Recipe: "Candy Cane Cookies"
Dec. 1st, 2023 10:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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recipecommunity"Candy Cane Cookies"
Ingredients:
6 miniature candy canes (about 1/4 cup crushed)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch of sea salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Unwrap the candy canes and put them in a ziplock bag, then seal it shut. Crush with a heavy rolling pin or mallet. Set aside.
Cut 1 stick of butter into chunks and put them in a Pyrex cup. Microwave in 30-second bursts until just melted. It's okay if there are a few solid bits left.
In a large mixing bowl, pour 1 cup of white sugar. Add the melted butter and mix with a spoon until smooth. Mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Crack one egg into a small bowl and scramble it with a fork. Pour the egg into the batter and stir until fully combined.
In a separate mixing bowl, put 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 pinch of sea salt. Fluff together with a whisk. Stir in 1/4 cup of crushed candy canes.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet batter and stir until just combined. Check the consistency. If it's not firm enough to form balls, then refrigerate briefly to stiffen it up.
Use a teaspoon for smaller cookies or a tablespoon for larger ones. Scoop up portions of dough and roll into balls. Place balls on the cookie sheet far apart because they will spread.
Bake for 9-11 minutes until the surface is dull rather than shiny and edges are just starting to set. They will be soft and raw-seeming in the middle. Be careful not to overbake these! Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet, then transfer to an airtight container.
Notes:
Peppermint is a great buffering herb. It's uplifting when you're tired, soothing when you're anxious, and good for settling stomach complaints. For most folks, it also has nostalgic holiday connotations.
I used miniature candy canes because that's what I had. About 3 regular or 1 giant candy cane should yield a similar 1/4 cup of finely crushed peppermint crumbs. If you want more texture, just stop crushing before it's all crumb-size, then sift out the bigger pieces -- about chocolate chip size is good. After you form the balls, dip the top side of each ball in the bigger pieces, then keep the crunchy end up when you put them on the cookie sheet to bake.
This base recipe should work with pretty much any hard candy that is essentially just a lump of flavored sugar -- wintergreen, cinnamon, clove, horehound, and lemon are other popular flavors. You may want to experiment with different extracts because vanilla may not go with all of them. Aromatic bitters should suit any spicy flavor.
Use the best butter you can find and afford. I like Kerrygold. As with shortbread, these cookies rely a lot on butter for flavor.
Because of the butter, the consistency of the dough depends on temperature. If it's too soft to work easily, put it in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to firm up, and store extra dough there while the first cookies are baking. This also helps keep the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
This is not a place to substitute whole-wheat or other dark flour. These cookies are meant to be light, to go with the peppermint flavor. However, if you're trying a darker flavor such as horehound or clove, then you might consider a dark flour.
Sea salt has more nutrients than table salt, but if you don't have any, then table salt will work fine.
If you want a cane shape rather than a round shape, you could probably get it by rolling out short ropes of dough and curling them on the cookie sheet. Then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to harden the dough before baking.
These cookies come out flat with a crispy edge and tender center. They have a creamy color with flecks of pink to red, for a cute confetti look. The flavor is light and buttery with a strong peppermint character -- they taste exactly like candy canes, just less crunchy.
Ingredients:
6 miniature candy canes (about 1/4 cup crushed)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch of sea salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Unwrap the candy canes and put them in a ziplock bag, then seal it shut. Crush with a heavy rolling pin or mallet. Set aside.
Cut 1 stick of butter into chunks and put them in a Pyrex cup. Microwave in 30-second bursts until just melted. It's okay if there are a few solid bits left.
In a large mixing bowl, pour 1 cup of white sugar. Add the melted butter and mix with a spoon until smooth. Mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Crack one egg into a small bowl and scramble it with a fork. Pour the egg into the batter and stir until fully combined.
In a separate mixing bowl, put 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 pinch of sea salt. Fluff together with a whisk. Stir in 1/4 cup of crushed candy canes.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet batter and stir until just combined. Check the consistency. If it's not firm enough to form balls, then refrigerate briefly to stiffen it up.
Use a teaspoon for smaller cookies or a tablespoon for larger ones. Scoop up portions of dough and roll into balls. Place balls on the cookie sheet far apart because they will spread.
Bake for 9-11 minutes until the surface is dull rather than shiny and edges are just starting to set. They will be soft and raw-seeming in the middle. Be careful not to overbake these! Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet, then transfer to an airtight container.
Notes:
Peppermint is a great buffering herb. It's uplifting when you're tired, soothing when you're anxious, and good for settling stomach complaints. For most folks, it also has nostalgic holiday connotations.
I used miniature candy canes because that's what I had. About 3 regular or 1 giant candy cane should yield a similar 1/4 cup of finely crushed peppermint crumbs. If you want more texture, just stop crushing before it's all crumb-size, then sift out the bigger pieces -- about chocolate chip size is good. After you form the balls, dip the top side of each ball in the bigger pieces, then keep the crunchy end up when you put them on the cookie sheet to bake.
This base recipe should work with pretty much any hard candy that is essentially just a lump of flavored sugar -- wintergreen, cinnamon, clove, horehound, and lemon are other popular flavors. You may want to experiment with different extracts because vanilla may not go with all of them. Aromatic bitters should suit any spicy flavor.
Use the best butter you can find and afford. I like Kerrygold. As with shortbread, these cookies rely a lot on butter for flavor.
Because of the butter, the consistency of the dough depends on temperature. If it's too soft to work easily, put it in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to firm up, and store extra dough there while the first cookies are baking. This also helps keep the cookies from spreading too much in the oven.
This is not a place to substitute whole-wheat or other dark flour. These cookies are meant to be light, to go with the peppermint flavor. However, if you're trying a darker flavor such as horehound or clove, then you might consider a dark flour.
Sea salt has more nutrients than table salt, but if you don't have any, then table salt will work fine.
If you want a cane shape rather than a round shape, you could probably get it by rolling out short ropes of dough and curling them on the cookie sheet. Then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to harden the dough before baking.
These cookies come out flat with a crispy edge and tender center. They have a creamy color with flecks of pink to red, for a cute confetti look. The flavor is light and buttery with a strong peppermint character -- they taste exactly like candy canes, just less crunchy.
