The best Christmas cookie recipe: Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies

If there’s one smell or taste that immediately transports me to Christmastime, it’s these Andes Chocolate Mint Cookies. Soft brownie-like cookies topped with a swirl of melted Andes mint chocolate — they’re pure holiday magic. Growing up, my mom baked batch after batch every year during the holidays — so irresistible that they never lasted long! She stored overflow batches in boxes on our garage shelves, where they stayed perfectly chilled thanks to those icy Nebraska winters.

One of my favorite parts of the tradition each year was unwrapping the Andes mints with mom. I loved watching and helping her carefully swirl the melting chocolate on top of each cookie to create their signature look and flavor. Now, I get to carry on this Christmas tradition with my twin daughters. Just like I did as a kid, they eagerly unwrap the mints with me. And I make sure to keep plenty of extra on hand as more than a few inevitably disappear into their tiny mouths before reaching the cookies.

Whenever I bring these to a holiday party or event, they’re always a hit, and someone asks for the recipe. People just love them. I hope these cookies bring as much magic to your holidays as they always do to mine!

Check out some of my tips in the notes at the end of the recipe. After the notes, I’ve also included links to some of my favorite baking ingredients and equipment. Happy baking!

Andes Chocolate Mint Cookies

Makes approximately 65 cookies

Prep time: 90 minutes (including minimum chill period of 1 hour)

Cook time: 1 hour (approx. 12 minutes per batch of cookies plus time to swirl mints)

Plan ahead: You’ll need plenty of time to make this recipe as the dough needs to chill for at least an hour, or ideally, overnight.

What you’ll need to make Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies

• ·2 ½ cups (300 g.) all-purpose flour

• 1 ¼ tsp. baking soda

• ½ tsp. salt

• ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks/168 g.) butter (see notes)

• 1 ½ cups (288 g.) dark brown sugar, packed

• 2 tbsp. water

• ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

How to make Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies

Make and chill the dough:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, sugar, and water together, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula until smooth.

3. Add the chocolate chips to the saucepan and stir until melted and the mixture is smooth. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and let stand to cool slightly, about 5–10 minutes.

4. Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the vanilla.

5. Use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium-high speed, add the eggs and vanilla, one egg at a time, mixing briefly to incorporate before adding the next, approximately 5 seconds for each egg. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to bring the batter together. Mix on medium speed for about 20 seconds.

6. Add half of the dry ingredients and mix on low speed, just until incorporated. Add the remaining half and again mix on low speed, just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Use a plastic bench scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and bring the dough completely together by hand.

7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm, at least one hour or overnight.

Bake the cookies and unwrap the mints:

1. Evenly space two oven racks and heat the oven to 350ºF.

3. Use a 1-tbsp. cookie scoop to portion the dough (or roll into balls), and place 12 dough balls, evenly spaced, on each prepared sheet pan.

4. Bake for 8 minutes. Rotate the pans and swap racks and bake for another 4 minutes. Take care not to overbake. The cookies will puff slightly and form crinkles, and will barely feel set when touched with a finger.

5. While the cookies are baking, unwrap the Andes mints, place in a bowl, and set aside. (I unwrap based on the number of cookies in the oven during each batch so as not to unwrap too many.)

Swirl the chocolate mints:

1. When the cookies come out of the oven, immediately place one Andes mint on each cookie. Allow the mints to begin to melt and use a butter knife to gently swirl the melting mints on each cookie.

2. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

3. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Notes

• Mix it up: I’ve made these many times using either an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer. Both work equally well in terms of final product, but if you have access to a stand mixer, it makes things a bit easier.

• Grain of salt: I typically make these using salted butter and Diamond Crystal baking salt. If you’re using Morton salt, consider using unsalted butter so things don’t get too salty. Of course, it all depends on your personal taste preferences!

• Cool it down: Make sure to let the melted chocolate mixture cool enough so the eggs don’t cook when you mix them in.

• Chill it out: This dough needs to be sufficiently chilled, otherwise you’ll end up with hard, overcooked cookies. Unless I’m in a time crunch, I always chill this dough overnight.

• The scoop: The chilled dough can be quite firm and a little tough to scoop right out of the fridge. Letting it sit out for a few minutes before scooping can help.

• Bake time: It bears repeating: be careful not to overbake these. The cookies continue to cook after they come out of the oven as they stay on the pans until the Andes mints are melted and swirled.

• Appearances: When the mints are placed on top of the cookies, it’s normal for the cookies to appear to deflate and flatten slightly.

• Melt it out: The mints should be melty enough that it takes almost no effort from the knife to swirl them around. If you meet resistance, let ’em sit for an extra few moments.

• Keep it fresh: These cookies keep at room temperature for five to seven days when stored in an airtight container. They keep even longer in the refrigerator or freezer, and taste just as good — or better — when they’re cold as they do at room temp.

Equipment and ingredient recommendations

These are some ingredients and equipment that work great in this recipe (and many others). Of course, you can swap out other brands and items based on your own uses and preferences.