These Andes Mint Cookies are loaded with chopped Andes creme de menthe pieces and dark chocolate in a buttery, almost toffee-flavored cookie that is barely crisp around the edges and soft and chewy in the middle. The secret is to underbake them ever so slightly, then press a few extra pieces of Andes mints and dark chocolate in the tops of each cookie AFTER baking them.
We are obsessed with chocolate-mint desserts! If you feel the same way, you will also want to try our Mint Brownies, Grasshopper Ice Cream Pie, and Chocolate Andes Mint Cookies (totally different from these cookies that I’m sharing today but delicious in their own right!).
My friend Karen over at The Food Charlatan made these cookies one day when I went over to her house to hang out and learn the art of photographing the close-up macro shot from her. She is the queen of getting really close to her food and despite my efforts, it’s been really hard for me to manage to figure that one out on my own!
If you have never seen her blog before, she is always posting the most amazing-looking recipes with droolworthy photography that makes me crave everything she makes. Also, she seriously has the BEST stories and I love her writing style. Through no fault of her own, I sometimes feel insecure about my own abilities behind the camera and question what I’m even doing attempting a career as a blogger, especially after seeing her shots!
So I was so grateful that she let me come over and hover nearby while she explained how she approaches food styling and getting “the shot”. Then she encouraged me to give it a try so I could post these Andes mint cookies on here too.
I absolutely LOVE these cookies and have made a really similar recipe for years, only Karen took it to the next level by adding some additional dark chocolate to the dough. It really amps up the chocolate flavor that goes so well with the Andes mints.
Those thin rectangles of cool green mint and smooth milk chocolate are seriously one of the best candies of all time. You know how they used to give them out at the Olive Garden? I don’t even know if they still do that since it’s been forever since I went there, but once I went to Olive Garden for lunch with a friend, and as we were walking out we sheepishly asked the hostess if we could have some extra mints. She grinned, winked, then told us to hold out our hands and dumped a whole bunch of them into our palms. It was the best thing ever.
You could go to the trouble of unwrapping and chopping two packages worth of Andes Mints to make these cookies. But they actually make Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips that do all that work for you. I can’t always find them where I live now, but whenever I’m visiting family in Utah they are in every store so I tend to stock up. They are also super delicious sprinkled over a batch of brownies before baking!
Andes Mint Cookie Ingredients
- Butter: I always use salted butter in my baking. I know it’s risky business softening butter in the microwave, but I have found that if I heat it for 10 seconds, then flip the sticks over and heat another 4-5 seconds, it ends up perfectly soft without melting into a puddle.
- Sugar: You will use both granulated and brown sugar in this recipe. I like using dark brown sugar because it has a deeper flavor that the lighter version that holds up well to the mint and chocolate, but either will work.
- Vanilla: Good vanilla extract makes any baked good taste better!
- Eggs: These are for binding, chewiness, and flavor as the egg yolks add a little richness to the dough.
- Salt: A good cookie NEEDS a little salt to balance out the sweetness.
- Baking Soda: Because science. This ingredient gives a little lift to cookies. It is what helps them puff up and spread out a bit while baking.
- Cornstarch: I love adding cornstarch to cookies when I want them to stay extra soft.
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour is all you need!
- Andes Creme de Menthe pieces: One package of these is perfect for a batch of cookies, although I recommend grabbing a box of regular Andes Mints as well so you can chop some up for bigger pieces that can be pressed into the tops of each cookie as they come out of the oven.
- Dark chocolate: This really boosts that chocolate element of the cookies and makes them extra decadent!
How to Make Andes Mint Cookies
- Cream the butter and sugar together: Creaming butter and sugar together is one of the first lessons any home baker should learn. This essential step just means letting them beat for a good 2-3 minutes until they lighten in color. It’s definitely easiest to do if you have a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, but can totally be done with a hand mixer as well.
- Add eggs and vanilla: Mix again, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl so these get evenly incorporated into the cookie dough.
- Mix in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt: In older recipes, you might see these referred to as the “dry ingredients” rather than listing them all out again. Don’t go overboard with mixing at this point. You just want to stir until there are just streaks of flour left in the dough.
- Stir in the fun stuff!: Dump in the bag of chopped up Andes mints and dark chocolate, then mix just until combined. You don’t need to chill your dough (I never do), but you are welcome to cover it and chill for an hour or overnight at this point if you want to. People swear it develops the flavor of the cookies, but I’m all about immediate cookie gratification.
