As if you couldn’t already tell from the Christmas music on the radio, holiday decorations in the stores and Christmas trees being put up around your friend’s and family’s houses, Christmas is coming. And with this holiday season comes Christmas treats, like these White Chocolate Peppermint cookies.

These aren’t super health-ified like I try to make my desserts, but they got great reviews when I made them, so I’m just going to let it slide this time. I’m a sucker for peppermint, and adding white chocolate to the mix makes it just that much better.

Refrigeration is necessary in this recipe, as it results in a puffier, softer cookie. So, if you’re needing a break from homework, you can prepare the dough and then get right back to work while the dough chills.

Yes, I cheated with this recipe, and yes, you can cheat with this recipe, too. With finals week coming up, you have a solid excuse to take a couple shortcuts when baking. These are cake cookies made with boxed cake mix, so naturally, they are very quick to make, and require minimal effort. I would apologize for my lack of time commitment, but sharing this recipe means you get to make them without much effort or time, too, so again, I’ll let this one slide.

These are soft, chewy, fluffy and chalked full of peppermint flavor, both from the peppermint extract and peppermint baking chips. You could even substitute milk or dark chocolate chips for the white if you aren’t a fan of white chocolate. These go perfectly with a side of Mariah Carey’s Christmas album, and a tall glass of milk.

Prep Time: 5 minutes. Chill time: 30 minutes. Cook time: 10 minutes.

Yields: 3 dozen

Ingredients:

• 15.25 oz. box white cake mix
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) light butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, melted butter, egg, peppermint extract and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined.
2. Add cream cheese and beat on low speed until combined. Stir in peppermint chips and white chocolate chips.
3. Cover and refrigerate dough at least 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. Once chilled, roll dough into balls, place on baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake for 8-10 minutes until bottoms are lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet about 2 minutes and before removing to let cool completely.