Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Christmas, North American

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 8

Chill Time: 3

Total Time: 3 28

Servings: cookies

Calories: 215kcal

Author: Lord Byron's Kitchen

Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies are colourful, festive, and delicious! Half of the buttery cookie dough is tinted with food colouring, twisted and formed into a classic candy cane shape. Brushed with egg and topped with sanding sugar, these cookies are light and crisp and perfect for the holidays! Just picture these on your Christmas cookie platters!

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Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (if you use salted butter, do not add the extra salt here)
1 large egg, room temperature
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon liquid red food colouring
1 large egg white, room temperature
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons white sanding sugar

Instructions

Measure the butter, sugar, peppermint extract, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl or into the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat the ingredients together until a paste forms. You will know it’s done when the dough clings to the side of the bowl.
Next, beat in one large egg.
Add the flour and beat until just combined.
Divide the dough in half. Leave one half in the bowl and form a disk with the other half, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it.
To the half in the bowl, add the red food colouring. Carefully beat it into the dough until incorporated and the dough turns a bright red. Form a disk with this dough, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it as well. Refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours.
When you are ready to bake, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Whisk the egg white and water in a bowl and set aside. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove the dough from the fridge and unwrap.
Pinch off two tablespoons of dough from the white and two tablespoons from the red dough.
Roll each colour individually into a 8-9 inch log.
With one red and one white roll laying next to each other, twist them to form a spiral effect.
Place it onto the prepared baking sheet and bend the top half downward to create a hook or cane shape.
Repeat this action until you have prepared enough candy canes to fill the baking sheet, being sure to leave 2 inches of space between each one.
Whisk together the large egg white and water. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the canes lightly with the mixture.
Sprinkle over some of the sanding sugar.
Bake in your preheated oven for 8 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown.
Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
Once cool, stack in a cookie tin and keep at room temperature.

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