Food and Recipes Desserts Cookies Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies If you have a neighborhood cookie swap or church social on your calendar this season, these sandwich cookies are sure to be a hit. Cookies and bars are always crowd-pleasers—and make great handmade gifts for friends and family during the holidays. Choose a gingersnap or linzer from this lineup of Christmas treats if you want to include some of the classic holiday cookies on your dessert tray as well. By Paige Grandjean Paige Grandjean Instagram Website Paige Grandjean is a food editor and recipe developer with over seven years of experience in food media. Her recipes and writing have appeared in over 15 nationally distributed print publications, as well as on various digital platforms. Paige's recipes have been showcased on the covers of magazines such as Food & Wine, Southern Living, and Cooking Light, with her 2020 Food & Wine Lamination cover story earning a spot as a Folio: Eddie and Ozzie Award Finalist. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on November 9, 2018 Print Share Share Tweet Pin Email Active Time: 30 mins Total Time: 3 hrs 5 mins Yield: 2 dozen Ingredients Cookie Dough 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 1 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup sparkling sugar Peppermint Filling 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 4 cups powdered sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract Red food coloring gel Directions Prepare the Chocolate Sugar Cookie Dough: Beat butter and sugar with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium until combined, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Melt chocolate chips according to package directions, and cool. Add to butter-sugar mixture; beat on low until blended. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. With mixer running on low speed, add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating until just incorporated. Cover dough; chill 1 hour. Prepare the Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 48 (1-inch) balls. Place sparkling sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll each ball in sparkling sugar; place 2 inches apart onto 2 parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Gently flatten dough balls to 1/2-inch thickness. Bake in preheated oven until cookies are dry to the touch, about 8 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Prepare the Filling: While cookies cool, beat unsalted butter and cream cheese with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer on medium speed until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and, with mixer running, gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Beat in heavy cream, vanilla extract and peppermint extract. Using a small food-safe paint brush, paint 3 lengthwise stripes of red food coloring gel on the inside of a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Fill bag with frosting. Pipe frosting onto half of cookies, and sandwich with remaining cookies. Refrigerate 15 minutes before serving to firm up frosting. Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Torie Cox Print