The candy cane cookies are of American origin and are essential on the Christmas table. They are beautiful to look at and delicious to eat; they are very easy to make and fun. The original version has the shortcrust pastry flavored with peppermint essence but I think it’s a bit much, so I opted for lemon and vanilla. They are so beautiful that I absolutely must add them to my collection of Christmas cookies, they will add a special touch!
For the base, I used the fine shortcrust pastry, divided it in two, and colored one part with red gel food coloring. If you don’t want to use coloring, replace some flour with cocoa to make delicious Vanilla and Cocoa Candy Cane Cookies. In this case, you have to prepare two doughs, but they are really simple and done in no time.
There are many recipes for making Christmas candy canes; every family personalizes the dough and the way to twist them based on their tastes. I prefer the straight and uniform candy cane to the twisted one, as it’s more refined and delicate to me.
With the same dough, I also made pinwheel cookies, which are really beautiful and very simple, and I will explain how to make them in the procedure. Meanwhile, here are some gift ideas for the Christmas holidays:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 25 cookies
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Seasonality: Christmas
- Energy 248.08 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 28.26 (g) of which sugars 10.50 (g)
- Proteins 3.51 (g)
- Fat 13.85 (g) of which saturated 8.63 (g)of which unsaturated 5.07 (g)
- Fibers 0.57 (g)
- Sodium 81.28 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 50 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp egg yolks
- 1 tsp lemon zest (or peppermint essence)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp red food coloring (in gel)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Work Surface
- 1 Baking Sheet
Procedure
Put the flour in the stand mixer bowl, add the butter at 57°F and work the two ingredients until you get a sort of sand (many separate crumbs).
Add the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and lemon zest, mix everything, then add the egg yolks and start kneading until you get a compact dough.
Work it quickly to avoid heating the butter too much, divide the dough in two and add a teaspoon of red gel food coloring to half of the dough, incorporate it well, then form two lumps, wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in the fridge to rest for 1 hour.
After resting, take the dough and work it on the work surface or in the stand mixer for 1 minute; this operation will help achieve a homogeneous and plastic dough perfect for making your recipes.
There are multiple methods to form the candy canes; I opted for the simplest one but will try other methods and post step-by-step photos so you can choose the one you prefer.
Take two pieces of dough, one light and one red, of the same weight. Form two sticks about 1/4 inch thick, place them side by side, and twist them to form a rope. If you like, you can leave it like this, otherwise, roll it with your hands to form a smooth stick (as I did).
Cut the rope into pieces of about 4 inches and bend one end inward to create the hook and give it the candy cane shape.
Place the candy canes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and continue the same way with the remaining dough.
While the oven is heating, place the baking sheet in the fridge; chilling them before baking helps maintain a perfect shape.
Bake the candy canes in a preheated static oven at 320°F for about 10 minutes; the cooking time varies based on the thickness of the cookies. Mine are small and thin; they should not brown but remain light.
Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from the baking sheet.
Candy cane cookies are ready to enjoy!
Tips
Storage
You can store candy cane cookies for 1 week in a tin container.
******************************
For recipe tips contact me on FACEBOOK and if you like, follow me on INSTAGRAM
Send me your photos, I will gladly publish them on my social media
