peppermint mocha sugar cookie wreaths

These dark chocolate sugar cookies are extremely rich with a deep cocoa flavor. This specific recipe is for a peppermint mocha cut out cookie, but you can simply remove the peppermint for a simple chocolate cut out sugar cookie. You can also swap some of the Dutch cocoa powder for black which creates a very rich, dark cookie with an Oreo flavor.

They can also be baked thin and crisp or thick and soft, which makes this recipe even more versatile. I’ve decorated my thick and soft peppermint mocha sugar cookies with a minty royal icing, flavored with Elves Smells flavoring extract from Supernatural Kitchen. This is such a unique and beautiful flavoring, but if you don’t have access to it, you can exchange it for peppermint extract in your royal icing. Here is the royal icing recipe.

ingredients in peppermint mocha sugar cookies

• butter– I always use unsalted butter in my recipes so I can accurately tell you how much salt to add, but the truth is that when I’m just baking personally, I use salted butter and nothing is ever too salty. Use what you have, but make sure that it has come to room temperature, about 66-70 degrees. Butter straight out of the fridge will not cream as well, which will either require too much creaming (creating too aerated of a mixture) or the final dough will have little pebbles of butter that will melt in the oven, causing uneven cookies. Make sure the butter hasn’t softened too much and become melty or squishy.
• sugar– I use granulated sugar in my sugar cookie recipe. This recipe has a little less sugar than a typical sugar cookie recipe, but just enough to give the cookie the perfect sweetness and texture.
• brown sugar– I also add a little brown sugar to this recipe to add moisture since cocoa powder can dry out a cookie a little bit.
• flour– Flour provides the structure for this cookie, and this recipe has the perfect amount for the dough to both hold its shape, yet not be too floury and hard.
• egg– An egg yolk will give the cookie structure and tenderness.
• salt- Diamond Crystal kosher salt is the best for baking, so I recommend grabbing a box if you can. It will last you for a long time if you just use it for baking! If you don’t have this type of salt, swap for regular table salt and use half the amount called for.
• vanilla– Vanilla is essential for flavor in this recipe, and I recommend using vanilla bean paste instead of extract if you can. I love to use vanilla bean paste because the flavor is more intense, but vanilla extract is great as well. I love The Spice House, Heilala, and Nielsen-Massey. (Make sure to check your local Costco store for big jars of Nielsen-Massey at an amazing price!)
• peppermint extract– This is an optional add-in to this cookie, but it’s perfect for the holidays and absolutely delicious. Here is a high quality peppermint extract from The Spice House that I love.
• cocoa powder– This recipe calls for Dutch process cocoa powder. You can also use half the amount of cocoa powder as Dutch process and half as black cocoa for a more dark and rich flavor and color. Here is a bundle of both cocoa powders that I use and love from Modern Mountain.
• espresso powder– This ingredient is optional, but it really adds a depth to the chocolate in this cookie. Use double to get more of a mocha effect.
• meringue powder– If you would like to decorate these cookies with royal icing, you’ll need meringue powder. Here is the recipe for royal icing.
• food coloring– For these wreath cookies, I used Supernatural red and green food natural coloring.
• crushed peppermint– Another optional ingredient, but fun to add for the holidays. This is the brand I use.
• white nonpariels– for sprinkling on the wreaths

*You can use my code EMILYLOGGANS for 10% off at The Spice House.

supplies needed to make chocolate sugar cookies

• hand mixer or stand mixer– A stand mixer makes this process so incredibly easy, but a hand mixer works just fine, especially if you’re just making a single batch.
• spatula– A spatula is essential to scrape down the bowl throughout the process. Without scraping, you’ll end up with an unevenly mixed dough and cookies that are inconsistent.
• scale– If there’s one thing I can convince you of, please let it be a kitchen scale. 🙏🏻Using a scale makes everything easier with baking, and it ensures you get the same results every time. Flour is so easy to over-add with volume measurements, and a scale solves that problem.
• parchment paper– I always roll my dough between two sheets of pre-cut parchment paper, which is by far the best way to roll out dough.
• guided rolling pin– Rolling dough evenly is tricky with a regular rolling pin, but with a guided rolling pin, dough comes out evenly every time. It’s such a time saver and one of my favorite kitchen tools.
• baking sheets– I use these cookie sheets for years, and they are amazing.
• cookie cutters– If you want to make the wreath cookies, you’ll need a set of round cutters. This one is amazing because it’s double sided with scallops on one side and straight on the other. This way, you only need to buy one set.

how to decorate peppermint mocha sugar cookie wreaths

These wreath cookies are stunning on a holiday cookie platter or in a cookie box and are extremely easy to make. You’ll need a batch of baked cookies (about two dozen wreaths and two dozen small circles from this recipe) and a single batch of royal icing. I used my royal icing recipe, but I added ½ teaspoon Supernatural Elves Smells flavoring (or ½ teaspoon peppermint extract) and extra vanilla bean paste for these wreaths.

• Bag some thicker, detail consistency white icing right from the mixer to use as the outline for the wreaths.
• Add some water to a large amount of white icing to thin it out to a thick flood consistency. When you lift your spatula up out of the bowl, it should drizzle down like a honey consistency. When you tap the surface of the bowl of icing, it should settle and smooth out. Bag the icing and set aside.
• Take a smaller amount of icing and add some green gel food coloring (or Supernatural Kitchen green natural coloring) to make a deep tone of green. Add some water to thin the icing out to a flood consistency just like the white icing. Bag nearly all of the green icing and set aside.
• Add a spoonful of white icing to the bowl of remaining green and mix to combine. The color should be a much lighter shade of green. Add some water to thin the icing out to a flood consistency just like the precious green. Bag the green icing and set aside.
• Take a smaller amount of icing and add some red gel food coloring (or Supernatural Kitchen red natural coloring) to make a red icing. Do not thin this color out. Bag and set aside.

