These Andes mint chocolate cookies are soft and rich, unapologetically chocolate-y, and crowned with a sweet crème de menthe-flavored “frosting” swirl. What a treat!
Peppermint screams flashy red-and-white, as evidenced by recipes like peppermint bark and peppermint mocha cookies. I love mint and chocolate, but today we’re using peppermint’s smooth green counterpart: cool crème de menthe—”mint cream”—for these decadent chocolate cookies.
My family and I used to make these cookies a lot, and we got the recipe from Allrecipes. It’s been YEARS since I made them, and I decided to change the cookie dough so there’s no pre-cooking involved.
You don’t need any special extracts or flavorings for these cookies; just a package of Andes mints. There’s no peppermint extract at all! Do you ever use Andes mints in baking? These crème de menthe-flavored chocolates are billed as “after-dinner mints,” and they melt in your mouth. I chop them up to use in recipes like soft Andes mint chocolate chunk cookies and Andes mint fudge… but you don’t need a cutting board for today’s cookies.
Instead, we’re taking advantage of Andes’ meltaway quality, and letting the warm baked cookies do the work to make a delicious chocolate mint topping. No additional icing recipe to make—it’s such an easy cookie decorating trick, it almost feels like cheating!
Why You’ll Love These Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies
- Super soft and chewy
- Crisp and sparkly sugar coating—like a snickerdoodle or molasses cookie, except CHOCOLATE!
- Simple, basic ingredients
- Mint flavor isn’t too sharp or overpowering at all—young kids love these
- Easy decorating: Swirl a melted Andes mint chocolate to make this “cheater’s frosting” 😉
The Softest, Fudgiest Chocolate Cookies
If you were to close your eyes and take a bite of one of these cookies, you’d be surprised to find a cookie instead of a fudgy mint chocolate brownie in your hand. We can thank my favorite chocolate cookie dough for that, a go-to base I use when making double chocolate chip cookies and chocolate crinkle cookies too. There’s a reason my team and I turn to this cookie dough often (and why so many readers love it as well)… it WORKS! The magical dough creates rich, thick, and chewy chocolate cookies that stay soft for days. If they last that long (a rare occurrence, I can assure you).
For today’s recipe, I made 2 small changes to the base dough. I replaced a bit of cocoa powder with flour so the cookie dough rolls in sugar a bit neater. And there’s still PLENTY of chocolate flavor, especially with the mint chocolate candy on top. I also slightly reduced the milk… just by a smidge.
I’m a broken record again today repeating that you must chill this cookie dough for at least 2 hours (and up to 3 days). It’s imperative in this recipe, so plan accordingly.
Grab These Ingredients:
All basic baking ingredients. You’ll use granulated sugar both in the dough and for coating the cookies. Unsweetened natural cocoa powder is ideal and if you’re interested in learning more, here’s my page all about Dutch-Process vs Natural Cocoa Powder. Cocoa is a very drying ingredient, so don’t leave out the 2 teaspoons of milk in the recipe. Any milk, dairy or nondairy, is fine.
Expect a sticky dough, but again, not nearly as sticky as these double chocolate cookies.
After the dough chills for 2 hours, it’s much easier to handle and roll into balls. You’ll use 1 heaping Tablespoon of dough per cookie, about 25g each if you’re using a kitchen scale. (Same size as these peanut butter snickerdoodles.) Coat each with sugar before placing on your lined baking sheets:
Bake the cookies and watch as they puff up, and then slightly deflate into crinkly cuteness:
Easy Chocolate Mint Cookie “Icing”
These fudge-like chocolate cookies with a hint of mint are similar to my chocolate peppermint thumbprint cookies, but without the added step of making ganache. Or these peppermint frosted chocolate cookies, without the added step of making frosting. I think you get the point. These cookies are EASY.
Here’s how to “frost” them: After the cookies have baked, allow them to cool on the baking sheet for just 2 minutes, then lightly press an Andes mint in the center of each warm cookie. Set a timer for 5 minutes, to let the Andes mint chocolate get all soft and melty, then give it a little swirl with a knife or icing spatula. COULDN’T BE EASIER. (Yes, I need to shout that!) You’ll love having this easy recipe in your lineup of Christmas cookies.
What Can I Use Instead of an Andes Chocolate Mint?
If you can’t find Andes chocolate mints, you have a few other options. The process for spreading (step 7 below) is the same for all of these options—some chocolates will melt more than others, though.
