• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Savory Nothings logo

  • Recipe Index
    • Easy Dinner Recipes
      • Slow Cooker
      • One Pot Meals
      • Quick Meals
      • Instant Pot
    • Side Dishes
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
    • Small Meals
  • Dinner Ideas
  • 🌷Mother’s Day
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Dinner Ideas
  • Holidays & Occasions
  • About
  • Mother’s Day🌷
×
Home / Holiday Recipes / Christmas / Candy Cane Cookies

Candy Cane Cookies

1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
| 4 Comments |
5 from 3 votes
Jump to Recipe 12/15/19 | Updated: 01/16/24 | by Nora

In my house it isn’t Christmas if we haven’t yet made these Candy Cane Cookies! They are such a classic for the holiday season, and so fun to make.

pile of candy cane cookies

Is it really Christmas without candy cane cookies? I don’t think so, which is why they’re at the top of my holiday baking list each and every year. They use the exact same dough as my Christmas Pinwheel Cookies, so I usually make both at the same time.

I make mine like the very old fashioned recipes, namely without peppermint extract. I use almond, but please feel free to substitute peppermint extract if that’s what you prefer. I also prefer to sprinkle them with a mix of granulated and red decorating sugar because that’s how I’ve always made them, but I added the option of crushed peppermint candies to the instructions as well.

However you make these – they turn out delicious and are sure to spread some festive cheer!

black loaf pan lined with parchment paper and filled with candy cane cookies

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable recipe

Printable Recipe Card
plate with candy cane cookies surrounded by festive decor
Save Recipe Saved!

Candy Cane Cookies

In my house it isn't Christmas if we haven't yet made these Candy Cane Cookies! They are such a classic for the holiday season, and so fun to make.
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
5 from 3 votes
Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 40 minutes mins
Cook 10 minutes mins
Chilling 30 minutes mins
Total 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Servings 4 dozen
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract OR peppermint extract, if you prefer
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon red food coloring or less if you have a more concentrated food coloring (I used 1 teaspoon gel)

For Sprinkling (optional):

  • ½ cup (each) regular sugar and red decorating sugar (OR crushed peppermint candies) combined in a shallow dish

Instructions
 

Make cookie dough:

  • Cream wet ingredients: Place butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer until well combined. Add the egg and extracts, then beat until the egg is fully combined – do not mix any longer than necessary, or your cookies may turn out tough. It will look scraggly, but that's fine.
  • Add dry ingredients: Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, then gradually add to the butter mixture and mix on low until combined.
    sugar cookie dough in a mixing bowl with beaters
  • Color cookie dough: Tip out half of the cookie dough mix on your work surface and knead a few times until smooth. Set aside. Add the red food coloring to the remaining half of cookie dough in your mixing bowl and mix with your hand mixer on low speed until fully incorporated. Add more coloring as needed (I used about one teaspoon gel).
    red sugar cookie dough in a bowl

Shape Cookies:

  • Divide each color cookie dough into about 8 pieces and roll, one at a time, into long ropes on a lightly floured surface (do not use too much flour or your candy canes will end up looking unappealing; keep remaining dough under a clean tea towel to keep it from drying out). Cut the logs into 4-5 inch pieces.
    ropes of colored sugar cookie dough on a white marble surface
  • For each cookie set a red and a white rope of dough next to each other, then twist together.
    twisting a red and a white rope of cookie dough together
  • Place on lined baking sheets (set cookies 2 inches apart) and curve one end to form the handle of the candy cane.
    unbaked candy cane cookies on a lined cookie sheet
  • Chill the shaped cookies for 30 minutes. Proceed in the same manner until all candy canes are shaped.

Bake Cookies:

  • Heat oven to 375°F. Once hot, bake chilled cookies (one tray at a time!) for 8-10 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with the sugar or peppermint candy mixture (see notes). Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Ingredient Notes:

Extracts: If you want a very strong peppermint flavor, use 2 teaspoons peppermint extract. You can also use only vanilla extract in place of the almond.
Food coloring: I find gel colors work best when incorporating into a cookie dough. The drops can certainly work, too, but it’s a little more work to get the color distributed, which can result in overworked dough.
Sugar: I know many recipes use confectioner’s sugar, but I prefer using granulated sugar because it makes a dough that’s much easier to handle in my experience.

