Wednesday, December 3, 2008

It's December! Candy Cane Cookies

Can you believe it's December? Santa came early this year, meaning my grandparents just came to town bearing gifts! It was so cute, the two of them walking up with their arms full of gifts to go under our little tree. Aren't we spoiled?! Anyway, today I made this fabulous holiday cookie for a church event. I love signing up to bring goodies to events because it gives me an excuse to make them! And this is a holiday tradition in my family, so December just wouldn't be compete without it. Straight from my good friend Betty Crocker, here it is...

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
1/2 cup sugar (to sprinkle the cookies with)

Mix the first six ingredients, and stir in the flour and salt. (Dough will be thick, like sugar cookie dough.) Divide the dough in half, and add the red food coloring to one half. Roll out four-inch strands of each color, and twist together a red and white strand to form candy canes. Sprinkle with sugar (and crushed peppermints if you have them), and bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 8-10 minutes.

**If the tops turn golden, that's fine, but my preference is to take them out once they're cooked but not yet golden. So keep a close eye on them to cook them to your preference.

Hope you and your family enjoy these festive treats!

2 comments:

Jocie said...

Aww! Yours look so cute! I made those and they turned into red and yellow blobs that were wider at one end. Oh well. They were still yummy.

Erica Layne | Let Why Lead said...

Hi Jocie! Thanks for the comment. I've gotta give the credit to my mom. We've been making these as a family for so many years that I've seen her make perfect ones hundreds of times. :)