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As a kid, one of the most memorable parts of Christmas was baking cookies with my mom. My sister and I would gather in the kitchen for what seemed like hours — making some of our favorite cookies. From holiday cutouts, to snowball cookies (my dads personal favorite), to thumbprints, and then candy cane cookies — it just seemed to make the holidays magical. I am trying to keep up the holiday magic with my own family by creating the same traditions. And one of those traditions is making this delicious candy cane cookies recipe!
Candy Canes and Nostalgia
My mom has always been an excellent baker. And, for as far back as I can remember, baking has always been an important way for us to bond. Unlike myself as a parent, my mom didn’t shy away from having us kids in her kitchen. She invited the chaos! I, on the other hand, am a bit nervous about letting my kids in the kitchen with me. It’s just so… messy!
But what better time to learn to embrace the chaos than this year, am I right? So I’ve invited my kids to take a step back into my childhood with these candy cane cookies!
What you’ll need to make this Candy Cane Cookies Recipe
- 1 Cup of Butter (softened)
- 1 Cup and 2 Tablespoons of Granulated Sugar
- ¼ Cup of Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
- 1 Egg
- 2 ½ Cups of All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon of Peppermint Extract
- 1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon of Salt
- Red Gel Food Coloring
- 2 Tablespoons of Crushed Candy Canes (2 Candy Canes)
The recipe itself is super easy. Just be sure to reserve the 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar for the second part of the recipe, and you’re good to go!
Here’s how to make this Candy Cane Cookies Recipe
Candy Cane Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 Cup of Butter (softened)
- 1 Cup of Granulated Sugar
- ¼ Cup of Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon of Peppermint Extract
- 1 Egg
- 2 ½ Cups of All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon of Salt
- Red Gel Food Coloring
- 2 Tablespoons of Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons of Crushed Candy Canes (2 Candy Canes)
Instructions
With an electric mixer cream together butter and sugar, add in the egg, vanilla, and peppermint and mix until well incorporated.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and powdered sugar.
Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and mix until well incorporated.
Remove the dough and form it into ball or log and cut it in 2 equal halves.
Add red gel food coloring to one half and gently knead it to mix the color in. Add more if needed to achieve a nice deep red.
Wrap each dough color in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.
To make the cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl mix together 2 Tbsp. of sugar and crushed candy cane, set aside.
Scoop out a teaspoon of each color dough.
Roll the dough into 5 inch long ropes.
Twist the ropes together and shape into a candy cane shape and place onto a cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately sprinkle with the candy cane and sugar mixture, allow to cool on cookie sheet for about 3 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cool and ENJOY!
Notes
Between batches of baking, scrape the excess sugar/candy cane off the cookie sheet so that it doesn’t melt.
Store cookies in an airtight container.
Tell me — what’s your favorite family baking tradition?
PIN FOR LATER
These not only look pretty but they sound delicious even for adults. haha I can’t wait to try this recipe!
I love nostalgia and these candy cane cookies remind me of something similar I used to bake with my mom around Christmastime. These are so cute!
Oh my! These are the cutest cookies I’ve ever seen! And such fun for the little ones.
What a yummy idea! It looks fun to make and a really tasty treat!
So cute. I can’t believe it’s a cookie.
This looks like it would be a really great recipe to try out myself at home! Thanks so much for sharing.
Oh my goodness, these are so cute! I’m totally doing these with the kids next week!
I can’t wait to make these with my boys! It’s going to be so fun!
These are so cute! One of my coworkers made these for everyone last year at our cookie exchange, they were delicious!
These kid-friendly candy cane cookies look so easy and fun to make! My son will love this!
It looks so yummy and such small cookies. I will definitely try in the holidays.
These look amazing! Can’t wait to make them!