Candy Cane Cookies
An easy recipe for candy cane cookies made with peppermint extract
Servings 12 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup white sugar granulated
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- red and pink food coloring
Instructions
- In a medium to large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar.
- Stir in the peppermint extract, vanilla extract, and egg until just combined.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until a soft dough forms.
- Divide the dough in half or thirds. Mix in the food coloring. The best way to do this is with a stand mixer and paddle attachment. But you can do it by hand/with a spoon—just be careful not to stain your hands as you work.
- Chill the dough in the refrigerator for a couple hours or overnight.
- Roll the dough into long strands, like clay snakes. Twist together and shape into candy canes.
- Place a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet before moving to a cooling rack or serving tray.
Notes
I prefer liquid food coloring to gel food color for this recipe. But either will work.
If you don't have time to chill the dough in the refrigerator, you can put it in the freezer for 30-45 minutes. But it's best if you can chill in the refrigerator overnight, this will make it the easiest to work with and shape.
This recipe will make 10-12 large cookies. If you shape your candy canes smaller it can make more, and you may want to adjust your bake time to 8 minutes or less.