adapted from fabulousfoods.com
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Ingredients
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
4-8 drops red food coloring
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy canes
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
- Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Mix until well-combined, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer halfway through to scrap down the bowl.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until the dough starts to come together, about 30 seconds.
- Remove about half of the dough. Add the red food coloring and crushed peppermint sticks to the dough still in the bowl. Mix on low until the color is even and the candy is incorporated.
- To make the candy cane cookies, use an even amount of the plain white dough and the pink/candy dough. For smaller cookies, use 1 teaspoon of each kind of dough. For larger cookies, use 2 teaspoons of each kind of dough. To make each cookie, roll the white dough into a rope, at least 4″ long, and the pink/candy dough into a rope of the same length. Twist the ropes around each other and curve the end to make a cane. Place the cookies on the prepared cookie sheets, about 1 1/2 inches apart.
- Bake until the bottoms just start to brown, about 8 minutes for smaller cookies and 10 minutes for larger cookies. Cool on the sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.