Candy Cane Cookies are a nostalgic Christmas cookie recipe in the shape of the ultimate hallmark of the holiday season: a candy cane! Whether you're baking with the kids, prepping for a cookie exchange or getting a plate ready for Santa, Candy Cane Cookies are a charming and memorable addition to your holiday baking.
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⭐ Why Melinda Loves Candy Cane Cookies
These are a holiday tradition in my house and have been for decades! My (grown) kids still ask for them every year. Added bonus, just like my No Chill Sugar Cookie recipe, there's no need to chill the dough!
The classic Christmas cookie recipe comes straight from the "crinkled" pages of a well-loved Betty Crocker Cookbook from the 1970s.
Almond and vanilla extract combine to give these shortbread-like, almond holiday cookies their signature flavor.
Note: Some of the links in this recipe post are Amazon affiliate links, which means I make a small commission from Amazon if you link to and purchase the item. The affiliate process never affects your cost and I only link to products that I use and highly recommend.
🥣 Ingredients to Have on Hand
Flour: Regular all-purpose flour is all you need. No sifting or anything special required. Whether baking Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies or making a special Homemade Brownie Mix as a gift, the holidays are a great time to have plenty of flour on hand.
Butter and Shortening: This is the perfect combo to create the delicious buttery flavor in each cookie, but also a soft texture. The shortening helps each cookie hold its shape and not be crumbly as you are handling the dough.
Powdered Sugar: This helps create a tender and somewhat dense cookie dough. It bakes tender and sweet! It also makes the most delicious Homemade Buttercream Frosting.
Vanilla & Almond Extract: It's not often that we combine both of these flavorings in one recipe, but in this Christmas cookie, it works! The vanilla combines with the buttery flavor of the dough and the almond gives it a distinctive holiday taste.
(Affiliate Link) Red Food Coloring: Red is the iconic and most recognized candy cane color, but you could use any food color and still have a whimsical and festive holiday cookie.
Scroll to the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
👩🏻🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Combine powdered sugar, butter, shortening, egg and both flavoring extracts into a bowl and blend well.
Step 2: Add the flour and salt and blend to create the cookie dough. It should be tender, but not too sticky.
⭐Pro Tip
Try to divide the dough as evenly as possible before adding the red food color. I've found that it helps to place all of the blended dough on a cutting board and slice it in half. A tape measure helps. Otherwise, it's easy to end up with too much or not enough of the red colored cookie dough.
Step 3: Divide the dough in half and add the food coloring to one half of the dough.
Step 4: Use teaspoons to remove a rounded teaspoon of dough from both the red and plain cookie dough.
Step 5: Roll each portion of dough into a small rope, between 4-5 inches long.
Step 6: Place the ropes side-by-side and squeeze them together.
Step 7: Gently twist each rope to create a swirled cane.
Step 8: Place the swirled cookie strips onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Step 9: Gently curve the top of each cookie to form a candy cane.
Step 10: Bake for 8-9 minutes then sprinkle a little granulated sugar on top of each cookie right out of the oven, while the cookie is hot.
⭐Pro Tip
Christmas Candy Cane Cookies are tender, especially when they are hot out of the oven. A flat, (affiliate link) metal spatula works well to ensure the cookies are moved without any breakage from the baking sheet to the cooling rack. The spatula is handy for all cookie baking, I also use it when I make Sour Cream Sugar Cookies.
💭 Recipe FAQs
If you prefer to make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate until you're ready to bake, bring the dough to room temperature first. Otherwise, the dough will be crumbly and hard to handle.
The butter and shortening combination is important for flavor and texture. While you can just use butter, I've found that including the shortening is ideal for the cookies to keep their shape while baking.
Powdered sugar has a different texture from granulated sugar, so ounce-for-ounce, the sweetness and consistency of the cookie dough would be off. I recommend using powdered sugar in the dough and a sprinkling of granulated sugar on top of the cookies after baking.
🍭Candy Cane Cookie Storage
These are the perfect cookies to bake ahead and freeze for easy holiday hosting. Whether you are prepping a day or two in advance or a month ahead, here's how to keep your cookies fresh:
Room Temperature: For the very best flavor and freshness, plan to serve and enjoy the cookies within the first 2 or 3 days, although they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature.
Freezer: Place the baked and cooled candy cane cookies between layers of wax paper in a freezer-safe container or freezer-storage bag for up to 2 months. Be careful handling the frozen cookies; they can break apart easily.
🍭 Substitutions
Replace the granulated sugar with crushed candy canes on top of the cookies after baking. This step is part of the original recipe in the Betty Crocker Cookbook published in 1975.
Have fun with different food colors to create a rainbow of candy canes! Green food color works great, but you could use blue, yellow or orange as well.
Make this recipe any time of year! Don't twist the handle and make candy sticks or a twisted sugar cookie instead of a candy cane.
🍽 More Dessert Recipes for Christmas
Candy Cane Cookies are a part of my holiday baking every year! But of course, it's never just one recipe that makes the holidays complete. Here are more sweet treats that I know you'll enjoy.
If you make Candy Cane Cookies I'd love to hear how they turned out. Please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and a comment below. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
Recipe
Melissa Jensen says
I completely forgot about those cute cookies. So nostalgic! I can't wait to make them and introduce them anew to my family. Thanks for posting these!
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
Thank you, Melissa! I hope your family enjoys candy cane cookies. 🙂
Madeline says
These are my favorite Christmas cookie tradition! Can't wait to make them again this year
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
(From Melinda) I have been making this recipe from a classic Betty Crocker cookbook for nearly 30 years! I hope your family enjoys this recipe as much as mine does.