Peppermint Candy Cookies
Yummy peppermint candy cane cookies are filled with peppermint flavor. Each cookie has a hidden filling made with crushed candy canes and cream cheese. After baking the hot cookies are sprinkled with a little extra crushed candy cane to make a pretty cookie, just right for Christmas sharing. The original recipe calls for a drop of red food coloring added to the filling, but I think the color from the candy canes provides enough color so I have deleted the food coloring from the directions.
Recipe type: Dessert | Shaped Cookies
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Recipe Notes
Pan: Two Large Baking Sheets Pan Prep: Ungreased or Parchment Lined Oven Temp: 350° Yield: 3 Dozen Storage: Airtight Container, Room Temperature
Help: Cookie Hints and Tips
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Help: Cookie Hints and Tips
TheBakingPan Recommends: The BEST instant read thermometer I’ve used for cooking and baking; the ThermoWorks Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer is incredibly fast,
accurate, and well worth the investment. I use my Thermapen Thermometer for checking room temperature ingredients, tempering chocolate, baking bread, making pastry creams, sugar syrup, caramel, and candy, cooking meats and fish, and deep frying. Thermapen Thermometer available here.Ingredients
Dough:
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup pecans, finely chopped
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup confectioners' (powdered) sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Filling:
- ½ cup finely crushed candy canes (about 3 to 4 ½-ounce candy canes)
- ½ cup confectioners' (powdered) sugar
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon milk (preferably whole milk)
Tip: to crush candy canes, Place candy in a ziplock plastic bag, crush candy inside the bag by lightly pounding with the flat side of a large knife or rolling pin
Instructions
Dough:
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour and pecans; whisk together to mix. Set aside.
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and confectioners’ sugar; mix together until well combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula so the mixture blends evenly. Add vanilla extract; mix until thoroughly blended. Add flour mixture, mixing just until combined. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Baking sheets may be ungreased, lined with parchment paper, or lined with a non-stick baking mat.
Filling:
- In a small bowl, combine crushed candy canes and confectioners’ sugar. Reserve ¼ cup of this mixture for topping cookies.
- To remaining candy cane mixture, add cream cheese and milk; stir to thoroughly combine. Set aside.
- Reserve about ½ cup of the dough to cover the cookie filling. Shape remainder of dough into small balls, about 1” in diameter. Tip: A small ice cream scoop is ideal for making uniform-sized cookies.
- Use your index finger or a wooden spoon with a rounded handle to make a deep indentation with the tip of the handle in the center of each cookie ball. If the dough sticks dip the tip in flour before pressing.
- Fill center of cookie with ¼ teaspoon filling. Use a small bit of the reserved dough; flatten into a small disk and place over the filling to seal the hole, smooth and blend the edges. Gently reshape or reroll into a ball shape if necessary.
- Bake: Place filled balls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until the cookies are set but not browned. Remove from oven and leave cookies on baking sheet. Sprinkle the top of the hot cookies with a small amount of the reserved candy cane and confectioners’ sugar mixture. Let cookies cool on baking sheet 2 to 3 minutes, then remove cookies from baking sheets with a metal spatula and place on a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
Source: Naftalin, Rose, Grandma rose's Book of Sinfully Delicious Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Cheesecakes, Cake Rolls & Pastries, Random House, New York, 1975