Crispy edges and soft chewy centers make these Peppermint Chocolate Chunk Pan-Banging Cookies the best cookies ever. Each massive cookie features ripples that create the ultimate texture. Bake a batch to share or freeze them for later!
Maybe you feel like there are enough chocolate chip recipes in the world. Perhaps you feel that you can settle for one that’s already floating around.
Sure, and maybe the sky is green and clouds really are made of cotton candy.
Those other recipes don’t combine chocolate chunks with candy canes. They don’t spread out to the size of your face, nor do they have the crisp rippled edges and chewy centers that make me reach for just one more bite several times. Obviously you see the need for (yet another) chocolate chip cookie recipe.
I’ve had my eye on these for a while now. How could you not? Each one screams BIG, BOLD, and BEAUTIFUL. They’re a godsend. But then I got distracted by a good book. I babysat my friend’s dog over Shabbat. Started knitting my second blanket. So the cookies kept cozy in the back of my mind for a little bit longer until Monday came. I didn’t get much sleep, my radiator was on the fritz, and despite the layers I piled on it was still cold in the apartment. There’s only one solution for such a problem. Pretty soon, I was creaming butter and sugar while the oven heated up.
These Peppermint Chocolate Chunk Pan-Banging Cookies are a little different from Sarah Kieffer’s originals. All of the ingredients in her recipe are standard, except for water. The water evaporates in the oven, bumping up the cookies’ rise so that we can deflate it that much more. More deflation means more ripply edges. The entire point of pan-banging cookies is the beautiful contrast of crisp to chew, intensified with every ripple.
I tweaked the ratio of white to brown sugar, reducing the overall amount. Here we’re also using milk instead of water, for some extra creamy flavor. Then I added a dose of belated holiday cheer in the form of crushed candy canes. Not so much that you feel like you’re eating toothpaste, just enough that your taste buds dance in surprise.
Then, pop a tray bearing four massive cookie dough balls in the freezer for 15 minutes that drag out painfully long and remind yourself patience results in tasty treats. Besides, you’ve reached the fun part! Warn any unsuspecting folks in the house before you start whacking your pans. Pan-banging cookies are the loudest cookies you’ll likely ever make. I promise, the sound will be music to your ears.
Because the cookies are so thin, you really do need to let them cool completely on the pan. Unless you’re happy eating cookie crumble instead, in which case don’t bother. Just remember that flaky sea salt on top might be listed as optional, but never truly is.
You’ll love these cookies the day you bake them. A little more the next day. And still a little more (if you can imagine) the day after that. No promises they’ll last that long, though. But in case they do, these pan-banging cookies even freeze well!
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp milk, room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup chopped 72% dark chocolate
- ⅓ cup crushed candy canes
- flaky sea salt, optional
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
- Cream the butter and sugars in a stand mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add the egg, making sure to fully incorporate. Next beat in the milk and vanilla. Stop the mixer and pour in the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until a few flour streaks remain. Fold in the chocolate and candy canes, mixing until just incorporated and no flour streaks remain.
- Scoop scant a ⅓ cup of dough onto prepared pans, putting 4 on a tray. Freeze the first pan for 15 minutes. A few minutes into the first bake, put the next pan into the freezer, until you've used all of the dough.
- Bake on the middle rack for 10 minutes. Lift the pan a few inches and bang it down a few times, so that the cookies deflate. Bake for 2 more minutes and repeat the banging. Repeat this pan-banging process until they've baked a total of 16-18 minutes. Give one final bang, then let the cookies cool completely on the pan. The edges will be set and the centers soft. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt while still warm.
- Store layered between wax paper in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 days or in the freezer.
Leave a Reply