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Baked cookies stacked on a white plate.
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Candy Cane Cookies

Recipe for classic Candy Cane Cookies. Recipe yields about 20 medium size candy cane cookies
1 serving: 2 cookies.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Chilling1 hour
Course: Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: candy cane cookies, classic candy cane cookies, peppermint candy cane cookies
Servings: 10 servings
Author: Hani

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

  • 1 cup room temperature unsalted butter (2 sticks,226 grams)
  • 3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar (175-200 grams)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp Peppermint extract
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 2½ cup all-purpose flour ( (375 grams)
  • 1/4 cup corn starch
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp red gel food coloring

Toppings

  • 1 egg white
  • 2 tbsp coarse sanding sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla sugar

Instructions

Cookie Dough

  • Into a mixing bowl sift all-purpose flour (2½ cups, 375 grams)), cornstarch (1/4 cup), baking powder (3/4 teaspoon), and salt (1/2 teaspoon).
    On medium-high speed, beat room temperature butter (1 cup, 226 grams) with granulated sugar (3/4 cup to 1 cup, 175 grams to 200 grams) until fluffy and pale in color, about 3-5 minutes.
    Beat in one whole large egg and mix for about 30 seconds. Then beat in peppermint extract (1 teaspoon) and vanilla extract (1 teaspoon).
    On low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture. Cookie dough is soft and somewhat sticky.

Color Cookie Dough

  • Divide cookie dough in half and color one half with red gel food coloring.
    With a 1½ tablespoon measure cookie scoop divide red and vanilla cookie dough into small cookie balls. Cover and chill until firm, about 1-2 hours.

Shape Candy Canes

  • Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
    Dust your work surface with a little bit of flour, don't use too much. Shape red and white pieces of dough into snakes about 6-8 inches long. Brush the inside of one of the snakes with a little bit of egg white wash. Gently press snakes together. Carefully twist two snakes together to create a classic candy cane pattern.
    Place the red-white snakes onto a baking sheet and shape each snake into a candy cane.

Bake

  • Lightly brush each cookie with a well-whisked egg white, don't pool it around the cookies. Generously sprinkle with coarse sanding sugar mixed with vanilla sugar. If you don't have vanilla sugar, skip it.
    Bake cookies in the preheated oven at 350F (180C) for 10-11 minutes until just lightly golden around the edges. Let cool before handling. Store in an airtight container.