Rich, fudgy chocolate cookies stuffed with candy cane buttercream. A festive favorite!
I have a confession. I bought 3 huge boxes of candy canes and am using them in recipes left and right. Hopefully you love candy canes as much as I do? Right?
What we have here today is a fudgy chocolate cookie sandwich stuffed with candy cane buttercream in the center.
What is candy cane buttercream? Glad you asked.
The delightfully festive buttercream starts just as any basic vanilla buttercream—butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and a touch of milk. I use this classic recipe anytime I want a vanilla frosting.
Simply grind up some candy canes and sift the candy cane “dust” into the vanilla buttercream. The dust gives the buttercream just enough peppermint flavor and a charming light pink hue, which I think is gorgeous paired with the dark chocolate cookies! I love a pretty cookie.
Confession. I ate some leftover candy cane “dust bunnies” with a spoon -> minty powdery perfection! Candy cane dust will be the loudest, but sweetest thing you’ll food processor will ever make. 😉
The cookies themselves are worth writing home about. They have cocoa powder, rich melted chocolate, and mini chocolate chips in the dough—a triple chocolate threat. Would you have it any other way? The cookies are rich and dense, just like brownies. My version of a “brookie”—or brownie cookies.
The cookies are a chocoholics pure dream and the perfect “bread” for the minty candy cane buttercream. The absolute best part of these cookies is that they stand the true cookie test—remaining soft, even the next day. To keep the frosting fresh, be sure to store your extras in the refrigerator. If you have any extras, that is. We didn’t. 😉
My intense fudgy cookies aren’t for the faint of heart and do require a few steps. For a short cut, try using my Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies instead! Cake mix short-cut, I’m all about those sometimes.
You and your family are going to just love these cookie sandwiches this holiday season!
More Festive Peppermint Picks:
- Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprints
- Peppermint Bark & Peppermint Bark Fudge
- Peppermint Mocha Cookies
- Peppermint Frosted Chocolate Cookies
- White Chocolate Peppermint Cupcakes
Chocolate Fudge Cookies with Candy Cane Buttercream
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 24 sandwich cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Rich, fudgy chocolate cookies stuffed with candy cane buttercream. A festive favorite!
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookies
- 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon (133g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 cup (21g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (I use 1 package Baker’s Semi Sweet chocolate)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (180g) mini chocolate chips
Candy Cane Buttercream Frosting
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 and 1/2 – 3 cups (300-360g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1–2 Tablespoons (15-30ml) heavy cream or milk
- 1/2 cup candy cane dust, sifted (about 8–10 candy canes pulverized in a food processor)
- optional: crushed candy canes for rolling
Instructions
- Make the cookies: Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 1 minute. Stir. Continue to melt in 30 second increments until fully melted and smooth. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla. Set aside. With an electric or stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth and creamy—about 1 minute. Beat in the sugars, scraping down the sides every 10 seconds or so. The mixture will be granular.
- Mix in the beaten egg/vanilla until incorporated. Add the chocolate in a steady stream and beat until combined. Add the dry ingredients on slow speed. Fold in the mini chocolate chips. Do not overmix at any point in this process.
- Chill dough for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Scoop about 1 Tablespoon of dough and roll into a slightly flattened ball. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cookies have just begun to set with the centers still appearing very soft. They will firm up as they cool.
- As the cookies cool, make the buttercream: Beat the butter for 1 minute with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Add 2 and 1/2 cups of sifted powdered sugar and slowly mix on low speed. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and 1 Tablespoon of cream/milk. Beat for about 1 minute. Manually stir in candy cane dust. If your buttercream needs to be thicker, add more powdered sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk/cream. If frosting is too sweet, add a pinch of salt.
- Frost the bottom end of a cooled cookie and top with another to make a sandwich. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Fine Mesh Sieve | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.