Start by outlining the outer and inner ring of the wreath cookie. This cookie is great for beginners, because you don’t need to worry about making a perfect outline. In fact, it’s better if the lines are wavy and inconsistent for this design as it adds to the wreath effect.

Flood the cookie with the white flood consistency icing, making sure the surface is smooth. I didn’t even use a scribe tool for this. I just wiggled the tip of my bag around to smooth it out.

Immediately begin the wet on wet design. Using both the light and dark green, pipe alternating lines and/or dots around the wreath. Drag a scribe tool or tooth pick through the entire design to create the wreath pattern.

While the icing is still wet, sprinkle on the white nonpareils.

Pipe tiny red berries in groups of three all around the cookie.

Sprinkle with a bit of sanding sugar. (I just used granulated white sugar.)

Allow the cookie to dry completely for 8-12 hours, preferably with a fan on in the room near or facing the cookies.

success tips for making chocolate sugar cookies

• Why did my cookies spread? A little spread (about an eighth of an inch around) is normal. Too much spread that causes the cookies to be misshapen is frustrating and can ruin the process when you want to decorate. Spread can happen for a few reasons: 1) You used too little flour or cocoa powder in the dough. Did you weigh it? 2) What size were your eggs? This recipe is formulated for large sized eggs. Extra large eggs add a lot of additional moisture. 3) You didn’t chill the dough for long enough. The initial chill time is important for the butter to chill enough and for the flour to hydrate. Baking them right away will definitely cause them to spread. Additionally, that mini chill time in the freezer before baking is very helpful for holding their shape. 4) Is it possible you added too much sugar? Brown sugar is particularly tricky, because measuring a cup vs. a packed cup can yield very different results. If you didn’t weigh the sugar, it could have been too much. 
• Why was my dough crumbly and dry? Did you weigh your flour? It is very easy to accidentally add too much flour when measuring with cups. Too much flour will make a dry, crumbly dough. Did you add enough sugar? Do you have the right amount of butter? What size are your eggs? This recipe is formulated for large sized eggs. Medium or small eggs will not provide enough moisture to the dough.
• Can I use table salt instead of Diamond Crystal kosher salt? Absolutely! Just use half the amount called for since the flakes of diamond crystal are larger, which accounts for less volume in the measuring spoon. I do recommend purchasing a box of diamond crystal, especially if you’re a baker or like to cook. It’s truly the best and recommended by chefs.
• Is Morton kosher salt the same as Diamond Crystal kosher salt? No, and I don’t recommend you use Morton kosher salt in baking.
• Does my butter need to be room temperature or softened? Room temperature is ideal for this recipe. Cold butter will not mix properly, and softened butter will make a dough that is very soft and sticky. Do not use melted butter.
• What should I do if my butter is cold from the fridge? If your butter is cold right out of the fridge, but you want to bake right now, there are a few options. 1)Microwave the butter as whole sticks on defrost mode for a few seconds at a time until it becomes pliable. 2) Chop the butter into small pieces and set off to the side until you can indent the butter with your finger. 
• Why do my cookies have a shiny, see-through-like patch on the bottoms? That is the sign of an underdone (raw) cookie. It needs to bake more. Before pulling cookies out of the oven, check to make sure the tops are evenly “dull” and not shiny.
• How can I bake these to be thin and crisp? Roll the dough to ⅙″ or ⅛″ and bake them for a longer time.
• Do I really need a kitchen scale? Kinda, yeah? 🙃 They’re not very expensive, but it is a life changing kitchen investment. Here’s the one I use.
• Can I bake my cookies on silicone mats instead of parchment? You can, and I recommend perforated silicone mats if you have them. They make such nice bottoms to cookies. However, I still prefer to bake with parchment. It’s my preference, but your preference could be to use silicone mats. Just experiment and go with what you prefer based on experience and results. 🫶🏻
• Can I decorate these cookies with royal icing or buttercream? Yes! They are delicious with both. Here is my royal icing recipe.
• Is this the same recipe you used to sell on the old website? Yes! This one is exactly the same as the peppermint mocha cookie recipe I used to sell.

This little stack would be so pretty in a cookie box.

variations on chocolate sugar cookies

This recipe makes a delicious black cocoa cookie. Swap half the amount of cocoa powder for black cocoa for a dark black cookie with a rich, deep cocoa flavor similar to an Oreo. Remove the peppermint extract and peppermint pieces. See below the difference in color. Don’t use entirely black cocoa, though, because the flavor will be too deep and bitter.

This recipe works really well as a homemade Oreo cookie when rolled very thinly (⅙″ – ⅛″) and baked until the cookie is crisp. I sandwiched mine with a simple buttercream.

For halloween, I made these adorable button cookies with the black cocoa variation and baked them crisp.

You can cut these cookies any which way and decorate them however you’d like, but this simple wet on wet wreath pattern is perfect for the holidays and so simple to create. It’s a fancy design that is actually quite quick to complete which makes it great for cookie boxes.

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