Serve up these adorably festive treats at your next holiday gathering! The peppermint cream cheese filling adds a wonderful tangy bite to the rich chocolate cookies.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F.

For the cookies, melt chocolate chips, butter, and sugar in a medium saucepanover low heat. Stir frequently until smooth, then remove from heat. Pour chocolate mixture into a mixing bowl and blend in eggs and vanilla.  

In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Slowly add dry ingredient mixture to the mixing bowl, stirring as you go.

Form dough into 1-inch balls and place on a greased baking sheet leaving about 1 inch between each cookie. Dough will be very sticky so it is best to work with damp hands.

Bake for 8–10 minutes.

For the filling, use a hand mixer to whip cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Incorporate vanilla extract and peppermint extract. Slowly add powdered sugar while mixing and continue until smooth.

Place candy canes into a plasic bag and crush into small pieces using a rolling pin or the bottom of a cup. Gently fold candy cane pieces into the cream cheese mixture. 

When cookies are cool, place 1–2 teaspoons of filling between the flat sides of 2 cookies. Press together until filling reaches the edge of the cookies.