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sandwich cookies

Peppermint Brownie Sandwich Cookies (dairy-free)

December 22, 2020 by Rachael Ng Leave a Comment

Mini Brownie Cookies sandwiched together with a cool peppermint frosting. These fudgy and festive cookies are rolled in crushed candy cane for extra minty flavor and that delicious candy crunch!

Peppermint Brownie Sandwich Cookies

It’s official. You all love brownie cookies…and brownie sandwich cookies. Two of my most popular recipes here on the blog are brownie cookies! I don’t blame you. There’s something exciting about a cookie made with brownie batter. A brownie in cookie form? Yes, please!

These Peppermint Brownie Sandwich Cookies are just like my other well-loved brownie cookie recipe, except I swapped the peanut butter frosting for a simple peppermint buttercream (a rendition I was hoping some of you would try when I first posted them to Instagram!). These cookies are everything you want in a holiday cookie: indulgent, tantalizing, and familiar (who doesn’t love a chocolate + peppermint combo in December?). Bake these up this week – or really, any week this Winter – and take them to whatever small gathering you’ll be at. I promise you that whoever you’re with will be delighted by these cookies!

Some of the Ingredients + Substitutes:

  • Chocolate chips work wonders in my brownie recipes – they produce the best, crackly top (for my recipes!). So of course I use them for these cookies. I haven’t tried these cookies with baking chocolate or chocolate bars, but I know that only chocolate chips work in the original brownie recipe I based these cookies off of. In other words, just use the chocolate chips 😉
  • Olive oil is the go-to oil in our house. If you prefer something more neutral, avocado oil would be a great substitute. Vegetable oil or light olive oil will work as well.
  • Eggs whip up to add height to these cookies. As of now, I don’t have any egg replacers for you – sorry! 🙁
  • Sugar helps create that classic crackly brownie top. I like to use unrefined cane sugar to help balance the richness of the Dutched cocoa powder. You can use coconut sugar (which tastes less sweet) or regular white granulated sugar.
  • Dutch-process cocoa powder is richer in flavor and darker in color than regular, natural cocoa powder. You can use regular cocoa powder if it’s all you have on hand, but your cookies won’t be as rich or chocolatey.
  • Peppermint extract is added to the frosting to get that perfect (and light) minty flavor. Two things to note: do NOT use mint extract, and if you’d like your cookies to be even more pepperminty, you can use it in place of the vanilla extract in the cookies.
  • Plant-based butter and milk are what I use in the frosting since they’re dairy-free. Feel free to use regular butter and whatever milk you’d like!
  • Powdered sugar is necessary for the frosting. Don’t even try to make this a healthy cookie. Real talk. Just use the powdered sugar and enjoy your cookies!
Yield: ~18 Sandwich Cookies

Peppermint Brownie Sandwich Cookies

Peppermint Brownie Sandwich Cookies

Mini brownie cookies sandwiched together with a cool peppermint frosting! These fudgy gems are rolled in crushed candy cane for a delicious, festive crunch - perfect for the holidays!

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Additional Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients

Brownie Cookies

  • 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 large eggs, room temp
  • 3/4 cup granulated cane sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla (or peppermint) extract
  • 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (like Hershey's Special Dark)
  • 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Peppermint Frosting

  • 1/4 cup plant-based butter, softened
  • 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3-4 tsp plant-based milk
  • 3 candy canes, crushed (for rolling)

Instructions

Make the Cookies

  1. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small, microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and olive oil. Heat in 15 second intervals, stirring each time, until chips are melted and smooth; set aside.
  2. In a stand (or hand) mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the eggs and sugar. Whisk on medium-high until thick, fluffy, and light in color, about 3-5 minutes. Whisk in the vanilla extract. Add the melted chocolate mixture and gently mix with a large spoon until everything is combined.
  3. Sift in the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix with a large spoon until totally combined - your dough will be very sticky, like a thick brownie batter.
  4. Allow the dough to sit, uncovered, at room temperature for 30 minutes. This allows the batter to stiffen up enough for you to scoop and roll the dough balls.
  5. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop cookies, 12 at a time, 1 Tbsp in size (.6oz) onto one of the baking sheets. Roll each dough ball smooth and evenly space them on the baking sheet.
  6. Bake the cookies at 350°F for 5-6 minutes or until the centers no longer look wet. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before carefully transferring to a cooling rack.
  7. While the cookies bake, prepare the next batch of dough balls on the second baking sheet. Continue until all cookies are baked, being sure to only use a cooled baking sheet each time.