Baking Tips:

Dough consistency: Your dough should be quite soft and pliable. If it’s dry and cracking a lot during rolling, it’s likely that either your egg was a little smaller or you accidentally added a bit too much flour (which happens easily!). Add one or two tablespoons of milk, which should solve the problem. On the other hand, if your red dough is a bit too sticky due to the food coloring, knead in a few teaspoons more flour.
Chilling: I purposefully chill the cookies AFTER shaping them. a) it’s easier and neater to shape the cookies when the dough is warm (it breaks and cracks more easily when chilled), b) it takes a lot less time to chill and c) the dough and cookie sheets are thoroughly chilled when the cookies hit the oven (vs getting warmed up by hands etc) for best shape retention.
Sugar sprinkling: To make the sugar stick better, you can instead brush the cooled cookies with a thin powdered sugar glaze before sprinkling. I don’t do this because it slightly mutes the red, but I know many people who swear by it.

Freezing:

I actually don’t recommend freezing this recipe – the finished cookies are too delicate to be handled as much. And freezing the dough makes it a lot harder to work into the candy cane shapes once defrosted.
They do keep well in closed cookie tins at room temperature for 1-2 weeks though.
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Try these cookies next

  • peppermint brownie cookie leaning against a bottle of milk
    Peppermint Brownie Cookies
  • oreo ball with a bite taken out on top of other peppermint oreo balls
    No-Bake Peppermint Bark Oreo Balls
  • gingerbread man cookie on a platter
    The Perfect Soft Gingerbread Cookies
  • white plate with chocolate crinkle blossom cookies on a marble surface surrounded by festive elements
    Chocolate Crinkle Blossoms
  • overhead view of platter with snowball cookies
    Melt-in-Your-Mouth Pecan Snowball Cookies
  • overhead view of chocolate crinkle cookies
    Chewy Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

Reader Interactions

white plate with chocolate crinkle blossom cookies on a marble surface surrounded by festive elements

< Previous Post

piles of peanut butter blossom cookies on a plate in front of festive decor

Next Post >

5 from 3 votes (3 ratings without comment)

Add a Review or Ask a Question Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Made this recipe? Rate it:




Comments

  1. Rebecca R Daly says

    Dec 14, 2021

    In your instructions, you indicate to add egg, vanilla & cream……….there’s no mention of ‘cream’ in your list of ingredients…………did you mean to say almond extract??

    Reply
    • Nora says

      Dec 16, 2021

      Rebecca, the “cream” was meant to indicated creaming the ingredients together with the mixer. I realize this was too confusing, so I slightly altered the directions to be more clear. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, I really appreciate it!

      Reply
      • Rebecca Daly says

        Dec 16, 2021

        Thanks so much for your quick reply; appreciate. Just wanted to be sure.

        Reply
        • Nora says

          Dec 17, 2021

          Glad to be of help. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

          Reply

Primary Sidebar

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

welcome to

logo for the Savory Nothings brand

Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

More about me →

Mother's Day 🌸

  • slice of sausage spinach quiche being lifted from pan
    Sausage Spinach Quiche
  • maple syrup drizzling over slices of brioche French toast casserole
    Less Egg Brioche French Toast Casserole
  • sour cream blueberry muffins on counter with fresh blueberries
    Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins
  • sliced lemon bread on table
    Lemon Blueberry Bread

see all >

Popular

  • overhead close up view of fried chicken piece
    Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
  • overhead view of Italian meatballs and spaghetti on plate
    Easy Italian Meatballs
  • overhead close up view of beef stew in slow cooker
    Crock Pot Beef Stew
  • frontal view of shepherd's pie on white plate
    Homemade Shepherd’s Pie
  • overhead close up view of crock pot chicken tacos with toppings on wooden platter
    Southwestern Crockpot Chicken Tacos
  • overhead close up view of garlic parmesan oven fried chicken piece on black pan
    Garlic Parmesan Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
  • overhead view of three oven baked chicken breasts in white casserole dish
    Oven Baked Chicken Breast
  • overhead close up photo of chocolate chip baked oats
    TikTok Baked Oats: 6 Ways!

Trending on Pinterest

  • Balsamic Chicken Marinade
  • Swedish Meatballs
  • Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet
  • Instant Pot Pot Roast
  • Homemade Salisbury Steak
  • About
  • Contact

Footer

Footer

Follow Along





Recipes

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Sides
Dessert
Appetizers

Instant Pot
Slow Cooker
One Pot
Casseroles
Ground Beef
Chicken

Featured On

different logos of publications Savory Nothings' content has been featured on

↑ back to top

About | Contact | Work with Us

Copyright Savory Nothings © 2025

Made with lots of love and spices ♥︎
PRIVACY POLICY | ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT |
As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Yummly
  • Mix

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




Thank you for taking the time to review this recipe. I appreciate it! Your eMail will not be shared with anyone.

Let us know what you thought of this recipe:

This worked exactly as written, thanks!
My family loved this!
Thank you for sharing this recipe

Or write in your own words:

A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.