One of my friends always delivers the best Scottish shortbread, another spiced saltines, another the best hot and sour mustard. Homemade Christmas Gifts are such a special thing, and friends look forward to your delivery every year. This week we are going to highlight a bunch of foods that are perfect for gifting. Let’s start with the most delicious cookie. The abundance of peppermint chocolate is one of Christmas’s true gifts! So, we put that into a cookie, and these are not only festive but also the most delicious! Gift these to your neighbors, make these for your next cookie exchange, or have them be a fun holiday baking project with your kids 💫🎄

Makes 3 dozen regular cookies, 6 dozen small cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
7 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
7 oz white chocolate chips
3 candy canes, crushed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, mix butter, sugar and brown sugar together for 5 minutes on high until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add peppermint extract.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and slowly add into wet mixture.

Add chocolate chips and fold in with a spatula until combined.

Scoop 1 1/2 Tablespoons of dough (a medium cookie scoop) or 2 teaspoons of dough (a small cookie scoop) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Flatten each cookie with a glass or your fingers. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes in the center of each cookie.

Bake medium cookies for 7 minutes (4 minutes for small cookies), rotate the pan and place back in oven and bake an additional 6 minutes (and an additional 3 for small cookies). Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for five minutes. Remove cookies to cool on a cooling rack.