Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Rich and decadent chocolate chocolate chip cookies topped with a smooth and creamy mint chocolate chip buttercream.

These chocolate cookies are so delicious and gourmet, you’ll be surprised they aren’t bought from a bakery or gourmet cookie store. Unlike most mint chocolate chip cookies, my mint chocolate chip cookie recipe features a double chocolate cookie (cocoa in the batter + chocolate chips) along with a perfectly creamy mint chocolate chip buttercream frosting slathered on top.

While there is a mint chocolate cookie recipe on my site already in the form of Andes Mint cookies, that cookie is a blonde base with chunks of Andes Mints in them. Make these chewy mint chocolate chip cookies and that Andes Mint cookie and you’ll be catering to all the mint chocolate cookie lovers of the world in one fell swoop!

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BASE

The base for these cookies is a lovely and chewy double chocolate cookie with slightly crisp edges and super soft centers.

For the chocolate chocolate chip cookie base, you will need:
• all-purpose flour
• Dutch processed cocoa powder
• baking soda
• salt
• unsalted butter
• granulated sugar
• an egg
• vanilla extract
• semi-sweet chocolate chips

MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP BUTTERCREAM

The star of the show here is the mint chocolate chip buttercream, which will remind you a lot of melted mint chocolate chip ice cream. It pairs perfectly with the tender, chocolatey cookie and takes these from chocolate chocolate chip cookies to chocolate mint chocolate chip cookies.

I added a small amount of green food coloring to my buttercream for the perfect mint-inspired color, but you can skip the food coloring if you want!

For the mint chocolate chip butter cream, you will need:
• unsalted butter
• powdered sugar
• milk or cream
• vanilla extract
• peppermint extract
• salt
• green food coloring
• mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Keep in mind, peppermint extract can be quite strong, so use just the ¼ teaspoon listed in the recipe. Add too much, and it might end up being too minty and taste like toothpaste! If you don’t add the green food coloring, you will have a white buttercream which will still taste just as good and look very similar to a lot of mint chip ice cream brands on the market.

Personally? It’s the green for me. But you do you, cookie friend.

HOW TO MAKE MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

These cookies are pretty darn easy to make. The majority of the time that it takes to make these easy cookies is just letting the cookie dough chill in the fridge. Everything else can be done in no time! Here are the simple steps.

MAKE THE CHOCOLATE COOKIE DOUGH

First, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt, then set this aside.

Then, in a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (approximately 2-3 minutes). Reduce the mixer speed to medium, add the egg and vanilla, and beat again until combined.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula to makes sure all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.

With the mixer on low speed, add the combined dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and continue mixing until evenly dispersed. Don’t over mix, or the flour will start developing too much gluten and can result in a tough cookie that risks losing its delectable chew.

CHILL THE COOKIE DOUGH

Now it’s time to chill the cookie dough. Cover the dough in the same bowl you used to mix and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour but up to 3 days.

Chilling the cookie dough ensures that the fat in the dough can turn back to solid form and will result in less spread when you bake the cookie. If you don’t chill the cookies for at least 1 hour, you might get thin, crunchier cookies instead of tender and structured ones.

MAKE THE MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP FROSTING

While the dough is chilling, you can whip up the frosting.

Using a hand held mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the room temperature butter on medium-high until smooth. It is super important that you use room temperature butter here. If the butter is too cold, you will get chunky buttercream, which doesn’t look as delicious to eat.

You can read all about why room temperature butter is important in this comprehensive post.

Turn the mixer down to low, then slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until everything is combined. Add the vanilla extract, peppermint extract, milk or cream, salt, and green food coloring. Then increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until combined. You can add more food coloring if you want the frosting even more green! (These would be great for a St. Patrick’s Day treat!)

Once the buttercream is your preferred green color, add the mini chocolate chips and stir with a spatula to combine. Continue to stir the buttercream by hand to remove any air bubbles and make it smooth and creamy. This usually takes 3-5 minutes and will make the buttercream so silky smooth.

BAKE THE COOKIES

Now that the dough has chilled, it is time to bake the double chocolate mint cookies! Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Using a cookie scoop like this #50 cookie scoop, scoop the dough and roll it into a ball using the palm of your hands, and place on the prepared baking sheet. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, you can use a Tablespoon measure but you will have slightly smaller cookies. I like to use something like a scoop to ensure that all of the delicious cookies are the same size and will bake at the same rate.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center is no longer shiny. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

TOP CHOCOLATE COOKIES WITH MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP FROSTING

First and foremost, you must allow the baked cookies to fully cool before topping them with the frosting! I know it is torturous, but it must be done in order to properly frost them and to insure the room temperature butter in the frosting doesn’t turn to melted butter and separate the frosting.

Using a small offset spatula, you can spread a bit of frosting onto each of the chewy chocolate chip cookies.

Then, sprinkle the tops with a few extra mini chocolate chips before the frosting sets. You can also use chopped chocolate chunks, Andes mint chips, green mint chips, or other chopped mint chocolates to top your mint chip cookies.

This is such an easy recipe and you can really do them up as you wish to make that mint-chocolate combination just right for your tastebuds. These turned into our kids’ favorite cookies in no time, and if you even remotely like mint chocolate, these are sure to be a favorite in your house, too!

Now… Let’s dig in and enjoy!