Are you getting ready for holiday baking? These decorated Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies are a Christmas crowd-pleaser, especially with kids! Boasting sweet mint flavor and crushed candy canes, they are guaranteed to bring on the smiles.
How to Make Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies for Christmas
Every holiday season, my youngest son asks, “When are you making the candy cane cookies, Mommy?” He is just as delighted by them as I was at his age.
This Christmas classic is packed with real peppermint flavor, perfectly blended with comforting vanilla and sweet, crunchy candy canes. They will go fast, so don’t forget to double your batch so you have enough for friends, neighbors, and cookie exchanges.
Peppermint Candy Cane Cookie Ingredients
- 1 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Red food coloring
- 1 cup crushed peppermint candy canes
Peppermint Candy Cane Cookie Directions
1. Cream the powdered sugar and butter together in a standing mixer. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Blend in the flour and salt.
Related: DIY Homemade Vanilla Extract
2. Divide the dough into two separate bowls, adding red food coloring to one of them. Mix the food coloring into the dough until you’re satisfied with the tint.
TIP: Artificial dye-free kids? Try this natural alternative.
3. Use a cookie scoop to create prepared balls of dough, ready to be twisted together into candy canes. When all of the dough has been scooped, gently begin rolling the dough into ropes.
4. Place one white rope and one red rope next to each other, then carefully twist the dough into a candy cane shape. Gently press the ends together so the candy cane does not separate while baking.
5. Bake the cookies at 350° for 8–10 minutes on a parchment lined pan, being mindful not to overcook the dough.
6. Sprinkle crushed candy canes over the hot, freshly baked cookies, then allow the cookies to cool completely before moving them to a wire rack.
Peppermint candy cane cookies are best served with hot chocolate and a heartwarming Christmas book. This holiday season we are really enjoying Mr. Dog’s Christmas by Albert Bigalow Paine.
These cookies also freeze well, making them a convenient and beautiful addition to holiday cookie trays when company calls!
Save This Recipe for Candy Cane Cookies
Don’t forget to save this recipe on Pinterest for later! Be sure you are following along with Fireflies and Mud Pies here.
If You Like This Candy Cane Cookie Recipe, Try These Other Holiday Cookies:
Getting ready for holiday baking? These classic decorated Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies are a Christmas crowd-pleaser, especially with kids!
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup crushed candy canes
- red food dye
Cream the powdered sugar and butter together in a standing mixer. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Blend in the flour and salt.
Divide the dough into two separate bowls, adding red food coloring to one of them. Mix the food coloring into the dough until you're satisfied with the tint.
Use a cookie scoop to create prepared balls of dough, ready to be twisted together into candy canes. When all of the dough has been scooped, gently begin rolling the dough into ropes.
Place one white rope and one red rope next to each other, then carefully twist the dough into a candy cane shape. Gently press the ends together so the candy cane does not separate while baking.
Bake the cookies at 350° for 8–10 minutes on a parchment lined pan, being mindful not to overcook the dough.
Sprinkle crushed candy canes over the hot, freshly baked cookies, then allow the cookies to cool completely before moving them to a wire rack.
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