Candy Cane Cookies
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Candy Cane Cookies are a classic Christmas cookies that has stood the test of time. You may be surprised to find that these cookies are also a special favorite of Santa’s elves!
Candy cane cookies are a festive delight in the world of holiday baking. These treats feature a classic sugar cookie dough that undergoes a split personality transformation – one part takes on a vibrant red hue with the help of food coloring, while the other retains its natural color. The real artistry comes into play as the two halves are carefully twisted together to achieve the recognizable candy cane pattern.
Peppermint extract is the secret ingredient that elevates these cookies to holiday stardom, imparting a refreshing and minty flavor that mirrors the traditional candy cane taste. Some recipes go the extra mile by incorporating crushed peppermint candies, adding both sweetness and a satisfying crunch.
As these cookies bake, the kitchen becomes a fragrant haven of warmth and holiday cheer, thanks to the tantalizing blend of buttery richness and peppermint freshness. Beyond their visual appeal with the distinctive red and white stripes, candy cane cookies have become a popular choice for various festive occasions, from cookie exchanges to family gatherings, offering a perfect balance of tradition and flavor sophistication.
If you need some other holiday desserts to make check out some of these other recipes; Christmas Cutout Cookies, Homemade Christmas Candies, Peppermint Fudge, Snowman Oreo Balls and Peppermint Oreo Milkshake.
What You’ll Need to Make Candy Cane Cookies
- Butter
- Shortening or Coconut Oil (Refined has very little coconut flavor, but if you like coconut, get unrefined as it has lots of coconut flavor)
- Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Peppermint Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Salt
- Candy Canes
- Red Food Coloring or a healthier option Beet Root powder
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How To Make Candy Cane Cookies
Cream butter, shortening and 1 cup of sugar until light and fluffy.
Add egg, vanilla and peppermint extract. Mix.
Stir flour and salt into batter mixture and combine well.
Divide in dough in half into two bowls.
Stir red food coloring or beet root powder into dough in one of the bowls.
Scoop dough for candy cane cookies into one teaspoon portions.
Roll dough into ropes about 4 inches long.
Place two ropes side by side, press lightly together and twist into candy cane shape with curved top.
They should look like this!
Place candy cane cookies onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until very lightly browned.
While still warm, sprinkle with crushed candy cane and sugar mixture.
Elves LOVE These Cookies
If you have any little elves in your house this holiday season, you’ll probably notice these candy cane cookies disappearing faster than you had expected. I bake countless varieties of cookies all year ’round but especially during the Christmas season. I’ve never known any cookies to be as irresistible to elves as these are. I can make a batch of these, each of us only have one or two, and wake to find the jar empty the next day with my elves’ bellies looking slightly plumper than the night before.
Clearly, these are a favorite among Santa’s helpers, and Santa, too!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup shortening or Coconut oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 and 1/2 cups unsifted all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon red food coloring or beet root powder
- Topping
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy cane
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, shortening, and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add egg, vanilla and peppermint extract.
- Stir flour and salt into butter mixture and beat until well combined.
- Divide dough in half.
- Stir red food coloring/beet root powder into one half of dough until well blended.
- Roll 1 teaspoonful of each color dough into four inch rope.
- Place 2 ropes side by side, press lightly together and twist.
- Place on ungreased cookie sheets and curve top for the handle of the candy cane.
- Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
- While cookies are baking, crush candy canes to equal 1/2 cup mixture and add 1/2 cup sugar.
- While still warm, sprinkle with topping mixture. The warm cookie will cause the topping to slightly melt enough to adhere to candy cane.
- Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Nutrition
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3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
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“Gratitude turns what you have into enough.”
~Unknown
Such a cute idea for cookies! Thanks Christy!
It’s funny that you just posted these cookies. My mom used to make these cookies when I was a kid. Well now that I’m the grown up, I searched through all my cook books looking for this stupid mystery candy cane cookie…like it was a magic cookie or something, ok at Christmas for me…they were..I can’t explain it, I loved them. Come on candy canes and cookies…mmm, mmm. So a few weeks ago, I asked my mom about the recipe, and she just laughed at me and said it’s just the sugar cookie recipe with food coloring and peppermint, and I rolled them in crushed candy canes when they were done. Well, you could of hit me with a feather, this made my mom hystical, because she always tells everyone that I’m the cook in the family, not her…mind you this has been driving me crazy for years…I mean years, but I was determined to figure it out on my own…yeah…that didn’t happen. LOL! Silly me… She did tell me sometimes she would get lazy and leave out the peppermint and just roll them in crushed candy canes and they were just as good Well, lesson learned, now I know. At least I gave her a good laugh and she knows that I tjought her cookies were special and she thought they were just silly little cookies she tossed together and were no big deal.
So if anyone doesn’t think that kids don’t remember little things, trust me they do…I still remember those silly little cookies and how they tasted. I have no idea what I got for Christmas…any of those years…but I remember the cookies!
Great idea. I used to make these for my children when they were small. I think I’ll make them for my grandkids. Thanks for the reminder.
My daughter just started the Elf on the Shelf with her 4 year old. She’s working today so I’m making a batch for her to pick up on the way home. She’ll put them out tonight with ‘Buttons’. Thanks for the recipe and idea!
Can I please come make cookies with you?!
Boy wouldn’t we have fun! I just love to cook. I was telling my hubby I was go glad that he always made sure I had a great kitchen since I loved to cook so much. He has remodeled two of our kitchens. He said he had an ulterior motive. He loved to eat as much as I loved to cook. Have a wonderful holiday! Make some great memories. Mama
These are sooo cute! I love all your posts.
Thanks so much! Christy and I have so much fun in the kitchen. I hope you have a wonderful holiday. Mama
Wonderful! Nothing better than good ole Christmas cookies! May the family have a Merry Christmas!!