Peppermint Shortbread Cookies

Chocolate dipped peppermint shortbread cookie.

4.34 from 9 votes

These gluten free Peppermint Shortbread Cookies are perfect for the Christmas holiday season! They're dipped in chocolate ganache and candies.

Prep Time14

Cook Time16

Chilling Time:30

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: peppermint cookies, chocolate dipped shortbead, gluten free shortbread cookies

Servings:

Calories: 173kcal

Author: Christine Rooney

Ingredients

For The Cookies:

1 cup unsalted butter equals 2 sticks
¾ cup powdered sugar
310 grams gluten free flour blend equals roughly 2 ½ cups
1 tsp. peppermint extract
¼ tsp. kosher salt

For The Ganache:

3 oz. semisweet baking chocolate or 3 oz. high quality semisweet chocolate chips, such as Ghirardelli
½ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ tsp. instant coffee granules optional
5-6 peppermint candy canes crushed

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For The Cookies:

Cut 1 cup (equals 2 sticks) of room temperature butter into cubes. Place the butter into a mixing bowl or into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add ¾ cup powdered sugar to the butter and cream the butter and powdered sugar together for 1 minute using the paddle attachment on medium speed, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Alternately, you can use a hand mixer or mix the dough by hand.
Measure 310 grams of gluten free flour blend using a kitchen scale (equals 2 ½ cups) and add the flour to the mixing bowl ½ cup at a time. Mix the flour into the dough ½ cup at a time on medium speed. Continue until all of the flour is incorporated. The dough is thick and dense.
Add ¼ tsp. kosher salt and 1 tsp. peppermint extract to the dough. Combine the dough once again on medium speed for another 30 seconds.
Once the dough is formed, place the bowl (uncovered) in the fridge and allow to chill for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, divide the dough in half. Place one half of the dough on a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper that has been thoroughly dusted with gluten free flour to prevent sticking.
Form the dough into a disc with your hands and flatten it out slightly.
Flour the top of the disc and roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it reaches a ⅓ inch thickness. (You may need to repeat this process a few times if the dough cracks. Simply roll the dough into a ball, form it into a disc, and roll it out again if needed).
Using a biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter that is 3 inches across, press the dough into circles. Carefully transfer the cookie rounds onto a baking sheet, or as many baking sheets as needed.
Repeat the process with the second half of the shortbread dough. Repeat until all the dough has been rolled out and formed into circles.
Continue to roll out the dough and cut into cookies until all the dough has been used.
Place the unbaked cookies into the fridge and allow to chill for 15 minutes.
Heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place a baking sheet in the oven and bake for 16 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the baking sheets and allow the cookies to cool completely before transferring to a wire rack.
Continue this process until all the cookies are baked and cooled.

For The Ganache:

Add some water to a double boiler and heat it just until boiling. Place the top portion of the double boiler on top of the lightly boiling water.
Break 3 oz. of semisweet baking chocolate into squares and place it in the double boiler. (You can also use 3 oz. of good quality semisweet chocolate chips). Allow the chocolate to melt slowly and stir with a spatula to prevent burning.
Slowly add ½ cup heavy whipping cream to the chocolate, stirring to incorporate. It may take a few minutes for the chocolate to fully incorporate into the cream.
Add ¼ tsp. instant coffee granules to the chocolate and stir until completely combined (optional).
Continue to cook the mixture over low heat until it is completely combined. The chocolate ganache should be smooth and silky.
Remove from the heat and tip the pan so that all the chocolate is on one side.
Dip a little over half of each cookie into the chocolate ganache and place on pieces of parchment paper or wax paper. Continue this process until all of the cookies are dipped in chocolate.
Smash 5-6 candy canes or hard peppermint candies into pieces (make sure brand is gluten free) and sprinkle the crushed candy over the chocolate portion of each cookie.
To Serve: The cookies may be served right away. The chocolate ganache will 'set' a bit more after sitting at room temperature for a few hours.

Notes

To get the chocolate ganache to 'set', simply place the dipped cookies in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened a bit.

The cookies may be stored for up to 2 days in an airtight container at room temperature. After two days, transfer the cookies to the fridge for storage.

If freezing the cookies, prepare them as directed, but reserve the process of making and dipping the cookies into the chocolate ganache until after removing from the freezer and thawed at room temperature.

This recipe yields 22-24 cookies, depending on how large the cookie cutter used.

Nutrition