These fun, cheery Candy Cane Cookies are one of our favourite treats to make during the holiday season. Coloured dough is flavoured with peppermint and twisted into a cane shape brightening up any festive platter!
Candy Cane Cookies
As a child I have fond memories of my mom’s Whipped Shortbread Cookies. You can never go wrong with a melt in your mouth, flavourful cookie with a pop of colour during the month of December.
This cookie was created for our annual Mom’s Holiday Cookie Exchange. If you follow my blog and cookie rambles you will see it’s a much anticipated event every year!
For our cookie exchange this year I wanted to make something new and adventurous and I think I found the right recipe – Candy Cane Cookies. This cookie does take a little work since you have to refrigerate the dough, take out small amounts at a time and work fast. But look at them! The extra work is worth it – aren’t they stunning?!
PRO TIPS
Turn on some festive music or your favourite spotify list, pour yourself a mocktail or cocktail and start rolling!
- Hook them over the edge of a hot chocolate mug to serve.
- Chill dough before rolling and re-chill as necessary. It will help with rolling.
- If you don’t like mint flavour use coconut or almond.
- Practise makes perfect.
More Holiday Treat Recipes to try!
- Christmas Gingerbread Bowl
- Frozen Candy Cane Dessert
- Pecan and Cranberry Biscotti
- Cranberry Orange Pistachio Bark
- Christmas Fudge
- Merry Cherry Ice Box Cookies
If you made this recipe tag Wanda Baker on Instagram and hashtag it #bakersbeans and please comment below!
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup icing sugar sifted
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour sifted
- Food colouring red, green
Instructions
- Cream butter & sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, peppermint, salt and flour.
- Divide dough into two. Stir food colouring into one half. If you are making green/white or red/white candy canes leave the other half uncoloured. If you are making red/green candy canes you will need to colour both halves of dough. Keep adding food colouring (and mixing well) until you reach desired colour. Wrap each section in saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Take a small portion of each colour of dough out of the refrigerator. Pick a colour and get started!
- Take a teaspoon of dough and roll into a 4 inch long snake. Do the same with the other half of dough. You will need to work fairly quickly as the dough warms up in your hands and becomes harder to work with.
- Carefully twist the snakes together and bend into a candy cane shape. Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Continue on with the rest of the dough placing candy canes approximately 1 inch apart on baking sheets.
- Bake for 7-8 minutes or until just a hint of brown starts on bottom of cookie.
- Set baking sheets on racks to cool (cookies will be to delicate to handle otherwise). Once able to remove cookies place on cooling racks until completely cooled. Store in sealed container.
Notes
This sugar like cookie with a peppermint twist is my cookie contribution for this year’s cookie exchange.
What is your favourite cookie to make or eat during the holidays?!
These cookies are so cool! Perfect as a gift!
These are adorable!! They are perfect for a Christmas cookie exchange, different from any cookie I’ve seen at a cookie exchange! Thanks for sharing!!
I would have loved to be in your cookie exchange. Candy Canes are my fave. I’m nuts about them. I’ve over done it too many years on anything candy cane.
You can never have too much money or candy cane recipes. ha,ha.
I’m saving this one.
Kellie from Princess and the Yard Ape
The first tim I ever made candy cane cookies was when I was in grade 2. I remember not understanding the concept of “twisting” the cookies, so I ended up with logs of red and green cookies… looked like witches’ fingers!
It definitely takes some work – but fun nonetheless!