Peppermint Tarts

Peppermint Tarts are a sugar cookie cup filled with a chocolate brownie batter and topped with ganache – and tons of peppermint flavor. They’re such a delicious Christmas Cookie – if you love chocolate and peppermint together you’ll love this recipe.

Peppermint Tassies Recipe

Peppermint Tarts are a sort-of sugar cookie dough, like a tassie. The dough has butter, shortening, and cream cheese in it so it’s perfect for making little tart shells. Inside the tarts are a filling reminiscent of Peppermint Chess Pie; it’s a chocolate mixture that’s also kind of like a brownie, but it tastes like peppermint.

The cookies are baked and then you top them with more chocolate, in the form of a rich ganache. Then you sprinkle candy canes on top. BOOM, fabulous Christmas dessert.

Ingredients Needed

• Unsalted Butter – You’ll need this for the cookie dough and the filling.
• Cream Cheese – the cookie dough also has cream cheese in it which keeps the cookie cups super soft.
• Baking Chocolate – You’ll need baking chocolate for the filling and ganache. Yo can find this in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.
• Peppermint Extract – This is what gives you all the peppermint flavor in the filling!
• Crushed Candy Canes – For garnish – they make the cookie cups so pretty.

How to make Peppermint Tarts

• Mix up the cookie dough by creaming butter with shortening, cream cheese, and brown sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix in baking powder, salt, egg, vanilla, and flour.
• Scoop balls of cookie dough and place them in a mini muffin pan that’s been well greased. Press the cookie dough up the sides of the muffin cups to create a shell.
• Melt together the filling ingredients like you’re making brownies, then fill each tart shell. Bake the cookies until they’re done and set. Cool completely.
• Make the chocolate ganache by melting together the chocolate and heavy whipping cream, then drizzle on each of the peppermint cups. Top with crushed candy canes for garnish.

Tip From Dorothy

Expert Tips

• Skip the cookie dough making and use a refrigerated dough or store bought pouch of cookie mix to make these semi-homemade.
• Store tarts in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
• Freeze for up to 3 months.

Peppermint Tarts Recipe

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A sugar cookie tassie base filled with chocolate mint filling, chocolate ganache, and candy canes! The perfect holiday bite.

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Yield 36 tarts

Serving Size 1 serving

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Ingredients

 

For the Tart Dough:

• ▢ ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter softened
• ▢ ¼ cup (47g) vegetable shortening (i.e. Crisco)
• ▢ 2 ounces (57g) cream cheese softened
• ▢ 1 cup (200g) packed brown sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 ½ cups (304g) all-purpose flour

For the Peppermint Tart Filling:

• ▢ 5 ounces (71g) semisweet chocolate coarsely chopped
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ⅓ cup (67g) packed brown sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ ½ teaspoon peppermint extract

For the Chocolate Ganache:

• ▢ ⅓ cup (79ml) heavy whipping cream
• ▢ 3 ounces (42g) chopped semisweet chocolate
• ▢ 3-4 candy canes crushed, for garnish

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray mini muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray.
• Beat butter, shortening, and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Slowly mix in the flour.
• If dough is too sticky to handle, you can chill it for 30-60 minutes. Otherwise, continue below.
• Shape dough into 36 balls (about 1 1/4 inches each). Lightly press balls onto the bottoms and up the sides of the muffin cups.
• Make the filling: stir chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in egg, brown sugar, and vanilla and peppermint extracts. Spoon 1 slightly rounded teaspoon of filling into each dough-lined muffin cup.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until the crust is just firm and filling is puffed and set. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Carefully remove tarts from muffin cups; cool completely on a rack.
• While the tarts are cooling, make the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a medium sized bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the whipping cream over medium heat until it boils. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.
• Spoon a little ganache over each cooled tart. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes for garnish. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze in a single layer in an airtight container or bag for up to 1 month.

Recipe Video

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 147kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 45mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 131IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Dorothy Kern

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Last Updated on December 15, 2023