Homemade Peppermint Oreos: Quick & Easy Cake Mix Holiday Cookies
Indulge in the festive spirit this holiday season with these incredibly easy homemade Peppermint Oreo cookies! Crafted from a simple cake mix base and featuring a delightful, creamy peppermint filling, they offer a unique and wonderfully simple treat perfect for any Christmas gathering or a cozy night in. Elevate your holiday baking game with this delightful and stress-free recipe.
The holiday season is synonymous with delicious traditions, and there’s nothing quite like the joy and aroma of freshly baked homemade cookies filling your kitchen. We initially shared this fantastic recipe for Homemade Peppermint Oreos over at Your Homebased Mom a few weeks ago, and its popularity demanded a return visit here to Yummy Healthy Easy before the holidays conclude. Especially now, as we celebrate Cookie Week, these peppermint-infused chocolate sandwich cookies are an absolute must-share for all your festive baking needs!
Speaking of our festive Cookie Week, have you had a chance to explore our other incredible and highly popular recipes? Just yesterday, we featured our delightful Eggnog Cookies, a festive classic that perfectly captures the rich, creamy essence of the season. The day before, we rolled out an impressive 30+ Healthy Cookie Recipe Roundup, offering guilt-free indulgence and healthier options for everyone on your list. And let’s not forget the charming Candy Cane Cookies from Day 1, which are as fun to make with the family as they are delicious to eat! All of these are fantastic additions to your holiday baking repertoire, ideal for gifting to loved ones, sharing at festive gatherings, or simply enjoying as a cozy snack at home with a warm beverage.
Why These Homemade Peppermint Oreos Will Be Your New Holiday Favorite
Christmas often feels like it appears out of nowhere every year, bringing with it a joyful whirlwind of festivities, gift-giving, and, of course, endless opportunities for baking! One of my absolute favorite holiday traditions is whipping up a variety of sweet treats to share with friends, neighbors, and my children’s teachers. In fact, I recently spent almost an entire day joyfully baking and decorating sugar cookies with my boys – which, I admit, was a considerable amount of work! After such an effort, I knew I needed a simpler yet equally impressive cookie recipe to complete our diverse holiday platters. That’s precisely where these Homemade Peppermint Oreos come in, offering maximum festive flavor with minimal fuss and effort.
I absolutely adore assembling cookie plates brimming with a diverse and colorful selection of baked goods. These homemade Oreo-style cookies are truly unique, visually appealing, and incredibly simple to create, making them a standout choice for your holiday spread. The secret to their effortless preparation lies in using a readily available cake mix for the cookie base. Seriously, it genuinely doesn’t get any easier than that! Forget the time-consuming process of meticulously measuring out flour, sugar, baking soda, and other leavening agents. With this brilliant shortcut, you simply ‘dump and mix’ the cake mix with a few other basic pantry ingredients. The result? Beautifully crinkled, soft, perfectly chewy, and utterly delicious chocolate cookies that form the perfect foundation for our festive sandwich treats. These cookies come out rich and decadent, providing the ideal contrast to the vibrant peppermint filling.
The Perfect Peppermint Filling: A Refreshing & Festive Twist
What truly transforms these simple chocolate cookies into a holiday sensation is the luscious, creamy, and wonderfully refreshing peppermint frosting filling. This cool, minty center perfectly complements the deep, rich chocolate cookies, creating a harmonious balance of flavors that will undoubtedly delight your taste buds and awaken your festive spirit. Imagine biting into a soft, slightly crisp chocolate cookie sandwiching a sweet, airy, minty cloud, exquisitely adorned with crunchy bits of crushed candy cane for an extra festive visual appeal and delightful texture. It’s an easy-to-make (and undeniably cute) cookie sandwich that will quickly become the star of any holiday cookie platter. Your friends, neighbors, and kids’ teachers will undoubtedly thank you profusely and eagerly ask for this incredible recipe!
Essential Tips for Baking Your Best Homemade Peppermint Oreos
- Don’t Overmix the Dough: When combining the cake mix, eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla extract, mix just until all ingredients are well combined and a cohesive dough forms. Overmixing the dough can lead to tougher, less tender cookies, so stop as soon as it comes together.
- Achieving the Right Dough Consistency: If your dough seems a bit too dry or crumbly to roll, don’t fret! Add a tiny bit of water, approximately 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches a perfectly rollable consistency. This ensures easy handling and consistent cookie shapes.
- Mastering the Baking Time: These delightful cookies bake quite quickly, usually needing only 8-10 minutes in the oven. It’s important to note that they might appear slightly underbaked or doughy in the very center when you first remove them from the oven. However, trust the process! They will set and become perfectly soft and wonderfully chewy as they cool. Avoid the temptation to overbake, as this will result in hard, dry cookies. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before gently transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cooling is Crucial: For the best results, ensure your chocolate cookies are completely and thoroughly cooled before you attempt to apply the filling. Warm cookies will unfortunately melt the peppermint frosting, creating a messy situation and compromising the structure of your beautiful cookie sandwiches.
