Whipped Candy Cane Shortbread

Christmastime is rushed and hurried; not everyone has time for rolling pins and chilling dough. With this Whipped Candy Cane Shortbread recipe, you can have shortbread cookies ready to eat in less than 30 minutes! And with all of that peppermint flavour, these cookies are sure to be a crowd favourite!

I’m completely in love with this Whipped Candy Cande Shortbread recipe!  Until I tried a whipped shortbread recipe, I always believed that a good shortbread cookie was the result of chilling and rolling dough before using fancy cookie cutters in hopes of getting the perfect cookie. Well, I’ve tried them all and some of them have been really successful, but some of them have been a complete disaster.  We’ve all had that experience where the dough rises and spreads during the baking process and destroys our perfectly cookie-cutter cookie.

And, to be completely honest, I think rolling pins are a form of torture for at-home cooks.  I know I just need more practice with pastry, but for some reason, I find it extremely difficult to get an even, flat dough surface when rolling out cookie dough.  That’s why this recipe is one of my Christmas favourites.  There’s no need for rolling pins or cookie cutters.  The only tools you need are a bowl, a mixer, and a small ice-cream scoop.  Oh, and a fork!

BAKED GOODS MAKE GREAT GIFTS!

These Whipped Candy Cane Shortbread are so perfect for gift-giving. Not only are these cookies great for giving to a friend or loved one, but it’s so easy to package and transport. It might be just me, but is there anyone else out there who loves to receive kitchen-related products as gifts?

If you’d like to gift these cookies to a friend, here’s what you should do. First, buy a new cookie jar and pair it with another kitchen item such as a whisk or a spatula. Bring them home, and wash and dry them well and pile the baked and fully cooled cookies into the cookie jar. Wrap the cookie jar in a large sheet of cellophane, gathering the ends at to top of the jar. Tie the ends up with a ribbon and attach the whisk or spatula. Now, you’ve got a dessert and a gift all in one! I’d love to get something like that; so thoughtful, right!?

WELCOME TO A LORD BYRON CHRISTMAS!

I’m going to tell you all about this recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the holiday-themed recipes! Over the past decade, I have built a reputation for sharing series-type recipes. The most popular would be my annual 24 Cookies of Christmas, which was fashioned after an advent calendar. But, I have others that are only 12 days, which were fashioned after the 12 Days of Christmas.

This particular recipe is a part of my third holiday series for this year. So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Candy Cane Recipes Series. Just like every other series that I’ve shared over the years, this one will also see a new recipe shared each day for the next 12 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW AND NEVER MISS ANOTHER RECIPE!

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.

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! To be perfectly honest, I have made these with both salted and unsalted butter and there’s no difference in taste or appearance once all is said and done. Use what you have on hand.
• Cornstarch – When added to cake, cookie and shortbread recipes, cornstarch helps create a crumbly and tender dessert-like texture.
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This superfine sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar.  It is used in frostings quite often.  When dusted lightly onto cakes and cookies, it adds just a touch of sweetness, but more importantly, it looks very visually appealing!
• Peppermint Extract
• Crushed Candy Canes

HOW TO MAKE WHIPPED CANDY CANE SHORTBREAD

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside. Add the butter to a bowl and using a hand-held mixer, whip until light and fluffy – about 3 minutes. Add the flour, corn starch, confectioner’s sugar, and peppermint extract. Blend together until fully incorporated – about 2 minutes. Next, add in half of the crushed candy canes and fold them well into the cookie dough.

Portion about 1 tablespoon of the dough (I used a small ice-cream type scoop to get even amounts of dough for each cookie.) Set the mounds onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving a good 2 inches of space between each. Next, dip a fork into a small bowl of confectioner’s sugar. This will keep the dough from sticking to the fork. Use the fork to push down onto the ball to flatten the ball to 1/2 inch or so. Top the cookies with a generous sprinkling of the remaining crushed candy canes.

Bake for 18 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling.

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.

STORING AND FREEZING

These cookies will last in the freezer for three months. Be sure you have a good container with a tight seal. Whenever I’m freezing cookies, 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!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!