Nells Tips and Trends

December 2nd is my sister’s birthday. So I want to dedicate the Christmas cookie today to her. My sister is an Angel. She had two children, a boy and a girl who she raised for the most part on her own as a single Mom. She is now a Grandmother, raising not two, but four of her grandchildren. Again as a single GrandMom raising the kids on her own. So I am dedicating this Christmas cookie recipe to her on her birthday. I love and admire you, little sister. This Candy Cane Cookies recipe will be fun for you and the kids to make.

Candy cane cookies are twists of red and white cookie dough flavored with peppermint extract. They’re such a fun Christmas cookie recipe to make for the holidays and bring back so many fun memories of making these with my girls laughing at the funny twists they made. Some looked like CandyCanes others not so much.

What you need

• 2 sticks (227g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup (200g) sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 2 3/4 cup (385g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon liquid red food coloring

To finish

• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons sparkling sugar

Next: Make The Cookie Dough

Place the butter, sugar, peppermint, vanilla, baking powder, and salt in the bowl. If you have a stand mixer that is great and makes mixing easier, if not you can mix by hand.

Beat until the dough forms a paste and clings to the side of the bowl.

Scrape down the side of the bowl and beat in the egg until it is absorbed.

Add the flour and beat until just combined and no more dry streaks of flour remain.

Color half the dough:

Divide and remove half the dough from the bowl.

Carefully add the red food coloring to the remaining dough.

Mix on low until the color is evenly distributed.

Chill the dough:

Pat each piece of dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Shape the cookies;

The chilled dough should be firm, but still easy to shape.

If not, let it warm for just a few minutes until malleable.

Don’t let it warm too much or it will be too soft to work with.

Pinch off a 1-inch round piece of the white dough and roll it out to a 5-inch rope.

Do the same with a piece of the red dough (make sure the ropes are the same length).

Place the ropes next to each other and twist them together.

Transfer to the baking sheet and curve the top of the dough into a candy cane shape.

Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart.

Top the cookies with sparkling sugar

Make an egg whitewash by beating the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water until foamy.

Brush the top of each cookie with the egg white wash and then sprinkle with the sugar.

Bake the Candy Cane Cookies

Bake in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are just barely brown.

Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack.

These cookies will keep for a week or two in a sealed container at room temperature.

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