- Utilizing Crushed Candy Canes: For the filling, finely crush one candy cane to incorporate into the creamy frosting, adding both flavor and texture. For an extra festive presentation and a delightful crunch, reserve some additional crushed candy cane pieces to roll the edges of the filled cookies in. This adds a beautiful finishing touch and an extra burst of minty goodness.
- Adjust Peppermint Extract to Taste: Peppermint extract can be quite potent, so it’s best to start with 1/4 teaspoon for the filling. Taste the frosting, and if you desire a stronger mint flavor, gradually add more, up to 1/2 teaspoon, adjusting it perfectly to your personal preference.
Serving and Gifting Ideas for Your Festive Peppermint Oreos
These Homemade Peppermint Oreos are incredibly versatile and are sure to be a crowd-pleaser for various occasions. They are a fantastic addition to any holiday dessert table, bringing a festive pop of flavor and a lovely dash of holiday color. For cookie exchanges, they’re always a huge hit and stand out beautifully from more traditional sugar cookies. When preparing thoughtful holiday gifts for friends, family, or your children’s teachers, stack a few of these delightful cookie sandwiches in a clear cellophane bag, tied with a festive ribbon. They make a thoughtful, personalized, and undeniably delicious present that genuinely shows you care. For the ultimate cozy holiday treat, pair them with a tall glass of cold milk, a warm cup of hot cocoa, or even a steaming mug of coffee. Their unique chewy texture and invigorating peppermint kick make them utterly irresistible!
Storage Suggestions to Keep Your Cookies Fresh
Once assembled, to maintain their freshness and delicious texture, store your Homemade Peppermint Oreos in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days. If you need them to last a bit longer, you can extend their shelf life by storing them in the refrigerator for up to a week. For much longer storage options, you can freeze the unfilled cookies separately in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, simply thaw the cookies, then prepare the frosting and assemble them as directed. You can also freeze the assembled cookies, but be aware that the crushed candy cane on the outside might become slightly softer upon thawing. To prevent the cookies from sticking together when freezing, it’s a good practice to flash freeze individual cookies on a baking sheet before transferring them to a larger airtight container.
Ready to bake a batch of these wonderfully simple yet incredibly delicious holiday cookies? This Homemade Peppermint Oreos recipe is sure to become a new, much-loved favorite in your festive baking repertoire for years to come!
Homemade Peppermint Oreos Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 box Devil’s Food Cake mix (approx. 15.25 oz/432g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil (you can also use melted butter or vegetable shortening)
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar (for the filling)
- 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter (softened)
- 2 Tbsp. milk (or cream, for a richer frosting)
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. pure peppermint extract (adjust to taste for desired mint intensity)
- 2 candy canes (crushed, one for the filling and one for garnish)
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 375º F (190º C). Prepare a baking sheet by lightly spraying the bottom with cooking spray or lining it with parchment paper for easy removal. Set it aside.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine the Devil’s Food cake mix, eggs, melted coconut oil (or alternative), and vanilla extract. Mix thoroughly with a hand mixer or a sturdy spatula until all ingredients are just combined and a soft, uniform dough forms. Be careful not to overmix the dough. If the batter appears too dry and crumbly, add 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time until it reaches a consistency that can be easily rolled into balls.
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Roll the cookie dough into uniform 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls. Place these dough balls approximately 2 inches (5 cm) apart on your prepared baking sheet to allow for spreading. Bake for 8-10 minutes. When you remove them from the oven, the cookies might look slightly underbaked or doughy in the center, but they will firm up and become perfectly soft and chewy as they cool. Do not overbake to prevent them from becoming hard. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This step is crucial for the structure of your sandwich cookies.
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While your chocolate cookies are cooling, it’s time to prepare the delicious peppermint filling. In a small mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, softened unsalted butter, milk (or cream), and pure peppermint extract. Beat with an electric mixer or whisk vigorously until the mixture is smooth, creamy, and light. Finely crush one of your candy canes and gently fold about 1/8 cup of these crushed pieces into the frosting. This adds a lovely texture and an extra burst of mint.
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Once the cookies are completely cool to the touch, spread a generous amount of the prepared peppermint filling onto the flat side of one cookie. Carefully top it with another cookie, pressing lightly but firmly to create a perfect sandwich. For an optional but highly recommended festive touch, gently roll the sides of the frosting in the remaining crushed candy cane pieces. This adds a beautiful visual appeal and a delightful crunch. Serve immediately to enjoy their freshness, or store as directed above. Enjoy your delightful and festive Homemade Peppermint Oreos!
If you liked this festive cookie recipe, you’ll love these other holiday favorites too:
Eggnog Cookies: A Rich & Creamy Holiday Delight
Candy Cane Cookies: Fun & Festive Christmas Baking
30+ Healthier Cookie Recipes: Guilt-Free Holiday Indulgence
This delightful recipe for Homemade Peppermint Oreos was originally shared on Your Homebased Mom on November 26, 2014, and continues to be a cherished holiday favorite year after year!