Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies Recipe

Scoop heaping portions onto parchment. 17 minutes to mix everything. 18 minutes in the oven. Then the mint icing goes on while they’re still warm enough to stick. That’s it.

Andes mint cookies hit different from regular chocolate cookies. The cocoa base goes dark and almost bitter, then the peppermint icing cuts through it. You get crispy edges. Soft centers. The chocolate melt-in-your-mouth thing that happens when you use actual cocoa powder instead of chocolate chips.

Why You’ll Love These Andes Mint Cookies

Takes 35 minutes total—17 to prep, 18 to bake. Legit. Homemade beats store-bought Andes candies every single time. The real peppermint extract hits different than whatever’s in those little bars. Andes chocolate mints on top melt into the icing. You could use regular chocolate chips. Doesn’t compare. One mixing bowl. One baking sheet. Cleanup happens in like five minutes. Soft centers, crispy edges. Every. Single. Time. The 345-degree oven temp matters here—hotter and the chocolate tastes burnt.

What You Need for Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies

Flour and cocoa powder are the base. Use unsweetened cocoa—not hot chocolate mix. Massive difference.

Butter. Seven tablespoons. Softened but not melting into a puddle. Cold butter doesn’t cream right. Melted butter makes greasy dough.

Two sugars. Granulated and brown. Brown adds moisture. Skip it and the cookies come out gritty.

One egg. One teaspoon vanilla. That’s all you need for structure.

Baking soda. A quarter teaspoon. Tiny amount. Way too much and they taste like soap. Not enough and they stay dense.

Salt. Quarter teaspoon. Sounds small. Changes everything.

For the icing: butter, powdered sugar sifted, peppermint extract. The sifted part matters—lumps in the icing taste weird when you bite through. Green food coloring if you want that look. Optional but it works.

Andes candies on top. Six or seven per cookie. The whole point. If you can’t find them, crushed peppermint candy bits work. Mini chocolate chips don’t have the mint, so that’s a different cookie.

How to Make Andes Mint Cookies

Set the oven to 345 degrees. Not 350. Not 375. 345. Lower temp means the edges firm up before the center browns out. The chocolate flavor stays pure.

Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk it around. Clumps of cocoa ruin everything—uneven color, weird flavor spots. Takes maybe a minute.

Cream butter and both sugars with a mixer. Beat it until it looks lighter. Fluffier. Maybe three or four minutes. The paddle attachment works if you have it. Hand mixer works too. The point is you’re putting air in the dough. Skip this and the cookies come out dense and weird.

Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until combined. Not until it looks pretty. Just until you can’t see streaks of egg anymore. Overbeating makes the dough greasy.

Fold in the dry mix. Use a spatula. Stop as soon as you don’t see white flour streaks. Keep folding and you activate the gluten—cookies turn into hockey pucks.

Scoop the dough into heaping one-ounce portions. Space them two inches apart on parchment-lined sheets. The dough should be round. Not flattened yet.

Press each ball flat with your palm or a floured glass bottom. About half an inch thick. Uneven thickness means some parts overbake while the center’s still raw.

Bake for 9 to 14 minutes. Your oven probably runs hot or cold. Start checking at 9. The edges should look firm and matte. Centers stay soft but spring back when you poke them gently. Browning the chocolate makes them taste burnt.

Pull the sheet out. Let the cookies sit there for five minutes. Don’t touch them. They’re too soft. After five minutes they firm up enough to move to cooling racks without breaking.

Andes Chocolate Mint Cookie Icing and Toppings

Beat butter with powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and salt until it looks smooth and creamy. Don’t overmix or it gets grainy and weird. You want it to hold a pipe shape but stay spreadable.

Green coloring goes in now if you’re using it. Just a few drops. The icing doesn’t need to look perfect. It needs to taste like peppermint.

Pipe or spread the icing on while the cookies are still a bit warm. Warm cookies help the icing stick.

Scatter Andes candies on top immediately. Before the icing sets. Press them down just enough so they stick. Don’t bury them.

Let it sit at room temperature. Takes about 30 minutes for the icing to firm up. Not rock hard. Just firm enough that you can move them without smudging.

Store in an airtight container with parchment between layers. They last almost a week. They don’t last a week in my house.

Andes Mint Cookies Recipe: Tips and Common Mistakes

Butter temperature. Sounds dumb. Matters so much. Cold butter doesn’t cream. Melted butter makes greasy dough. Leave it on the counter for 20 minutes before you start. Should be soft enough to dent with a finger.

Cocoa powder. Smell it before you use it. Old cocoa tastes stale and weird. If it smells off, don’t use it. Rancid powder ruins the whole batch.

Dough too crumbly? Flours vary. Add a teaspoon of milk or cream. Mix and see if it comes together. Don’t drown it.

Overmixed dough. If the cookies came out hard, you folded the dry ingredients too much. Stop folding the second you see the flour vanish. Err on the side of less mixing.

