Ok – we all know that there had to be some sort of cookie recipe coming. It’s Christmas after all! This year, I wasn’t really feeling like engaging in the full, drawn-out process of decorating sugar cookies (although that is fun!). Instead, I decided to make some easy peppermint candy cane sugar cookies. I made them a little fancy by dipping them in some melted white chocolate and sprinkling them with a bit of crushed candy canes. The perfect little treat for your Christmas week!
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An Easy Peppermint Candy Cane Sugar Cookie Recipe
Cookies really are the quintessential Christmas dessert. I try to make at least one batch of sugar cookies each year! I love when I have the spare time to create all of the fun frostings and decorate each one by hand. But this year, that just didn’t happen – sigh #2020. I ran so short on time somehow this year! So, as a compromise, I made these easy little peppermint candy cane sugar cookies. They don’t require any frosting and really, the hardest part is being patient enough to chill the dough for 30 minutes! You can always sneak a few bites while you wait, of course!
Tips for Making Peppermint Candy Cane Sugar Cookies
Sugar cookies are pretty simple – they only require a few pantry staple ingredients and don’t take very long to whip up! But like I said, the hardest part is waiting for the dough to chill. Don’t you just want to make them NOW?! So difficult to wait.
But chilling the dough, along with my other little tips below, will make all the difference between a cute, perfectly shaped peppermint candy cane sugar cookie and a melty, blob of a mess of a cookie. Like, do you really want to look at your sugar cookies and think “hmmm – is it a candy cane or abstract art?”. These tips will give you the best shaped, most flavorful cookies possible!
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before cutting out your shapes – This will help solidify the butter in the dough and will make it easier to cut out shapes using your cookie cutters. Plus, it will keep the cookies from spreading in the oven. They will hold their shape much better to make the prettiest peppermint candy cane sugar cookies possible!
- Roll your dough to 1/4 inch thick before chilling – I learned this the hard way. Unless you’re looking for a nice arm workout, don’t chill your dough AND THEN roll it out. No, no, no. It’s much easier to roll your dough out to the correct thickness while it is soft and then chill! You’ll just need to wrap your rolled out dough in plastic wrap and pop it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to 7 days before making your cookies!
- Work quickly when cutting out your cookies! This will ensure that the dough stays chilled. Again, this will help the cookies hold their shape better
Dipping these candy cane sugar cookies in white chocolate and crushed candy canes is totally optional – but totally worth it! It adds a little something extra and makes them so pretty if you are looking to gift these!
I hope that you enjoy making these fun little candy cane sugar cookies! They would be a great project to do if you are stuck at home and need something festive to do!
If you’re looking for another festive Christmas recipe to bake this season, check out my Dark Chocolate Peppermint Brownies, my Easy Gingerbread Blondies or my Festive Red Velvet Layer Cake with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting!
As always, be sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram if you make my recipe or use #bucketsofyum in your photos! I love to see what you are baking.
Peppermint Candy Cane Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 4½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1½ cups salted butter (room temperature)
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract (optional, but gives the cookies a nice flavor!)
- ½ cup crushed candy canes (plus more for decorating after you dip the cookies in white chocolate)
- 1 cup melted white chocolate (I like to use high quality bars of chocolate)
Instructions
- Whisk the flour and baking powder together in a large bowl.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until smooth (about 2½ minutes).
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract until fluffy (about 1 minute).
- Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, a quarter at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add in your crushed candy canes and mix until just combined. The dough will form a ball around the paddle attachment and feel soft, but not sticky.
- Remove dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll until it is ¼ inch thick. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes or up to 7 days.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove dough from the refrigerator and begin cutting our your candy canes using a cookie cutter. Arrange cookies on a baking sheet about ¾ inches apart.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack for 7-8 minutes until puffy. Remove cookies from the oven to cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- While cookies are cooling, roughly chop the white chocolate bars into chunks. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the white chocolate. Stir frequently and be sure to watch so that it doesn't burn.
- Dip the end of each cooled candy cane cookie in melted white chocolate and then either sprinkle crushed candy canes on top or roll the dipped cookie in the crushed candy canes in a shallow bowl or on a plate.
- Let the white chocolate on the cookies set (I like to let them rest on wax paper so they don't get stuck!). Enjoy!
Notes
- Wrapped cookie dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to a month
- Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