- Hershey’s Kisses mint chocolate or candy cane flavor
- Mini York peppermint patties
- Cadbury mint chocolate buttons
- 1/2 of an After Eight mint chocolate thin
- 1 small rectangle/piece of a Hershey’s chocolate bar; if using plain chocolate, add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract to the cookie dough when you add the vanilla.
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
- Chocolate Ginger Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Spritz Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Dark Chocolate Orange Biscotti
- Hot Cocoa Cookies
and here are my top 10 cookie baking tools if you’re looking for recommendations!
Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes (includes chilling)
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 22-24 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These crinkly chocolate cookies are soft and rich like a fudge brownie, and topped with a melted Andes chocolate mint swirl. Chilling the cookie dough for 2 hours is imperative.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/4 cups (156g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 cup (45g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) milk (any kind, dairy or nondairy, is fine)
Coating & Topping
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 22–24 Andes chocolate mints, unwrapped
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium high speed until fluffy and light in color, about 2–3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and then beat on high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour into the wet ingredients. Beat on low until combined. The cookie dough will be quite thick. Switch to high speed and beat in the milk. The cookie dough will be thick and sticky.
- Cover dough tightly and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days. Chilling is imperative for this sticky cookie dough.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. Scoop and roll dough, 1 heaping Tablespoon (about 25g) of dough each, into balls. Roll each in granulated sugar and arrange 2–3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 10–12 minutes or until the edges appear set. Tip: If they aren’t really spreading by minute 9, remove them from the oven and lightly bang the baking sheet on the counter 2–3x. This helps initiate that spread. Return to the oven to continue baking.
- Cool cookies for just 2 minutes on the baking sheet. Press 1 Andes chocolate mint into the top of each warm cookie. Let the chocolate sit for 5 minutes, and then use a knife, icing spatula, or toothpick to gently swirl/spread the melted chocolate.
- Transfer “frosted” cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will slightly deflate as they cool. Andes chocolate sets in less than an hour, so you can easily store, stack, and transport the cookies.
- Cover leftover cookies tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (step 3). Baked cookies with Andes chocolate mint topping freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls (before rolling in sugar) will freeze well for up to 3 months. Let sit at room temperature for 20–30 minutes, preheat the oven, then roll in granulated sugar. Bake as directed. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Icing Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Larger Batch: The recipe is easy to double in 1 mixing bowl without overwhelming your mixer. Simply double all of the cookie dough ingredients. Dough chill time remains the same.
- Natural Cocoa Powder: Do you know the difference between natural cocoa powder and dutch-process cocoa powder? Use natural cocoa powder in this dough.
- What can I use instead of Andes mints? If you can’t find Andes chocolate mints, other options include Hershey’s Kisses mint chocolate or candy cane flavor, mini York peppermint patties, or Cadbury mint chocolate buttons. If you can’t find any of those, use 1 small rectangle/piece of a Hershey’s chocolate bar; if using plain chocolate, you can add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract to the cookie dough when you add the vanilla. You could also use 1/2 of an After Eight mint chocolate thin. The process for spreading (step 7) is the same for all of these options—some chocolates will melt more than others, though.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
- Recipe idea from Allrecipes using my own chocolate dough.
Keywords: andes mint chocolate cookies
These cookies are the best. My daughter, daughter in law and granddaughters got together to make Christmas cookies. We were running late so we did not refrigerate the dough and the cookies turned out great. These were the best. Thanks for the recipes Sally.
★★★★★
I am going to be baking six dozen of these as part of a gift for several families in need. My 1 tablespoon cookie scoop is 5 g… Heaping I can’t imagine it’s 25 but if that’s what you say, I will go with it. How wide is the diameter of these?
Hi AZMimi, grams are a unit of mass while tablespoons are a unit of volume, so you’ll find that the gram measurements of different cookies can vary. The baked cookies are about 2-3 inches in diameter. Hope they’re a hit!
Ah these were so good and very easy to make!
★★★★★
Would KA sparkling sugar work as well as granulated sugar for rollling the cookie dough ball?
Should work just fine, Kay!
Is it possible to add espresso powder/grounds to this to give it a mocha vibe?
Hi Aaron, You can certainly add espresso powder if you wish — we’d start with about a teaspoon, but feel free to adjust more/less to your tastes. Enjoy!
