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Candy Cane Twists
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A Baker's Dozen of Christmas Cookies -- Day 13
If you're thinking of a family baking project for the holidays, here is a child-friendly cookie recipe to get you started.
One of my favorite things about the holidays has always been baking. As a kid I would spend hours in the kitchen with my mom shaping, decorating and taste-testing dozens of cookie recipes. The cookies themselves were delicious, but it was the bonding with my mom that gave me the most joy. These candy cane cookies were one of my favorites to make: They involve bright colors, rolling out long strands of dough and they were something I could handle on my own. Years later, candy cane cookies still top my list of holiday favorites and I credit them for helping turn me into the avid baker I am today.
-- Ashley Spotkill
Hands on time: 10 minutes Total time: 1 hour and 15 minutes Serves: Makes about 30
Ingredients:
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FOR THE DOUGH:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus 1/2 cup for dusting work surface
1 egg
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Red food coloring
Parchment paper
Optional: colored sugar, peppermint candies
FOR THE ICING:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, cream butter and 1 cup confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and extracts. Stir in flour and salt. Divide dough in half, adding about 8 drops of food coloring to half (you want a rich red color for the dough). Refrigerate both doughs for 20 minutes. When chilled, take a rounded teaspoon of one color of dough and roll into a 5-inch snake on a surface dusted lightly with confectioners' sugar. Repeat with the other color dough. When you have a strand of each, lay them side by side, pinch the top together slightly, gently twist one strand around the other and pinch the ends. Curl one end down to form a candy cane shape and transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate remaining dough while cookies are baking, then repeat process with remaining dough. The cooler the dough, the less it will spread in the oven. Bake each sheet for 12 to 15 minutes, watching to make sure the edges don't brown. Transfer parchment paper and cookies all at once to a wire rack to cool.
While the cookies cool, combine all icing ingredients until smooth. Add more milk or more sugar as needed to achieve a drizzling consistency. Use a fork to drizzle the icing over the top of each cookie. For extra flair, before icing sets, sprinkle with colored sugar or finely chopped peppermint candies.
In a large bowl and using an electric mixer, cream butter and 1 cup confectioners' sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and extracts. Stir in flour and salt. Divide dough in half, adding about 8 drops of food coloring to half (you want a rich red color for the dough). Refrigerate both doughs for 20 minutes. When chilled, take a rounded teaspoon of one color of dough and roll into a 5-inch snake on a surface dusted lightly with confectioners' sugar. Repeat with the other color dough. When you have a strand of each, lay them side by side, pinch the top together slightly, gently twist one strand around the other and pinch the ends. Curl one end down to form a candy cane shape and transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate remaining dough while cookies are baking, then repeat process with remaining dough. The cooler the dough, the less it will spread in the oven. Bake each sheet for 12 to 15 minutes, watching to make sure the edges don't brown. Transfer parchment paper and cookies all at once to a wire rack to cool.
While the cookies cool, combine all icing ingredients until smooth. Add more milk or more sugar as needed to achieve a drizzling consistency. Use a fork to drizzle the icing over the top of each cookie. For extra flair, before icing sets, sprinkle with colored sugar or finely chopped peppermint candies.
Notes:
Total time includes 20 minutes of chilling time.
Nutrition:
Per cookie: 143 calories (percent of calories from fat, 40), 1 gram protein, 20 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 6 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 24 milligrams cholesterol, 40 milligrams sodium.
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