Make the Frosting + Assemble

  1. In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and peppermint extract. Beat in the powdered sugar. Finally, beat in the milk 1 tsp at a time until the frosting comes together. You want it to be smooth enough to pipe but thick enough to hold its shape.
  2. Add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your favorite tip (I used a Wilton 1A tip). Assemble the cookies by piping an even layer of frosting onto one cookie and then sandwiching it with another.
  3. Immediately roll the edge of the cookie in crushed candy cane. Continue until all cookies are sandwiched.
  4. Store cookies on their side (like how macarons are stored) in an airtight container at room temperature.
© Rachael | Sugared & Stirred
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sugaredandstirred on Instagram and hashtag #sugaredandstirred

Filed Under: Brownies, Cookies, Dairy-free Tagged With: brownie cookies, holiday cookies, peppermint brownie cookies, peppermint cookies, sandwich cookies

Brownie Sandwich Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting (dairy-free)

May 15, 2020 by Rachael Ng 4 Comments

These mini Brownie Sandwich Cookies make for a delicious and indulgent cookie treat! A sweet peanut butter frosting is sandwiched between two chewy brownie cookies. Serve them fresh or pack them up in the refrigerator to snack on cold – yes, they’re delicious cold! Whatever you do, you will love these!

Brownie Sandwich Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting

Okay, you guys have been killing it with my Olive Oil Brownie Cookies – they’re hands down my most popular recipe over on Instagram and here on the blog! And I’ve loved seeing so many of your results from baking those cookies. So I decided to take the beloved brownie cookie up a notch by A) making them smaller and B) sandwiching them with an easy peanut butter frosting.

You guys. These cookies are so good. Eat them fresh while the frosting is nice and soft or pop them in your refrigerator to pop out and eat cold (my favorite way to eat them!). These cookies are so soft and chewy that even when cold, you can bite right into what tastes like brownie batter with a hint of sweet peanut butter. I couldn’t ask for a better chocolate snack, could you?

How to make Brownie Sandwich Cookies

These cookies are made just like my original Weeknight Brownies but with more flour to make the batter thick enough for cookies. The key to getting a consistent cookie across all of the batches is to allow the batter to sit at room temperature for around 30 minutes. This dries the batter out a bit, stiffening it up enough to scoop like regular cookie dough.

For the mini cookies, I found it easier to scoop the dough balls onto my parchment-lined baking sheet and then use my fingers to shape them while they’re on the sheet. Once all of the cookies are baked and cooled, you’ll whip up a simple buttercream frosting with plant-based butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and a little “milk”.

You can use a piping bag or ziploc bag fitted with a large, circular piping tip (or a star shape for a fancier look!) to pipe the frosting onto half of the cookies. Sandwich the cookies together and you’ve got a decadent little, peanut butter brownie treat! Yum!

Some of the ingredients + substitutions for this recipe:

Chocolate chips help give these cookies that crinkly, brownie-like top. I like to use a semi-sweet chocolate chip, but you can use dark or milk chocolate.

Vegetable oil adds tons of moisture to these cookies. I used olive oil in my cookies but avocado oil, melted coconut oil, or any kind of melted butter will work, too.

Instant Coffee (or espresso powder!) adds depth to the chocolate flavor. It’s totally optional, so don’t fret if you don’t have any. 

Sugar sweetens these cookies, and I’ve successfully used coconut sugar, white granulated sugar, raw sugar, and brown sugar.

Dutch process cocoa powder adds a deeper chocolate flavor and color than regular, natural cocoa powder. You can use regular cocoa powder, but I recommend grabbing a box of the Dutched cocoa – it’s so good in many chocolate desserts!

