Welcome to Day Two of my “Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies.”  Christmas cookies can turn around even the gloomiest of days and I am sad to report a dark cloud hanging over today’s baked goods.  No, I’m not referring to our foggy day, but rather the departure of a friend, our first snowman of the year.

It was discovered that Little Snowman had melted from natural causes during the night, leaving just his two arm sticks on the front steps and a damp spot of sadness.  Little Snowman joined our family shortly after Winter’s arrival and lived a long and healthy snowman life to the ripe old snowman age of 32 days.  He was an entertainer, who delighted friends, family, and our mail carrier, in advance of the arrival of his 12 snow brothers and sisters (and one snowdog).  Little Snowman was a happy soul, even after his baby carrot nose fell off and we suspect was devoured by a neighborhood rabbit.  Kicking his bad habit of smoking a corncob pipe, although he still experienced the second hand corncob pipe influence of his big brother, Little Snowman lived on to witness the legendary attack of the snowman vandals and is credited for being the voice that cried for help and scared away the group of unruly winter marauders.  Little Snowman is survived by the 12 members of his snowfamily and was preceded in melting by his snowdog.  In lieu of flowers, individuals are asked to order a Blizzard ice cream treat in his memory.

Goodbye to our dear Little Snowman

Well, all that being said, time to turn that frown upside down with some Candy Cane Cookies!

Here is our Santa cookie jar cradling one of the freshly baked Candy Cane Cookies.  Never mind the unsightly electric outlet in the background, although it does lend some scale.

CANDY CANE COOKIES

“These delightful Christmas cookie favorites always graced my Grandma Franck’s Christmas cookie tray.  This year to mix things up, I tried a new recipe, which varies slightly from my grandmother’s, but still brings home all the nostalgia that you need from this cookie delight.  Enjoy.”

1 cup Butter

1 cup Powdered Sugar (my grandmother’s recipe called for regular sugar)

1 Egg

½ teaspoon Peppermint Extract (it could probably use a full teaspoon to add a little more flavor)

2½ cups Flour

Dash of Salt

10 drops Red Food Coloring (I prefer the liquid kind used to dye Easter eggs, rather than the gel)

¼ cup Peppermint Candies, crushed

 

Cream the butter and powdered sugar.

Mix in egg and peppermint extract.

Mix in flour and salt.

Divide the dough in half.

Color half the dough red by incorporating the food coloring.  I made a bit of a mistake on this step earlier today, when I made a hole in the dough with my finger and inserted the food coloring.  I then went to knead the dough some and incorporate the food coloring.  Unfortunately, I did not first close the hole containing the food coloring and SPEW!  The food coloring shot into the air and mostly landed on the back of my right hand.  Needless to say, I am typing this post with newly formed pink splotches across the back of my right hand.  Oh well, sacrifice for the greater good.

Incorporate the ¼ cup of crushed peppermint into the two balls of dough (about 1/8 cup into each ball of dough).

Chill the two sets of dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Make one inch balls of dough (one from each color of dough) and roll them out to 6-7 inch long ropes.  You could go shorter, but I prefer the big candy cane cookies.  Go big or go home, as they say in the world of competitive cookie baking.  They don’t actually say this, but it sounds good here.  In fact, I was once marked down by a judge for having too big of a cookie within an entry.  They said, “These cookies are too big for a cookie jar.”  Humph, not that I am bitter or have yet to get over it or anything.  Oh well, I say in this instance, go big or go home.

Put the two ropes of dough side-by-side and twist them around each other.  Then curve them slightly to make the “J” appearance of a candy cane.

Bake for 11 minutes or until the bottom edges of the cookies appear to have slightly browned.

 

Makes about 17 cookies.

Revised Source:  “Candy Cane Twists” from Better Homes and Gardens “The Ultimate Cookie Book.”