These delicious Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies start with a buttery sugar cookie dough flavored with a subtle hint of peppermint. Swirled and shaped like festive red and white canes, they’ll make the perfect addition to your holiday season.
There are a lot of version of this classic Christmas cookie, but ours can be made with ease if you follow these step-by-step instructions. We’ve perfected this recipe so that you get the same-shaped cookies that don’t get too big.
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Candy Cane Cookie Recipe
These adorable cookies will bring a touch of holiday magic to your dessert table with a fun, twisty shape that makes them look just like classic peppermint candy canes. They taste just as good as they look, too. These cookies have a wonderful buttery flavor with the perfect hint of peppermint and warm vanilla.
They’re baked to perfection and sprinkled with sanding sugar and crushed candy canes, giving them a little shimmer that makes them look like they’ve been dusted with snow. While they may look complicated, these cookies are super easy to make, making them perfect for the kids to help with.
Add them to Christmas cookie trays this year with other delicious cookies like these colorful Lofthouse Christmas Cookies and these Oreo Penguin Cookies
Why We Love This Recipe
- Fun activity for kids – Kids will love rolling the ropes of cookie dough and shaping it. It’s like playing with Play-Doh.
- Delicious cookies – These cookies are truly delicious. They’re buttery, with a soft center and slightly crispy edges.
- Great for holiday gifts and parties – These cookies will stand out on any cookie tray. Their colorful twisted dough and candy cane shape look so festive for cookie exchanges or gift giving.
Special Equipment Needed
- stand or hand mixer
- ruler – a ruler is helpful to make sure the lengths of the ropes are consistent, thus making even-sized cookies
Ingredients for Candy Cane Cookies
For the Cookie Dough:
- Unsalted butter, softened – provides a rich and buttery flavor of the cookies
- Granulated sugar – adds classic sugar cookie sweetness to the dough
- Powdered sugar – brings a smoother texture to the cookie dough
- Vanilla extract – flavors the dough, but feel free to use almond extract instead
- Peppermint extract – This allows the cookies to not only look like candy canes but to have peppermint flavor too.
- Large egg – adds moisture and gives the dough structure.
- All-purpose flour – acts as the base ingredient for the cookie dough
- Baking powder – helps the cookies rise and gives them tender texture
- Teaspoon salt – balances out the sweetness
- Red food coloring – it’s very important to use gel coloring for the dough
For Decorating the Cookies:
- Sanding sugar – gives the baked cookies a little shimmer
- Crushed candy canes – you can also use crushed peppermint candies
Recommended Tools
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment
- Medium bowls
How to Make Candy Cane Christmas Cookies
Step One: Cream the Wet Ingredients
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar on medium speed until fully mixed.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract to the butter mixture. Mix until all the wet ingredients are fully incorporated.
Step Two: Whisk Dry Ingredients
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
Step Three: Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix well until a dough forms and all the dry ingredients are well mixed.
Step Four: Add the Red Color and Chill the Dough
- Divide the dough in half. Leave one half of the dough as it is and set it aside.
- Add a few drops of red gel food coloring to the other half and gently knead until the color is evenly distributed. Add more red gel food coloring as needed to achieve a vibrant red color.
- Wrap each dough color in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Step Five: Shape the Candy Canes
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of crushed candy cane. Set aside.
- Take a rounded teaspoon of dough from each color. Roll each piece into a rope, about 4 or 5 inches long.
- Wipe down the counter in between rolling out the red dough to prevent coloring the plain white cookie dough. Twist the red rope and white rope together, creating a swirl pattern.
- Shape the twisted dough into a hook shape and place it onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about an inch of space between cookies.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough. You should end up with about 40 cookies.
Tip: For best results, only roll out 3–4 ropes of each color at a time, twisting them while the dough is still pliable. If you roll out more than that at one time, the dough can become stiff and crack.
Step Six: Bake, Garnish and Serve
- Bake the cookies in batches for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are just lightly golden brown. I baked about 9 cookies at a time.
