Candy Cane Cookies

Get the whole family in the kitchen and make these adorable Candy Cane Cookies this holiday season! They’re fun to make, super cute and totally delicious!

Hi friends! I’m super excited because this week it’s…

First up? Candy Cane Cookies. Why? Because they’re flippin cute as can be, that’s why!

Okay, disclaimer: I almost didn’t post this recipe. I loved every second of making these with my kids. They really got into the process of it. They normally like to bake with me, especially cookies for some reason. But many times the excitement will fizzle out near the end and their interest is lost.

In this case, the cookie dough for these candy cane cookies feels a LOT like Play-doh. Almost the same texture and consistency (but obviously not the same taste, lol!). To make the cute red and white pattern, you have to roll two balls of dough, one red and one white, into what my 3-year old calls “snakes” and then twist them together. You can imagine how my little irish twins (3 and 4 years) got into this project!

But looking at the finished pictures, I ended up frustrated, thinking they weren’t as beautiful as other candy cane cookies I’ve seen online. I expressed my concern to my hubby who told me they looked great (of course). Then he told me to post them proudly because my boys had made them. Duh.

So I ditched the “perfect cookie” image in my head and here I am, posting them for Day 1 of Cookie Week! They may not be perfect, but they’re perfectly cute and made by my kids’ cute hands. 🙂 Cheesy, lol!

I know I always talk about how fast things get eaten up in my house, but these cookies went F-A-S-T. This recipe makes several dozen cookies and we happened to have a few friends over when they were finished baking. I hardly got to take pictures of them, they were eaten up so quickly!

I’ve mentioned before how I love making goodies for family/friends during the holiday season. These candy cane cookies are a Christmas staple on my cookie plates! My suggestion to you? Make it a family night tonight by getting the whole family together and baking up these cute candy cane cookies!

Candy Cane Cookies

Adorable Candy Cane Cookies the whole family will love to make!

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 9 minutes minutes

Total Time: 19 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 + dozen

Author: Jenn

Ingredients

• ▢ 1/2 cup softened butter
• ▢ 1/2 cup shortening or coconut oil
• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• ▢ 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
• ▢ 1 tsp. vanilla
• ▢ 2 1/2 cups flour
• ▢ 1 tsp. salt
• ▢ red food coloring
• ▢ granulated sugar for dusting on top

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375ºF.
• In a large mixing bowl, blend together butter, shortening or coconut oil, powdered sugar, egg, almond, peppermint and vanilla extracts.
• Blend in flour and salt.
• Divide dough in half, coloring half of the dough with red food coloring (I used a gel food coloring).
• Pinch off a dime sized piece of both colors. Roll each into a "snake" shape (aka long skinny roll) and then roll both pieces lightly together under your hand on a flat surface (colors will sort of combine).
• Lightly pinching ends, slowly twist one end forward and the other end backward to make it striped like a candy cane.
• Lift carefully to cookie sheet and form a hooked candy cane handle. Bake for about 9 minutes.
• When you pull the cookie sheet out of the oven, sprinkle sugar over the tops of each candy cane.
• Let cool on cookie sheet before carefully removing and placing on flat surface or cooling rack. Enjoy!

Notes

(recipe adapted from a family friend)

Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @JenNikolaus or tag #YummyHealthyEasy!

 Looking for some more great Holiday Cookies? Try these recipes too:

Ginger Crinkle Cookies

Red Velvet Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies