Make Candy Cane Shaped Cookies

Bake these unique candy cane cookies for Christmas. Excellent treat for a kid's party. Makes 4 dozen (48) cookies.

Ingredients

 * 1/2 cup of butter or margarine (softened)
 * 1/2 cup of shortening
 * 1 cup of confectioners' sugar
 * 1 egg
 * 1 1/2 teaspoons of almond extract
 * 1 teaspoon of vanilla or vanilla extract
 * 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
 * 1 teaspoon of salt
 * 1/2 teaspoon of red food coloring
 * 1/2 cup of crushed peppermint candy
 * 1/2 cup of granulated sugar

Steps

 * 1) Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
 * 2) Combine the confectioners' sugar, egg, butter, shortening, vanilla, and almond extract together in a bowl.
 * 3) Mix the flour and salt into the batter slowly. Blend and mix everything until you get a doughy combination.
 * 4) Divide the dough in half. Set one half on the side and mix the food coloring with the other half.
 * 5) Roll about a teaspoon or so dough into 4" ropes. Twist a rope from each half (colored and non-colored) together, like a 2-side braid.
 * 6) Place the completed dough twists onto a baking sheet. Give the cookies the final structure of the candy cane by curving the top portion down to get that cane handle form.
 * 7) Bake the cookies in the oven for 9 minutes or until light brown in color.
 * 8) Combine the granulated sugar and peppermint candy in a bowl.
 * 9) Drizzle and sprinkle the candy sugar onto the finished cookies just after they come out from the oven.
 * 10) Set the cookies to cool on a cooling rack.

Tips

 * You can also use 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract instead of both the vanilla and almond extracts. Using the peppermint candy at the end with this is optional, but it can also be taken out.

Things You'll Need

 * Bowl
 * Cutting board
 * Ungreased baking sheet

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Make a Candy Cane
 * How to Make a Candy Cane Martini
 * How to Make Giant Foam Candy Canes
 * How to Make Almond Biscotti Cookies

Sources and Citations

 * Source of Information