- Bake at 350°F: Scoop balls of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 10 minutes. The cookies should be set around the edges, but it’s okay for them to look slightly underbaked in the middle! They will continue to set up from the residual heat on the pan after they come out of the oven. I like to press a few extra pieces of chocolate and Andes Mint into the top of each cookie so they look extra pretty right after they come out of the oven.
Freezing and storage
Like most cookies, these ones freeze great. Just let them cool all the way, then store in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months in the freezer. I like to reheat them for a few seconds in the microwave so they are warm and the chocolate gets a little melty again before I eat them.
The cookies will stay soft and chewy in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.
More of the BEST cookie recipes!
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Toffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Double Lemon Glazed Cookies
- Carmelitas
- Lime Meltaway Shortbread Cookies
- Best Cut-Out Sugar Cookies
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Andes Mint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, softened 2 sticks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups flour spooned and leveled
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 ounces Andes creme de menthe baking chips*
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips chopped, plus more for topping (Ghiradelli is my favorite)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for 2-3 minutes until creamy and light.1 cup salted butter, softened, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup dark brown sugar
- Add the vanilla and eggs, then beat again, making sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 large eggs
- Mix in the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt just until combined. It’s okay if some streaks of flour remain.3 cups flour, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- Stir in the Andes mint pieces and dark chocolate. If you didn’t buy a extra box of Andes mints for chopping and pressing into the tops of the cookies, you might want to set aside ¼ cup of the Andes mint pieces for pressing into the tops of the cookies after baking.10 ounces Andes creme de menthe baking chips*, 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- Use a cookie scoop to drop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them a couple inches apart. Bake for 10-11 minutes, just until the edges are set but the middle still looks slightly under baked and even a bit shiny in the center. The cookies will continue to set up on the baking sheet after they are taken out of the oven.
- Gently press a few extra pieces of Andes mints and dark chocolate into the tops of each cookie. This is a vanity move, but I love cookies that look extra pretty and this is my trick to making them that way! These cookies are SO GOOD when warm and the chocolate is still all melty from the oven.
Notes
- If you can’t find the Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips, you can just chop two 4.67-ounce packages of Andes mints so you have about 1 ¾ cup of chopped Andes mints.
- Freezing baked cookies: Baked cookies can be frozen for up to about 2 months in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Just thaw on the counter before enjoying.
- Freezing the dough: You can also freeze the dough before baking by shaping it into balls and flash freezing them for an hour on a baking sheet before transferring them to a freezer-safe bag. They will freeze like this for about 3 months and you can bake them straight from frozen without thawing by adding an additional 2-3 minutes to your bake time.
These were great! Chewy, fudgy and delicious!
These cookies are fantastic! I baked them the full time plus 1 minute and they were still plenty gooey. My youngest son said it’s his new favorite cookie. Glad I made these for the February Chocolate Challenge.
I’m glad you made them too!
These are one of my favorite cookies now. I’ve made them 3 times so far this Christmas season, and they will be a go to for years to come!
I made these for my husband, he loves them. I’m not a cookie girl but these are so good I ate four of them. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
These are the best! Family and friends expect them when we get together and recipe requests are endless. Walmart makes a mint chip now that is easier and more cost effective.
They are so good and super easy! I am glad everyone loves them! Thanks for making these!
These are amazing! They are my most requested cookie.
They stay soft the cornstarch is the secret.
Aren’t they best! And they’re so easy. I love them, glad you do too!
I love all the wonderful comments however, my cookies fell flat and I don’t know what to do. I pre-measured everything. The only thing I did different was I had to use the whisker instead of the paddle bc for some reason mine was not fitting on. So far I’ve made 3 dozen and decided to put the dough in the fridge. Anything I can do or add to correct the rest of the batch? It’s even chilly and dry today down here in SWFL.
Thanks so much!
My first thought would be to add a little bit of flour. Chilling the dough will help. Cookies can go flat and spread if the butter is too soft. Also, double check that your baking soda is not expired. Sometimes that can be the culprit. Overmixing the dough can also cause cookies to go flat because you are incorporating too much air into the dough. Let me know how the rest of cookies turned out or if you have any more questions! I hope this helps!