- Immediately sprinkle the warm cookies with the finely crushed candy cane and sugar mixture, then allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. If the mixture seems like it does not want to stick, you can brush the baked cookies with just a little bit of water first.
Tip: Alternatively, you can add the crushed candy cane mixture to the cookies before baking. It will melt slightly, but that’s okay too.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack or a clean towel to cool completely.
- Once cooled, enjoy your delicious candy cane sugar cookies.
Candy Cane Cookie Variations
- Chocolate swirl: You can use a chocolate rope in place of the white or red one. Add a chocolate twist by adding about 1/2 tablespoon of cocoa powder to half of the cookie dough. Swirl the chocolate rope with the other one and bake according to the directions.
- Candy cane crunch: Mix crushed candy canes directly into the cookie dough. This gives the cookies extra crunch.
- Chocolate dipped: For an extra special touch, after baking, dip one end of each cookie into melted white or dark chocolate and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
- Colorful dough: Add festive sprinkles to the white dough before forming into ropes.
- Shapes: We made these cookies into the shape of candy canes, but you can form them into a circle to resemble a holiday wreath.
How Do I Store These Cookies?
Store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Can I Freeze the Dough to Use Later?
Sure. Though I would recommend portioning it out and adding the coloring before freezing. When ready to bake, place the frozen dough in the fridge overnight until it has thawed enough to form.
How to Freeze Candy Cane Cookies?
- Cool and Arrange– After baking, let your cookies cool completely. Decide if you want to freeze the whole batch or individual cookies. For singles, place them on a baking sheet, ensuring they don’t touch. For batches, use airtight containers with parchment paper or plastic wrap layers.
- Optional Flash Freeze– To prevent sticking, consider a quick freeze. Lay cookies on a baking sheet in the freezer for 1-2 hours until firm.
- Airtight Storage– Transfer cookies to airtight containers or freezer bags. Remove excess air from bags to prevent freezer burn.
- Label and Date– Don’t forget to label with the freezing date for tracking.
- Freeze: Store in the freezer, away from strong odors.
- Thaw and Enjoy– When ready, thaw cookies for 15-30 minutes at room temperature. For a fresh-baked feel, reheat at 300° F for 5-10 minutes.
Why Do I Have to Use Gel Food Coloring?
Gel food coloring is more concentrated, giving the candy cane cookie dough a much more vibrant color without altering the consistency.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Christmas Wreath Cornflake Cookies
- Ooey Gooey Christmas Cookies
- Chewy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Pinwheel Sugar Cookies
- Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies
- Peanut Butter Balls
- Fruitcake Cookies
- Candy Cane Kiss Cookies
- Frosted Christmas Cookies
Peppermint Swirl Candy Cane Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 egg
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red gel food coloring important to use a gel coloring
- 2 Tablespoons sanding sugar
- 2 Tablespoons crushed candy canes
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar until fully mixed.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract to the butter mixture. Mix until all the wet ingredients are fully incorporated.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing well until a dough forms and all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Divide the dough in half. Leave one half as it is and set it aside. Add a few drops of red gel food coloring to the other half and gently knead until the color is evenly distributed. Add more red gel food coloring as needed to achieve a vibrant red color.
- Wrap each dough color in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- In a small bowl, mix together 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of crushed candy canes. Set aside.
- Take a rounded teaspoon of dough from each color. Roll each piece into a rope, about 4 or 5 inches long.
- Twist the red and white dough ropes together, creating a swirl pattern. Shape the twisted dough into a hook shape and place it onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving about an inch of space between cookies.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough, making 40 cookies in total.
- Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are just lightly golden.
- Immediately sprinkle the warm cookies with the candy cane and sugar mixture, then allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. (Reuse the excess sugar/candy cane mixture on new cookies as they come out of the oven.)
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack or clean towel to cool completely.
- Once cooled, enjoy your delicious Peppermint Swirl Cookies. Store them in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a week.
Notes
Nutrition
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