Quick question: I have a bunch of crushed candy canes left over from last year, do you think it would work if I used a hershey bar and sprinkled the crushed candy canes on top?
Hi Elissa, I don’t see why not! Hope you enjoy.
These were some of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten!
★★★★★
This recipe is so good! Sometimes I do 1/2 with andes… sometimes plain. I also did this with peanut butter (first time I found the chocolate recipe) which was delicious and got us hooked on this rich soft brownie style cookie. The hardest thing is when you roll the batter in your hands.. usually have to wash after about 6 cookies… but then again I’m a clean freak. I have yet to find a recipe from Sally that I didn’t love.
★★★★★
I followed the recipe and timing exactly and they were perfect! Chewy brownie-like cookies with a surprising mint flair.
★★★★★
I really like chocolate mint cookies! The recipe I found years back was on the back of Hershey’s mint choc. chip bag! After I couldn’t get those choc. chips anymore, I started using chopped Andes mints, which come in a bag ready to use!, add them straight to the batter, at the same time as flour and cocoa powder, those mint cookies are really good! Just like Sally’s!
★★★★★
A very delicious soft chocolate mint cookie. I left some plain for those who don’t like mint. Very tasty. Mine baked on the lower end.
★★★★★
Loved this! Made mine larger so didn’t get as many but still amazing!
★★★★
My kids and I made these cookies this weekend and they were a hit!
★★★★★
Wow. Moist & chocolatey, almost like a mini brownie. The crisp sugar exterior is perfect as is. The Andes candy frosting makes this cookie DELICIOUS. once the candy sets they are great for the lunchbox. For a bake sale you’d better make several dozen, they go fast.
★★★★★
I made these cookies and have a couple of helpful tips! Wear thin latex throw-away gloves for when rolling the chocolate dough balls. If you need to, you can rinse them off with warm water. Works like a charmAnd I also had a large bag of mini white chocolate melty mints. They have green and red nonpareils on their bottoms. I sped up the process by briefly melting a couple of tablespoons of them in a small glass bowl. Stirred them up after melted, and spooned about a teaspoon of the melted mints on each cookie. Delish!!!
These were a huge hit in my house! They kind of tasted like Girl Guide cookies and we were here for it!
These were a hit. I followed the recipe exactly. It was super easy. These cookies won’t be made at Christmas time only.
★★★★★
I loved how sparkly these are! Perfect amount of mint. I would really watch the baking time as these can go from soft to crunchy very fast!
Oh my goodness!! Not a huge mint fan but thought I would make for my niece who loves Andes and holy cow-the taste!!! And the candy on top that just magically becomes a delicious frosting!! Amazing!
★★★★★
Made these for the first time this Christmas – super delicious, festive, and easy. As another reviewer commented, it was so helpful to have the suggested weight for each ball of dough – sometimes it’s hard to get the size right and this took the guesswork out of it, which I like. I am not really a chocolate cookie person but I love these and will definitely make again. Highly recommend!
★★★★★
Unquestionably the best cookies I’ve ever made (and I’m 71 & have made *lots* over the years). I did add the 1 tsp espresso powder as you recommended in earlier comments, and added some multicolored sprinkles for a Christmassy look. I very much appreciate your including the *weight* of each ball, which made these cookies so professionally uniform in size. The only change I would make is, if making these to include on a Christmas platter with a variety of other cookies, to make them smaller (to hold half a mint).
★★★★★
Where is the full recipe
Hi Sharon, you can find the full recipe in the gray recipe card at the bottom of the post. You can also quickly get there by clicking the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page.
OMG this recipe!! absolutely love the taste and it’s so easy to make – I feel like making 5 batches of it! One of my favorites and I’ve baked at least 15-20 of your recipes
★★★★★
A winner! Just finished making these. Cookies are great all by themselves, but the Andes mints takes them up to the next level!
★★★★★
Would they work with the Andes peppermint thins for Christmas?
Absolutely!
Amazing and delicious!
These are definitely a keeper and will make every year for Christmas.
★★★★★
Delicious! Easy to make and oh so good. Perfect combo of mint and chocolate.
★★★★★
Just made these cookies today. I made the dough a week ago and froze it. Pulled it out today and let it sit on the counter about an hour. Just pulled the last batch out of the oven and had to try one. They are delicious. Great recipe!
★★★★★