Crushed Candy Cane Biscotti

Christmas cannot come and go without lots of candy cane-flavoured treats and this Crushed Candy Cane Biscotti is just the thing to satisfy all of those peppermint cravings! So easy to make, they make a lovely gift idea too! Also, they’re drizzled with melted candy chocolate to make them even more festive!

In our home, Christmas cannot come and pass us by without a good dose of treats flavoured with peppermint. Those treats are even more welcomed and enjoyed if they have crushed candy cane bits in them. Seriously, we can’t get enough of it! I’m not a huge lover of sweets, but every Christmas I have to get my peppermint fix and these Crushed Candy Cane Biscotti are just the thing!

As you know, John.e is a major lover of ice cream. As for me, I can take it or leave it. In fact, most times, I leave it! I don’t get the appeal to ice cream like most people do. It’s not that I don’t like it; I just don’t care that much for it. But, every Christmas, John.e will find a peppermint ice cream somewhere and we have to have it. I have just one scoop because I need that peppermint/candy cane experience, but I never could eat a large serving of ice cream.

That’s why these biscotti are just perfect for me. I can get a good amount of peppermint flavour from all of those crushed candy canes and the peppermint extract-infused cookie dough.

MAKING YOUR OWN CRUSHED CANDY CANES

If you don’t want to use the red and white crushed candy canes that you can find just about anywhere this time of year, you can crush your own candy canes by placing unwrapped, broken candy canes into a sturdy bag and firmly rolling over them with a wooden rolling pin.

Either way you look at it, the candy canes should not be crushed too finely. Many times, you’ll find they have too much powder, meaning that they have been crushed too much. You want chunky pieces in order to get the red and white speckled pattern.

I’ve tried crushing them myself and have crushed them a little too much. Even the type you buy in the store can sometimes have too much candy cane dust. You can easily fix it by filtering out the dust. Working in small amounts, place a heaping spoonful of the crushed candy canes into a colander. Sift out the dust so that you are left with nice little pieces.

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So, welcome, Dear Reader, to my annual holiday-themed recipes. Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

This year I’m doing it differently. Rather than sharing multiple back to back series, I’m sharing a new holiday-themed recipe almost every day from now until Christmas Eve. For those of you who have followed my annual Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series, don’t worry, you will still get lots of new cookie recipes this year too. I will not, however, be publishing the cookies back to back in a 24-day series. This would have been my 8th year running the series and it becomes very exhausting. Also, we have a vacation booked in what would have been the middle of the series, so this year, I’m spreading the recipes out so that I’m not sharing the same type of recipe every day.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature!
• Sugar
• Salt
• Peppermint Extract – Don’t skip out on this or substitute with vanilla. Most of the peppermint flavour in these biscotti comes from the extract.
• Baking Powder – This is used to increase the volume of the batter and to add texture as well.
• Eggs – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Crushed Candy Canes
• Red and White Candy Melts – See notes below.
• Vegetable Oil

HOW TO MAKE CRUSHED CANDY CANE BISCOTTI

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, salt, peppermint extract, and baking powder until well combined and creamy. Next, add the eggs and beat them into the batter until well mixed. Now, add the flour and crushed candy canes. Beat in until just combined. The dough will be sticky. Turn the dough out onto the prepared baking sheet and form it into a log. (Dust your hands with flour; dough is a bit sticky!) Form log into a rectangle shape that is roughly 4″ wide and 12″ long.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a wire cooling rack so that air can circulate. Cool for 5 minutes. Using the parchment paper, slide the log onto a large cutting board. Slice into 1/2″ slices across the width of the log. Place slices back onto the baking sheet which has been lined with more parchment paper. Slices are cut side down. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Carefully turn the cookies over and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove and cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

Working with one colour of candy melts at a time, microwave according to the package instructions with half a teaspoon each of the vegetable oil. I like to microwave in 30-second intervals at half power or speed. This will melt them slowly and prevent them from seizing. Stir well between each interval until they are fully melted and smooth. Transfer the melted candy melts to a resealable sandwich or Ziploc bag and cut a small tip from one of the lower corners. Hovering the bag over the completely cooled biscotti, drizzle them all with some of the white and the red. Immediately sprinkle the tops of the biscotti with more crushed candy canes and allow the biscotti to rest until the melted candy melts have firmed and hardened. Package biscotti for gift-giving or pile into a food-safe container. Leave at room temperature, or freeze until needed for up to 3 months.

WHAT ARE CANDY MELTS?

Candy melts are small, round discs that are made to emulate white chocolate. They are available in a wide range of colours. Once melted, they are used in confections such as the coating on cake pops. I think the term candy melts is owned by Wilton, which is the only type I’ll use.

I use Wilton’s because I have used the brand many times before and have never been disappointed, but also because they have a lot of different colours to choose from. Oh, and the price is always good too!

If you cannot find candy melts, you can either order them online here, or you can use generic brands that can be found at your local baking supply store. The generic brands are sometimes called melting wafers. As you can see, I used red and white candy melts in this case, which is pretty obvious! If you cannot source candy melts, you can drizzle these biscotti with melted white chocolate and you can tint the white chocolate with a little bit of red gel food colouring.

STORING AND FREEZING

These biscotti will last in the freezer for three months. Be sure you have a good container with a tight seal. Whenever I’m freezing biscotti, I always double up on the seal action. Before I place the lid on, I always drape a sheet of plastic wrap on top. Then I push the lid on. I just feel that the lid fits more tightly. Any little thing I can do to keep the frost out, I’m going to do it! I like to use containers like this.

Like I always say, if you freeze any baked goods, remove only the amount you want when you decide to thaw them. Fetch the container from the freezer and remove only what you need. Put the lid back on and get the container back in the freezer.

To properly thaw baked goods, place them on a plate or a wire cooling rack. Don’t pile them. Spread them out and give them some space. Let them sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. They will taste fresh and perfect every single time!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!