These Candy Cane Shortbread Cookies are comprised of a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookie base with real crushed candy cane inside and on top for just the right amount of peppermint flavor and crunch.
Course Dessert, Snacks
Cuisine American
Diet Vegetarian
Keyword 30 Minutes or Less, Easy, Holidays, One-Bowl, Recipes with Candy Cane, Shortbread Cookies, Winter
Crush 4 to 6 candy canes to yield 4 tablespoons of crushed candy cane bits and set aside.
4 tablespoons candy cane, finely crushed
In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on medium speed to combine softened butter and powdered sugar.
½ cup unsalted butter, softened, ½ cup powdered (confectioner's) sugar, tightly packed
Add the flour and salt and combine with your hand mixer on medium speed.
1 cup all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon salt
Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and combine with your hand mixer on low (see notes below for how to separate an egg).
1 large egg yolk, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Fold in 2 tablespoons of crushed candy cane, reserving the other two tablespoons for on top.
Use a large cookie scoop or wet hands to form your dough into 8 round cookies, dunking them in the remaining crushed candy cane to coat the top.
Place your cookie dough balls on a lined baking sheet or reusable mat, leaving at least an inch of space in between each cookie.
Place the cookie sheet with your cookie dough in the refrigerator to set for 2 hours and preheat your oven 325°F.
Bake for 14-16 minutes and allow to cool before enjoying. Some of the candy cane bits will melt. If you have some melted candy cane oozing off the sides of the cookies, use a spoon to press them back into the cookies while they're still hot.
Notes
* Separate your yolk from your egg by cracking your eggshell in half over a bowl and transferring the egg yolk back and forth between either half of the shell, allowing the egg white to fall into the bowl.
Cookie monsters are always happy at my house with this delicious selection of my best cookie recipes to choose from! Nom nom nom!