five minutes on medium speed with a stand mixer.
    1 cup unsalted butter, ⅖ cup granulated sugar
  • Scrape down the bowl, add the egg, and beat on medium speed for one minute.
    1 egg
  • Add the vanilla and peppermint extracts, and beat on medium speed for another minute.
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed or by hand until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
  • Load about one-quarter of the dough into your cookie press and fit it with your desired disc. Press out cookies onto a baking sheet, leaving a small amount of space between the cookies.
  • Bake for 8 minutes for soft cookies, or 9 to 10 minutes for crispier cookies.
  • Let the cookies cool for about 5 to 10 minutes on the baking sheet before moving them to a cooling rack to cool completely before dipping in chocolate. Let the baking sheet cool completely before making another batch of cookies.
  • Temper the chocolate for dipping, dip, and let the cookies cool on a rack.
    1 to 2 pounds dark chocolate
  • Spritz cookies can be stored at room temperature for several days.

Notes

This recipe will make between 4 and 8 dozen cookies, depending on your cookie press.
If your spritz cookies aren’t releasing from your cookie press, check out the main post for spritz cookie troubleshooting. Make sure you are pressing down firmly on your cookie sheet, and try spritzing on an unlined, chilled sheet.
Tempered chocolate has the best flavor and texture for covering these chocolate peppermint spritz cookies, but feel free to use simple melted chocolate or chocolate melting wafers if you prefer the convenience.

Nutrition

Serving: 3cookies | Calories: 35kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 9mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 62IU | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 1mg
Love this recipe?Mention @Uglyducklingbakery or tag #uglyducklingbakery!

This spritz cookie recipe was created for the final bake of the 2021 reddit 52 weeks of baking challenge (week 52: nemesis). It’s not that spritz cookies are my nemesis. The problem is the part where the spritz cookies are dipped in tempered chocolate.

Bored with the recipes you’ve been cooking and baking lately? Get inspiration here:

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