Description
These festive Candy Cane Cookies feature a delightful peppermint flavor with a soft interior and a crisp exterior. Perfect for holiday celebrations, they are beautifully twisted into candy cane shapes and topped with crushed peppermint candies for extra crunch and flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (softened, 227g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ teaspoons peppermint extract
Additives
- 1 teaspoon red food coloring
- 3 tablespoons crushed peppermint candies
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Then, beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract, scraping down the bowl once to ensure even mixing.
- Combine Flour Mixture: With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Beat just until incorporated. If some flour remains at the bottom, remove the bowl and knead the dough by hand a few times to fully combine.
- Divide and Color the Dough: Remove half of the dough from the bowl. Add red food coloring to this portion (about 1 teaspoon if liquid or a few drops if gel), mixing until the color is evenly distributed. Wrap each dough portion separately in plastic wrap and press into 1-inch thick disks.
- Chill Dough: Refrigerate the wrapped dough disks for 4 hours or until firm to the touch. Dough can be stored chilled for up to 3 days at this stage.
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pans: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper for easy removal and cleanup.
- Shape Cookies: Cut the dough into 1-inch cubes. Roll each cube into a smooth ball. Lightly flour your work surface, then roll each dough ball into a 5-inch-long rope by gently rolling it with your palm. Place one red and one plain rope side by side and carefully twist them together. Curve one end down slightly to form the candy cane's handle. Arrange the shaped cookies on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until they appear dry but not browned.
- Add Topping and Cool: Immediately after removing from the oven, sprinkle crushed peppermint candies over the warm cookies. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- For a more vibrant red color, use gel food coloring as it provides richer pigmentation without adding extra liquid.
- If the dough is too soft to handle after chilling, return it to the refrigerator to firm up before shaping.
- To store, keep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
- You can substitute crushed peppermint candies with finely crushed candy canes or peppermint bark for different texture and flavor variations.
- These cookies freeze well; wrap tightly and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 126 kcal
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 46 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 21 mg
