Candy Cane Twists
Day 9 of the 12 Days of Christmas Cookie Series
You know that kid who is attracted to sprinkles on everything? Sure you do. This is the same kid who always wants the rainbow ice cream or the insanely fluorescent colored marshmallow cereal. To them, it's really not about how these things taste. When you're a kid, it's about the idea of how it tastes.
Like a technicolor lip gloss flavored dream, where every day is a sugar coma induced trip through a Candyland inspired landscape.
I was that kid. In some ways I still am.
So it should come as no surprise that these Candy Cane Twists are my favorite cookie, resurrected from my childhood like the ghost of Christmas Past. They're a specific flavor combination that just works for me. A soft, velvety almond heavy cookie dough that gets a liberal injection of red food coloring and twisted with plain dough to become a candy cane vision of sugared bliss.
Still warm from the oven, they're sprinkled with a mixture of crushed candy canes and sugar that creates a fairy dust of holiday happiness.
These cookies are actually a rendition of a Betty Crocker original recipe for Candy Cane Cookies. My Mom made them and I picked up the recipe from her ancient cookbook several decades ago. But each year has refined my technique and preferences until I arrived at this version. Here are my notes on this holiday classic:
1. Use good quality almond extract. This dough is rich with almond flavor and it'll be worth it. I recommend Dr. Watkins or similar.
2. If this dough is sticky at all, add flour 1/4 cup at a time until it follows the beater around the bowl. You need a soft, somewhat firm dough to roll these properly. Remember when you made snakes with Playdoh as a kid? You want the same consistency and the same technique here.
3. I make these into long ropes and then cut them evenly into 1-2 inch lengths. You have to keep them fairly small (4 inches or less) if you're really adamant about them not falling into pieces. Or you can let the ruptures happen and singsong your best Bob Ross impression. No mistakes here- just happy little accidents. Irregular edges? Broken pieces? Charmingly rustic. Works for me.
These are almost a shortbread, but they stay malleable enough to be shaped and they don't require refrigeration. I can't explain it. It's like magic. Just accept it.
Once you've mixed up the dough, part of it will stay this pristine, golden color. The other is going get dipped in lots of Christmas cheer.
See how that works. So much red it's like the elevator doors opening in The Shining. Gah!
This is where you get to revisit kindergarten. Roll them like snakes. It's therapeutic. And twist, twist, twist.
Bake them a bit and roll them immediately in the candy cane dust like a benediction. All that heat from the oven will make the candy melt a bit and adhere to the cookie.
And that is exactly the kind of goodness you want sticking around.
And there you have it. A cookie after the heart of every kid. Colorful as a technicolor dream and sprinkled with confection.
Come back next week where we'll delve into the kitchen again, consuming sugar like it's nobody's business. Because it isn't.
This is just between you and me. And a whole lotta cookies.
Candy Cane Twists
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
red food coloring
2 tbs crushed candy canes
2 tbs granulated sugar
Directions:
Heat oven to 375 F.
Stir together candy/cane and granulated sugar; set aside.
Mix butter, powdered sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla thoroughly. Mix flour and salt and then stir into the wet mixture.
Divide dough in half and blend red food coloring into one half.
Roll a 8-inch strip from each color. For smooth, even strips, roll them back and forth on a lightly floured board. Place strips side by side, press lightly together and twist like rope. Place on ungreased baking sheet.
Bake 9 minutes, until lightly browned.
Immediately sprinkle candy cane/sugar mixture over cookies. Remove from cookie sheet to wire cooling rack.