Christmas Cane Cookies

A festive and fun holiday cookie! This classic recipe involves twisting red and white almond-vanilla butter cookie dough together to create an adorable candy cane shape, finished with a sprinkle of crushed peppermint.

Author

Unknown

---

Recipe

Measurements	Ingredients
1 Cup (2 sticks)	Butter or Regular Margarine, softened
1 Cup	Sifted Confectioners’ Sugar
1	Egg
1 ½ Teaspoons	Vanilla Extract
½ Teaspoon	Almond Extract
2 ½ Cups	Sifted Flour
½ Teaspoon	Salt
½ Teaspoon	Red Food Coloring
For Topping:
¼ Cup	Crushed Red & White Peppermint Candy
¼ Cup	Sugar (Granulated)

---

Instructions

1. Make the Dough: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and confectioners’ sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sifted flour and salt. Gradually add this to the creamed mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined.
3. Divide the dough in half. Blend the red food coloring into one half, leaving the other half plain. Chill both halves for about 30 minutes if the dough is very soft.
4. Shape the Canes: Preheat your oven to 375°F.
5. Working with one cookie at a time, take 1 teaspoon of plain dough and roll it into a 4-inch-long strip. Do the same with 1 teaspoon of the red dough.
6. Lay the two strips side by side, press them together lightly, and twist them to form a spiral rope.
7. Place the twisted rope on an ungreased baking sheet and curve one end down to form a cane shape. Repeat with the remaining dough, placing the canes about 1 inch apart.
8. Bake and Finish: Bake for about 10 minutes, or until lightly golden.
9. While the cookies are baking, combine the crushed peppermint candy and the ¼ cup of granulated sugar in a small bowl.
10. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, sprinkle the candy-sugar mixture over the hot cookies.
11. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a minute before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

---