Natural peanut butter is used to flavor the buttercream frosting. I’ve only used the natural kind (the only ingredient being peanuts) for this specific recipe. If you want to use a no-stir peanut butter with added oil, sugar, etc, you may need more or less milk or powdered sugar.

Yield: 15 Sandwich Cookies

Brownie Sandwich Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting

Brownie Sandwich Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting

Mini brownie cookies sandwiched together with an easy peanut butter frosting! These chewy, little cookies are delicious as-is or pop them in the refrigerator for a cold chocolatey snack.

Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 40 minutes
Additional Time 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours

Ingredients

Brownie Cookies

  • 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
  • 1 tsp instant coffee granules (optional)
  • 2 large eggs, room temp
  • 3/4 cup sugar (coconut or cane)
  •  1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
  • 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Peanut Butter Frosting

  • 3 Tbsp plant-based butter, softened
  • 3 Tbsp natural peanut butter, room temp
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2-4 tsp plant-based milk

Instructions

Make the cookies:

  1. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes.
  2. In a small, microwavable bowl, melt the chocolate chips along with the oil and instant coffee. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until chips are melted and smooth; set aside.
  3. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the eggs and sugar. Whisk on medium-high until thick, fluffy, and light in color, about 5 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until combined and uniform in color; set aside.
  5. Once the egg/sugar mixture has fluffed up and thickened, whisk in the vanilla. Then add the melted chocolate mixture and gently fold it into the egg/sugar mixture until totally combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
  6. The dough will be like a very sticky, thick brownie batter. Allow it to sit at room temperature, uncovered, for 30 minutes. This allows the batter to stiffen up a bit so you can scoop the dough balls.
  7. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop cookies, eight at a time, 1 Tbsp in size onto one baking sheet. Gently shape and smooth each dough ball (optional). The dough balls should spread/flatten a bit once they're scooped. If not, go ahead and use your fingers to gently flatten the tops of the dough balls.
  8. Bake the cookies at 350°F for 5-7 minutes or until the centers no longer look wet. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before carefully transferring to a cooling rack.
  9. Meanwhile (or while the cookies are baking), use the room temperature baking sheet to prepare another batch of dough for the oven. Continue until all cookies are baked. Allow your cookies to cool completely before making the frosting.

Make the frosting + assemble:

  1. In a medium bowl beat together the butter and peanut butter. Beat in the vanilla and powdered sugar. Finally, beat in the milk 1 tsp at a time until the frosting comes together and is thin enough to pipe but thick enough to hold its shape.
  2. Add the frosting to a piping bag or large ziploc bag fitted with a large, circular piping tip. Pipe the frosting onto half of the cookies, holding the bag upright in the middle of the cookie and applying a steady pressure until the frosting nearly reaches the edge.
  3. Sandwich the frosted cookies and plain cookies together, pressing gently until the frosting reaches the cookies' edges.
  4. Enjoy right away or store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat them chilled like I do!

Recommended Products

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  • KitchenAid Hand Mixer
    KitchenAid Hand Mixer
  • Baking Sheets Set
    Baking Sheets Set
  • KitchenAid Stand Mixer
    KitchenAid Stand Mixer

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

15

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 227Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 136mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 24gProtein: 3g

calculated nutrition information may not always be accurate

© Rachael | Sugared & Stirred
Cuisine: American / Category: Cookies

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sugaredandstirred on Instagram and hashtag #sugaredandstirred

Filed Under: Cookies Tagged With: brownie cookies, chocolate cookies, chocolate peanut butter cookies, peanut butter frosting, sandwich cookies

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Meet Rachael

Hi! I’m Rachael, a home baker who creates dairy-free, indulgent treats. As a sweets lover and former candy addict, I believe we shouldn’t have to give up everything we love in pursuit of wellness. That’s why I create delicious and approachable desserts that you can enjoy, in moderation, no matter your goals! Because, let’s face it, sometimes you just need a giant slice of frosted cake, sans guilt! Read More…

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