Candy Cane Cookies

Making and decorating Christmas cookies are one of my favorite parts of the holiday season, but sometimes I only have the energy to make the cookies—not decorate. Enter: candy cane cookies. The festive twists of red and white save you the step of needing to frost the cookies or add any extra decoration. They’re made using a quick sugar cookie dough with peppermint extract so that they also taste like candy canes (if you prefer not to have minty cookies, you can swap the peppermint for vanilla extract instead). The cookies hold their shape well while still being soft, and are one of my favorite peppermint desserts (and that's saying something). These would be perfect served alongside a cup of hot chocolate or at a cookie exchange—here's everything you need to know:

How To Make Candy Cane Cookies

INGREDIENTS

• All-Purpose Flour & Baking Powder: This is a classic cookie combination. All-purpose flour and baking powder work great in cookies as the combo helps create a dough that rises a little bit without spreading too much, and also bakes up to a crunchy crust and soft inside.
• Kosher Salt: A little bit of salt goes a long way, so I’m only using a half of a teaspoon here, but it will make a huge difference in the finished cookie. Salt helps to heighten the other flavors present in a baked good, without making them taste salty. This is key to a sweet, comforting sugar cookie.
• Unsalted Butter: I always use unsalted butter in baked goods because it is much easier to predict how much moisture and flavor it will add to the dough. It also will help ensure the cookies don’t taste salty.
• Granulated Sugar: They’re called sugar cookies for a reason. Granulated sugar will combine with other simple ingredients to create a soft, sweet, buttery cookie.
• Egg: Our egg will act as a binder, holding the cookies together as they bake. It will also add some needed moisture to the dough.
• Peppermint Extract: I think this is essential to a candy cane cookie. When recreating the classic holiday candy, I wanted to replicate the flavor as well as the iconic look; however, if you aren’t a fan of peppermint and just want a cute, festive cookie, feel free to swap the peppermint extract for vanilla extract.
• Red Gel Food Coloring: To get those iconic stripes, we’ll need some food coloring. Anytime I use food coloring I like to start small and work my way up. You can always add more if the color isn’t deep enough, but you can’t remove any afterwards. So start small and work up until you are happy with the color.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

The first thing you’ll need to do is to combine the dry ingredients in a large, clean bowl. Then, in a separate large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until it reaches a light, creamy consistency. Once here, add in the egg and peppermint—or vanilla—extract and beat until combined. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and beat on medium-low speed until combined and a dough has formed.

Separate the dough into two halves, and remove one half from the bowl. Form this half into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap, and set it aside for the moment. Then add in the red food coloring to the other half of the dough and beat it to combine. If the dough isn’t quite red enough, continue adding in food coloring and beating until you find the color you are looking for. Then remove the red dough from the bowl and form it into a disk as well. Wrap it with plastic wrap and place both wrapped disks into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Once the dough is cool, prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment and remove the dough from the fridge. On a clean surface, divide each disk into 18 pieces of about 2 Tbsp. each. Roll out each piece into a rope about 6 inches long. Once you have 18 ropes of both colors, start making your canes. Take one red and one white rope and twist them together, curving the top into the classic shepherd’s hook, then transfer the cane onto one of the prepared sheets. Repeat these steps until all of the candy canes are formed. Place both sheets into the freezer for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 days, until chilled.

Prepare your oven by preheating to 350°. Once hot, remove the cookies from the freezer and place them into the oven to bake for 12 to 14 minutes until they're just set and the edges have lightly browned. Remove them from the oven and set them aside to cool before enjoying.

The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Choose your butter accordingly: While unsalted butter does already give you more control over your finished product, to really achieve the red and white look, it’s the small things that count. A lighter colored butter will result in a slightly lighter dough, while a more yellow butter will deepen the color a tad.

Storage

These are great to make ahead of time. The dough can be up to 3 days in advance, wrapped tightly in the refrigerator. Baked cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days as well.