Icing too strong on peppermint? Cut the extract with vanilla or even almond. Half and half works. The harshness mellows out.

Can’t find Andes candies? Crushed peppermint candy bits work. So do mini chocolate chips if you skip the peppermint extract—but then it’s just a chocolate cookie. Also not the worst thing.

Edges burnt, center raw? Your oven runs hot. Lower the temp by 10 degrees next time. Or pull the sheet out two minutes earlier.

Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies Recipe

By Emma

Prep:

17 min

Cook:

18 min

Total:

35 min

Servings:

18 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• For icing
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract (sub half vanilla for softer mint)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Green food coloring optional
• Andes chocolate chips for topping (can swap mini semisweet chips)

Method

1. For the cookies
2. 1 Heat oven to 345°F—my tried temp for a tender edge. Line sheet with parchment. No direct greasing needed; no sticking, plus easy cleanup.
3. 2 Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk 'til well blended; clumps mean uneven flavor. Important step for even sweetness and rise.
4. 3 Cream butter and sugars with paddle attachment or hand mixer—beat until lighter in color, fluffy. Takes about 3-4 minutes. Pauses let air in; no shortcuts here.
5. 4 Add egg and vanilla. Beat 'til just combined. Overdoing makes greasy dough or tough cookies, so keep an eye.
6. 5 Fold in dry mix—don’t overwork! Just until no flour streaks remain. Overmix activates gluten—chewy turned rock hard.
7. 6 Scoop heaping 1-ounce portions onto the sheet; 2-inch gaps minimum. Dough balls should be round but barely flattened—flatten later.
8. 7 Press each ball gently with palm or bottom of a floured glass—flatten about 1/2 inch thick to ensure even bake. Skip this, and centers stay mushy while edges crisp.
9. 8 Bake 9-14 minutes depending on your oven. Edges firm and just turning matte, centers soft but not slouchy—poke gently for spring back. Browning ruins mint impression.
10. 9 Remove sheet. Cool cookies 5 minutes right there; then shove onto wire racks. Hot cookies too soft to move. Cookies firm up while cooling, no breaking now.
11. 10
12. For the icing
13. 11 Beat butter, powdered sugar, extract, and salt until creamy and combined. Don't overbeat or get grainy; smooth but not too loose—hold pipe shape.
14. 12 Toss in green coloring if you like that holiday tint.
15. 13 Fill piping bag with #12 tip (or a zip bag with corner cut). Swirl icing from center outward or just spread with spatula.
16. 14 While still tacky, scatter Andes chips or mini chips. Press chips lightly so they stick well but don’t get buried.
17. 15 Let icing set at room temp—should be firm but yielding after 30 minutes.
18. 16 Store cooled, iced cookies in airtight container layered with parchment to avoid sticking.
19. 17
20. 18 Final tips: Butter cold? Warm slightly but don’t melt, or lose that airy texture. Flours vary; adjust slightly if dough is crumbly—add teaspoon milk or cream. No Andes chips? Peppermint candy bits crushed work. Got overbaked edge? Wrap cookies with kitchen towel dampened a bit overnight; softens edges. Always smell your cocoa—rancid powder ruins the whole batch. Peppermint extract too strong? Cut with extra vanilla or almond to mellow harshness.

Nutritional information

Calories

180

Protein

2g

Carbs

22g

Fat

9g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Andes Mint Chocolate Cookies

How long do these stay fresh? Almost a week in an airtight container. Longer if you layer them with parchment so they don’t stick together. They taste better on day two, actually.

Can I use peppermint candy instead of peppermint extract? Crushed peppermint candy works for the topping. For the icing, extract is better—you get the flavor without chunks. Candy gets gritty in the icing.

What if I don’t have a piping bag? Spread the icing with a spatula. Doesn’t look as pretty but tastes the same. Or skip the piping bag, cut a corner off a zip bag, and squeeze from there.

Is 345 degrees really necessary? Yeah, kind of. Higher and the chocolate tastes burnt before the cookie sets. Lower and they don’t crisp at all. Your oven might vary—if the edges brown too fast, go down to 340. If they’re pale after 12 minutes, go up to 350.

Can I make these gluten-free? Haven’t tried it. Probably works with a one-to-one flour blend, but the texture changes. Might be grainier. Start with the same amount and go from there.

Why does the peppermint extract smell so strong? It’s concentrated. One teaspoon in a whole batch of icing is enough. More and it tastes like mouthwash. If you went overboard, add more powdered sugar to dilute it.

What’s the difference between softened and room temperature butter? They’re basically the same. Softened just means it’s been sitting out long enough to dent with a finger. Not melted. Not straight from the fridge.

Can I refrigerate the dough? Yeah. Overnight is fine. Bring it back to room temp before scooping—cold dough spreads weird in the oven.