Candy Cane Cookies

While doing my Christmas shopping I bought some candy canes. I had never seen them in the shops here before and I thought they would be lovely on the tree for my grand children. As is usual for me I bought too many but they looked so pretty and I was so delighted to find them on this side of the pond I couldn't resist. I was wandering around the blogs when I found a lovely recipe using candy canes made by Recipegirl She is in America and used little white chocolate morsels with white and pink stripes made by Hershey which we can't get here. They looked lovely and her pics are gorgeous. The correct name for them is peppermint bark Cookies but Rhyley called them Candy Cane Cookies so I stuck with that. They are lovely. Until now I didn't know these little sweets were peppermint flavoured. So easy to make and a perfect way to use up those candy canes you have still hanging on your Christmas tree. The other biscuits in the picture are Rocky Roads. The recipe for those can be found here. In this version I used Amaretti biscuits instead of tea biscuits and added a handful of dried cranberries.


Candy Cane Cookies



2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
6 ounces dark or milk chocolate, or a mix of the two, chopped (or use chocolate chips)
6-8 candy canes crumbled
2 ounces white chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 13×9x2-inch metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pan with long strip of 9-inch-wide parchment paper, leaving overhang on both short sides of pan.

2. Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla, then egg yolk. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on low speed just to blend.

3. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls into prepared baking pan, spacing evenly. Using moistened fingertips, press dough to form even layer over bottom of pan. Pierce dough all over with fork.

4. Bake cookie base until light golden brown and slightly puffed and edges begin to come away from sides of pan, about 30 minutes. Place pan on rack; immediately sprinkle the chopped chocolate over. Let stand until chocolate softens, about 3 minutes. Using small offset spatula, spread chocolate over top of cookie in thin even layer. Immediately sprinkle chopped candy cane kisses over (or candy canes).

5. Stir white chocolate in medium metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. If it’s too tough and thick to stir, add a tiny drizzle of vegetable oil or 1/2 tsp. of shortening to thin it out. Remove from over water. Using fork, drizzle white chocolate all over cookies. Chill until white chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.

6. Using paper overhang as aid, lift cookie from pan and transfer to work surface. Using large knife, cut cookie into irregular pieces.

Cooking Tips:
Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in refrigerator (or freezer) in airtight containers between layers of waxed paper or parchment paper. Can be stored in the freezer for several weeks.

Yield: About 36 pieces

My notes - I chopped the chocolate in the food processor and also the candy canes. Leave the candy cane crushing until the last minute as the crumbs go sticky and clump together making sprinkling a bit difficult.

With thanks to RecipeGirl for this.