Candy Cane Shortbread Cookies
Candy cane shortbread cookies are soft and buttery, with a delicious peppermint flavor. This is an easy Christmas cookie that looks beautiful and tastes delicious.
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
- ¼ teaspoon liquid red food coloring
- ¾ cup Andes Peppermint crunch candies or (4.67-ounce box) finely chopped
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, beat together the unsalted butter and granulated sugar for 2 to 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. You will need to stop the mixer halfway through and scrape down the bowl and paddle attachment to ensure that you get a nice smooth mixture.
- Add the peppermint extract and liquid red food coloring to the beaten butter. Beat for an additional 30 seconds to fully incorporate the food color with the butter. You want your beaten butter to be uniform in color.
- Next, add half of the dry ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer and mix on medium-low just until the flour has been incorporated into the butter.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle attachment, add the remaining half of the dry ingredients, and mix again just until the flour has been incorporated.
- Lastly, add the finely chopped Andes Peppermint crunch candies and mix on medium speed for 30 to 45 seconds or just until the candies are fully incorporated, and the dough comes together in a rough ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Form your cookie dough into a log that measures approximately 12 inches long by 2 inches in diameter.
- Wrap your cookie dough log tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 6 hours or up to overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice your chilled dough into ½-inch thick slices. Place your sliced cookie dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes or just until the center is set and the edges are just barely starting to get a light golden brown. You do not want to overbake your cookies.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Make sure you are using peppermint extract and not one labeled as just mint. The mint extract tastes like spearmint (think chewing gum or toothpaste flavor).
The peppermint extract is the kind that tastes like candy canes making it perfect for this shortbread recipe.
You want your shortbread dough to be really cold before slicing and baking your cookies. This helps minimize the spreading of your cookies when they bake. You can chill your dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before baking them.
If your room temperature is on the warm side, then you will want to keep the remaining dough in the refrigerator between baked batches of cookies.
Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to keep a close eye on your cookies as the suggested baking time approaches.