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These Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies are the ultimate Christmas treat. Peppermint flavored sugar cookies twisted into the cutest candy cane shapes, finished with a festive sparkle of sugar. They take a little more effort than your average cookie, but trust me, the payoff is worth every minute.
I’ve made these cookies so many times over the years, and every batch brings the same feeling of pride (and a tiny bit of perfectionist madness) as the one before it. They are crisp on the edges, soft in the center, full of peppermint flavor, and hands-down some of the best Christmas cookies you’ll ever bake.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love These Candy Cane Cookies
Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies are some of the best Christmas cookies I’ve ever made. They require a little more work than your typical roll and cut sugar cookie and are definitely not as easy to make as a quick five minute fudge, but I guarantee that these peppermint cookies will be loved by all.
- Festive and fun: Perfect for holiday parties or Christmas cookie trays.
- Incredible flavor: A blend of peppermint and vanilla gives the perfect holiday taste.
- Kid-friendly: Letting the kids help twist and shape the dough is part of the fun—even if it tests my control-freak tendencies.
- Worth the effort: These cookies are a labor of love, and they absolutely show it.
I may or may not weigh the dough to make sure the red and white halves are exactly the same. (Okay, I definitely do.) You don’t have to be that crazy, but if you are, you’re in good company.
Ingredients That Make Them So Good
- Butter: Softened and whipped until light and fluffy.
- Sugars: A mix of granulated and powdered sugar gives just the right tender texture.
- Extracts: Both peppermint and vanilla for that classic holiday flavor.
- Red food coloring: For that perfect candy cane stripe.
- Decorating sugar: Adds the perfect sparkle and crunch.
Exact quantities are listed below in the recipe card. Note: the recipe card allows you to easily scale the recipe and will automatically adjust the ingredient quantities.
How to Make Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies
Always refer to the recipe card below, but here’s a simple outline:
1. Make the Dough
Beat the butter until fluffy, then add the sugars and beat again until even lighter. Add egg yolks and flavorings, then slowly mix in the flour and salt.
Pro Tip: Don’t overmix. Once the flour disappears, you’re done.
2. Divide and Color
Split the dough into two equal parts. I like to weigh them to be precise. Tint half of the dough red, keeping the other half plain.
Wrap each portion and flatten into squares. Chill for at least 2 hours (or overnight if you’re planning ahead).
3. Roll, Stack, and Slice
Roll out both doughs into 9×9-inch squares. Stack, press together, and cut down the middle. Chill again to make slicing easier.
Cut thin strips, roll them into ropes while gently twisting, then shape into candy canes.
Roll each candy cane in coarse sugar for that signature sparkle.
Learn from me: Keep the dough cold while working. If it starts to get too soft, pop it back in the fridge. Chilled dough means cleaner shapes and less spreading in the oven.
4. Bake and Cool
Bake at 325°F just until the bottoms are slightly golden, about 13–15 minutes. Cool on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
5. Store Properly
These peppermint cookies will make everything around them smell like peppermint too—so store them separately from other cookies in an airtight container.
Tips for Success
- Keep the dough cold. If the dough warms up too much, your candy canes can lose their shape when baking.
- Use coarse decorating sugar. It sticks better and gives a gorgeous sparkle without melting during baking.
- Space cookies apart. They do spread a little, so give them breathing room on the baking sheet.
- Rotate your baking sheets. This helps get an even bake, especially if your oven tends to have hot spots.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since these require a bit more work that other cookie recipes, I tend to get a few more questions. Hopefully these will help.
Yes! Shape the candy canes, then freeze on a baking sheet before transferring to a freezer-safe container. Bake straight from frozen, adding a minute or two to the bake time.
This recipe is meant for hand-twisted candy canes, but you could absolutely roll the dough out and use a cutter if you prefer!
If the dough gets too warm before baking, the cookies will spread more. Always chill shaped cookies before baking for the best results.
Definitely. These cookies stay fresh for about a week in an airtight container, and you can freeze baked cookies too.
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Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (2 sticks)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 drops red food coloring
- 1/2 cup decorating sugar red, white, your choice but large crystals work best
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the 1 cup unsalted butter on high speed until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Scrape the sides, add the 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup powdered sugar and continue to beat until very light in color and fluffy, another 2-3 minutes. Scrape sides again and add the 2 large egg yolks, 2 teaspoons peppermint extract, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, beat on low speed until well combined.
- With the mixer running on low speed, spoon in the flour and salt mixture until all of the dry ingredients have been added and fully combine. Do not over mix.
- At this point, remove half of the dough and place on a sheet of plastic wrap. If you're a perfectionist, you should have about 28 ounces total, so you'd want to take out about 14 ounces of the dough. Add 12 drops red food coloring to remaining dough in bowl and mix just until the color has evenly blended in. Add the red dough to a separate piece of plastic wrap.
- Shape both dough balls into a square that’s about 5-6 inches in length. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight (or longer if you’re making them ahead of time).
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat.
- Roll each dough to a 9×9 inch square, then stack them on one another and roll to seal them together. Cut the dough down the center and refrigerate both halves. After the dough has chilled a bit, after maybe 15 minutes, take out one of the halves and start cutting short strips that are about 1/4 inch thick. Roll each strip to lengthen and slightly twist at the same time. Roll in 1/2 cup decorating sugar sugar and then lay out on baking sheet in the shape of a candy cane. Refrigerate or freeze the baking sheet until the dough is cold again prior to baking (this will help prevent them from spreading while they bake).
- Bake until just slightly brown on the bottoms, 13 to 15 minutes. Rotate your baking sheet half way though if your oven doesn’t bake evenly. Remove from oven and allow to cool on sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Continue baking process with remaining dough, keeping it cool until ready to bake (otherwise your cookies expand too much).
- Store in airtight container and segregate from other cookies as the peppermint flavor will transfer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sadly, I’m a touchy feely and visual type…I’m not understanding exactly how to get to the striped effect! Is there a clip to watch or step by step pictures? I tried rolling two lengths into 5” lengths and twisting together, but, they sure weren’t like any candy cane I’ve ever seen! Please help!
Lynn
I’m sorry! I don’t have a video and all the photos I took were posted. Even if they didn’t look like a candy cane, I hope they still tasted good?
I am delighted to see this post! Many years ago now, I made these cookies. One of my sisters loved them. I estimated how much dough to color pink and how much to leave plain and how much to use for each cookie. As I recall, the cookies I made weren’t as neat and precise as yours. Someday I may make them again. Thank you for bringing back good memories to me.
My cookies always come out perfect. Just like the picture. You have to follow all the directions and refrigerate often but the extra time it takes to do this is worth the yumminess!
Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for the recipe. My family enjoyed them. I made them with Earth Balance vegan butter and vegan egg replacer. Rather than decorative sugar, I crushed candy canes in the food processor and pressed them into those crumbs before baking. Yum!
Love the idea of rolling each color out to a 9″ square etc. I use and old Betty Crocker recipe where you use a tsp. Of each color and roll each into a 4 ” rope then roll together and form candy cane shape. This will be So much easier.. I do not use peppermint extract. I buy the soft butter peppermints and chop up them into a powder and add to powdered sugar and roll canes in it and store in the canes in the left over powder. But I can’t wait to use your idea of rolling the dough into squares…
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My dough ended up being very crumbly too, so I just swirled the two dough colors together and made round cookies (not as cute as candy cane but still tasty). I also like to make a powdered sugar frosting to drizzle on top and add crushed candy cane pieces to the frosting. Super tasty!
YUM!!!