1-Prepping Your Ingredients: First, pull out all your ingredients and let the butter soften at room temperature this makes mixing a breeze. In one bowl, cream the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy, which usually takes about 2-3 minutes with a hand mixer. Beat in the egg, peppermint extract, and vanilla extract next, ensuring they’re fully incorporated for maximum flavor. While that’s blending, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in another bowl. This step ensures even distribution and helps avoid lumps in your dough. Now, slowly add the dry mix to the wet ingredients, stirring gently until just combined, then fold in the chocolate chips for those irresistible pockets of goodness.

2-Shaping and Baking the Cookies: Shape the dough into 2-inch balls aim for about 1 tablespoon of dough per ball to keep them uniform. Roll each ball first in the granulated sugar for a bit of sparkle, then coat it in powdered sugar to get that classic crinkle look. Place them on your baking sheet with space between each; I recommend 6 per sheet to prevent crowding. Preheat your oven to 350°F and bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until they’re set but still soft in the center. They might look underdone at first, but that’s what gives them that fudgy texture we love. Let them cool on the pan for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack this helps them firm up without breaking apart.

3-Making and Applying the Frosting: While the cookies cool, tackle the frosting. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave using 30-second bursts, stirring each time until smooth, then let it cool completely to room temperature. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until it’s creamy, about 1-2 minutes, then slowly mix in the cooled chocolate. On low speed, add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and salt, then crank it up to high and whip until fluffy this takes around 2 minutes. Once your cookies are cool, spread the frosting on top and sprinkle with crushed peppermint candy for that final festive touch.