Peppermint cookies (also called pryaniki) will melt in your mouth and become a holiday staple! These cookies are a childhood favorite. Russian pryaniki goes back to the traditional Russian kitchen, they were first baked for special occasions like birthdays, funerals, weddings, holidays, and any other occasion. Today, we enjoy them year-round.
You will find a lot of variations of these cookie recipes. They are soft on the inside and brushed with a 2-ingredient simple & sweet glaze on the outside. As with most homemade cookies, they taste delicious when making them yourself and will give you the ultimate flavor and texture. For a traditional experience, pryaniki are served with tea.
What I like about these cookies is that they are great to make ahead of time. They store very well for at least a week.
Ingredients for the Cookie Dough:
- Large eggs
- Sugar
- Sour cream
- Mayonnaise
- Pure honey
- Baking soda
- Lemon juice
- Peppermint extract
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour, unbleached
And just two ingredients for the glaze:
- 3 egg whites
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks from large eggs
- 2 cups of sugar
- 16 oz sour cream (2cups)
- 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup pure honey
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour, unbleached
- 3 egg whites
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Making the Cookie Dough:
Start by separating the egg yolks from the egg whites. Set the egg whites aside until you are ready to make the glaze. With a hand mixer, beat the yolks with sugar in a large bowl.
Stir in the sour cream, mayonnaise, and honey.
In a small cup, mix together baking soda with lemon juice – it will foam up. Add to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
Also, add vanilla and peppermint extract to the bowl. Combine well together. Then, stir in flour.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for an hour.
Next, preheat the oven to 350F.
Spread out some parchment paper onto a cookie sheet. Shape dough into small balls (I use an ice cream scoop, so each cookie is the same size) and spread onto the sheet, making sure they’re at least an inch apart from each other.
Bake the cookies for 20 minutes, or until they begin to brown.
Making the Glaze:
Using a hand mixer, beat the three egg whites you set aside earlier for about a minute. Then add in the powdered sugar and beat for another couple of minutes.
After the cookies have cooled down, brush the glaze all over the cookie, both front and back. First, glaze the front, and when the glaze is dry, you can flip the cookies over and glaze the other side as well. The glaze will dry up quickly on the cookie.
Note: Your peppermint cookies could turn out to be darker or lighter than mine. It actually depends on the kind of honey you use! Either way, they will be soft, sweet and delicious.
Store the cookies at room temperature in a sealed container.
Other Homemade Cookies You May Enjoy Making:
Glazed Vanilla Cookies (Pryaniki)
Equipment I Used
Pryaniki – Russian Honey Peppermint Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 egg yolks from large eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 16 oz sour cream (2 cups)
- 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
- ½ cup pure honey
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour unbleached
Glaze:
- 3 egg whites
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Separate egg yolks from the egg whites from 3 large eggs. You will use the egg whites for the glaze.
- With a mixer beat 3 egg yolks with 2 cups of sugar.
- Stir in 16 ounces sour cream, 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise, and 1/2 cup honey.
- In a small cup mix together 2 teaspoons baking soda with 1 teaspoon lemon juice, mix will foam up. Add to the bowl with the rest of ingredients.
- To the bowl, add 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract and 2 Tablespoons of vanilla. Combine well together.
- Stir in 4 cups of flour.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Use parchment paper, or grease baking sheets if it’s not the nonstick kind.
- Shape dough into small balls (I use an ice cream scoop) and put on a baking sheet.
- Bake cookies for 20 minutes.
Glaze:
- Using a hand mixer, beat 3 egg whites for 1 minute.
- Add 3 cups of powdered sugar. Beat for another 2 minutes.
- After the cookies have cooled down, brush the glaze all over the cookies. Glaze will dry up quickly.
- Your peppermint cookies might be darker or lighter than mine. (It depends on the kind of honey you use.)
Nutrition
