Description
Candy Cane Cookies are festive, soft sugar cookies twisted with red and white dough to resemble classic candy canes. These buttery cookies are flavored with almond and vanilla extracts and topped with a peppermint sugar mixture for a sweet, minty crunch. Perfect for holiday celebrations, they combine simple ingredients with a fun shaping technique to create an eye-catching treat everyone will love.
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (300g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Red food coloring (or red and green food coloring)
Topping
- ⅓ cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candies
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Instructions
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and powdered sugar on medium speed until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Add the egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract, then mix again until all ingredients are fully combined.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt to ensure they are evenly distributed.
- Combine Dough: With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix just until the flour is incorporated and a soft dough forms to avoid overmixing.
- Divide and Color Dough: Divide the dough in half, leaving one half in the mixing bowl. Add red food coloring to the half in the mixing bowl, kneading or mixing until the color is fully absorbed. Leave the other half white. (Optional: Tint ¼ dough red and ¼ green for two-color combinations, leaving ½ white.)
- Chill Dough: Shape each half of the dough into a disk, wrap each in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to firm up for shaping.
- Prepare Peppermint Sugar Topping: While the dough chills, combine crushed candy canes or peppermint candies with granulated sugar in a small bowl. Set aside for sprinkling later.
- Preheat Oven and Prep Sheets: Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Shape Cookies: On a lightly floured surface, take 1 heaping teaspoon of white dough and 1 heaping teaspoon of red dough and roll each into a smooth ball. Roll each ball into a 5-inch rope. Place the red and white ropes side by side, gently twist them together, and shape them into candy canes. Place the formed candy canes onto the prepared baking sheets, spaced evenly.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are just set and barely golden on the bottoms. Avoid overbaking to maintain a tender texture.
- Add Topping and Cool: Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, sprinkle them with the peppermint-sugar mixture while still warm. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving or storing.
Notes
- For multi-colored candy cane cookies, divide dough into quarters and tint one quarter red, one quarter green, and leave half white.
- Use crushed candy canes fresh for best peppermint flavor and crunch.
- If you don’t have almond extract, you can omit it or replace with an equal amount of extra vanilla extract.
- Dough can be refrigerated up to 24 hours before shaping.
- Handle dough gently when twisting to prevent cracking.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
