Holiday baking is upon us, and I have spent all of today prepping cookie dough and freezing it for baking days next week. This was somewhat grueling, and I took a mini nap after I was done! My husband helped and by 2:30 this afternoon, I had 8 flavors prepped and wrapped up. As much work as it is, I love piling up cookie tins and trays high with a variety of flavors for our friends and neighbors. My daughter and I bundle up with a cookie plate in hand and go surprise neighbors. To me, this is what the season is all about. I have many favorites for my holiday cookies, but this one I love for its festive nature. It just screams “Happy Holidays!” with it’s red and white swirls and crushed candy cane bits. It adds such a nice holiday color to the array of yummies. There are quite a few recipes like this out there, but I wanted to share my recipe variation with you. Hope you enjoy holiday baking as much as I do! (And I do recommend a power nap with Holiday Inn playing on the TV when you’re done.)
Peppermint Candy Cane Twirl Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. peppermint extract
5-8 drops red food coloring
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy canes (about 4-5 canes)
red or pink decorative sugar (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375˚. Crush the candy canes by running them through a processor or placing them in a plastic bag and hitting them with a rolling pin until finely crushed. Set them aside.
In a small bowl, mix the flour with the baking soda.
In a large mixing bowl, whip the butter. Then add the sugar and whip until creamy and fluffy. Add the egg and whip until light and fluffy. Next, add the milk, vanilla, and salt. Turn the mixer on low, and gently mix in the dry ingredients until combined.
Separate the dough in half evenly, and place one half in another bowl. In one half, add the peppermint extract and red food coloring. Mix well until everything is combined evenly. In the other half, add the crushed candy cane bits, mixing until well combined.
Roll the red dough with a light dusting of flour to about 12 x 6 or so on lightly floured plastic wrap. Do the same with the candy cane half. Flip the candy cane dough on top of the red dough, matching edges as well as possible. Using the long side, begin rolling the dough into a tight log. Cut in half. Wrap each log in saran wrap, and roll each back and forth until they are even in thickness. Chill for a few hours, or freeze.
Let the dough sit at room temp for 5 or so minutes before slicing. Feel free to roll the log in some red or pink-colored sugar for garnish before cutting. Using a serrated knife, slice off pinwheels, about 1/8 inch thick. Rotate the log around as you cut so things stay circular. Place pinwheels on a cookie sheet a couple of inches apart. Bake until lightly golden on the edges, about 8-10 minutes. Remove cookies while still warm and transfer them to cool on a wire rack.
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