Do you need a last minute holiday dessert idea? I made these Peppermint Sugar Cookies, that I found on one of our favorite blogs, Recipe Girl, for a holiday party I attended last weekend. It’s a very basic cookie dough that sits in the fridge for at least an hour and bakes for about 20 minutes. So it’s the perfect “toss in the oven while wrapping gifts because I do everything last minute” dessert! I think I’m actually going to whip up another batch before I head to my parents for Christmas Eve!
Here’s what you need:
• 2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 large egg whites
• ½ cup finely crushed hard peppermint candies or candy canes (about 5 regular sized candy canes). I broke the candy canes into smaller pieces then used a food processor to finely chop them. Depending on the intensity of peppermint you’d like, add more or less.
• additional powdered sugar for rolling
Here’s what you do:
• Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
• In a large bowl beat butter and powdered sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Incorporate the egg yolk and beat until well blended. Add egg whites and beat well. Slowly beat the dry ingredients into butter mixture. Stir in peppermint candies.
• Gather dough into a ball and wrap in plastic to chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Position rack in middle of oven. Line two large baking sheets with parchment.
• Form cookie dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in remaining powdered sugar and place on baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Using the tines of a fork, flatten each cookie, to create a crisscross pattern.
• The recipe says to bake until the cookies are golden on the bottom, for about 20 minutes and transfer cookies to racks to cool. I would have liked to have seen mine be a liiiiitle less crunchy so I’ll probably pull them out of the oven a few minutes before, although some people at the party said they were perfect the way they were… I think it’s just a personal preference.
These are a great wintry and festive holiday cookie with a nice touch of peppermint. For some reason when I was out with Sues looking for candy canes they had every flavor under the sun besides peppermint! Maybe I’m getting old, but I was never aware of all the varieties of candy canes! After some searching, I finally found the traditional peppermint candy canes at a different store. Moral of the story: read the packages. If Sues wasn’t with me to point it out, I would have ended up with fruity candy cane cookies… which could be interesting???
Happy, happy, happy holidays everyone… I can’t believe 2009 is already winding down!
[Chels]
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My neighbor told me the other day that when she made these they were done in 10 to 12 minutes so that 20 minute direction might be a mistype. I’ve changed the directions in the recipe to reflect that. Glad people still liked them. They’re cute, little cookies aren’t they? You know what else I was thinking is that chopped Candy Cane Kisses would also be delicious in these. The crunch that some people don’t like would not be there, and those Candy Cane Kisses are to die for! Someone else suggested putting a little peppermint extract in the dough too.
Adorable Chels. I have to admit I prefer the fruity candy canes (cherry) but I love the look of these cookies.
i got her cookbook too! yay!
These look so festive and perfect for the holidays!