Candy Cane Cookies II

Like most everyone, my Mother used to make these cookies, but do to time, she stoped. The recipe was lost for a period of time. I thought this was it, and made it and it well... was bad but the ggod news was that when I gave my Mother a cookie she spit it out and said I remember where I put the right recipe. here are the improvements..1 tsp of vanilla and pepermint extract (omit almond) 3 1/2 c flour 1/4 tsp of salt! now everything else is the same. I hope you find this correction, for these cookies are a Christams staple at our house now I have the right recipe.

Here's a tip for getting the crushed peppermint/sugar to stick to the cookies. Pour a little Karo light corn syrup into a microwave safe bowl, and put it in the microwave just long enough for it to become very runny, almost like water (maybe 20 seconds). Brush this onto the cookies (the silicone pastry brushes are great) and immediately sprinkle the topping on. I put the cookies on a wire rack with a sheet of waxed paper underneath. Let them dry completely before storing. You can do the sprinkling after the cookies cool, so that they're a little sturdier. BE CAREFUL with the hot Karo, it gets extremely hot very fast and could cause a very nasty burn. I adore these cookies and think they are well worth the trouble! I've made them for many years, my old recipe used half Crisco/half butter but is otherwise identical.

The only thing I do different is 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup Butter Flavor Crisco. I LOVE these cookies because there really are no rules. In this Green Bay Packers loving house, I tint the dough green and gold and make either cane shaped cookies or "G" shaped cookies. (Oh yeah: I never use the crushed candy canes / sugar topping, because it's such a pain in the butt, messy and it melts all over the cookie sheets and is impossible to get off...)

I've made Candy Cane Cookies since I learned the recipe in school, and I've never had a problem. this recipe is the one I use though. makes 3-4 dozen Pre-heat 375 F 1/2 c marg/butter 1/2 c shortening 1 c icing sugar 1 egg 1/2 tsp red food colouring 1 1/2 tsp almond extract 1 tsp vanilla 2 1/2 c flour 1 tsp salt (optional) I never use salt cream fats and sugar, add flavouring, beat in egg. add flour & salt. Divide dough in 2, add red food colour to one half. Shape 1 tsp dough from each ball into a 4" rope by rolling on counter with palm of hand. Place ropes of each colour side by side, and roll together slowly until they appear to blend, then twist slightly until they look like candy canes. Curve top of cane and gently put on a greased baking sheet. Bake Approx. 9 minutes or until set.

I suggest to refrigerate the dough and roll only small portion of it at the time, this will help in handling the dough and avoid the "melting". I find also usefull refrigerate the cookies 5/10 minutes before baking them, this help in keeping cookies shape

I also omitted the almond and replaced it with peppermint extract ... much better flavor. They are very time consuming and I was getting tired so I just made mine into 3" "peppermint sticks". They look very cute this way, much less fragile. I took white chocolate, melted it and just drizzled a bit across the candy canes and then sprinkled them with the crushed candy canes - very delicious, but too time consuming at the last minute!

These cookies were tasty. I changed the way the repipe said to form them though. Ours were slightly larger (not on purpose) and instead of making 1 strip in the shape of a candy cane, our candy canes were composed of 2 different color strips twisted together. To do this we simply left half of the dough in the bowl and used red food dye to color it red while leaving the other half of the dough white. We also ended up adding about a tablespoon or so more milk to the dough. Don't eat these cookies warm from the oven on the first day because we tried them and they weren't all that great. Instead, wait a day and they taste much less doughy.

Made some of the recommendations (i.e., 3 1/2 cups flour, ommitted almond extract). I pulverized the candy canes and mixed them in the dough. The canes need to be short - approx. 2 1/2 inches and a bit thicker. Put cookies on wax paper so they don't stick. Delicious!

These tasted very good. The only thing I'll do different next time is roll the dough skinnier. They puffed up pretty big. The almond extract gives it a great taste.

I don't know what I did wrong, but this recipe was horrible! The dough was VERY sticky and hard to work with, even after adding about 3 cups more flour and refrigerating it! Also, these had a horrible taste, very salty, even with the candy and sugar on top! Kids wouldn't touch them! I will keep looking for a candy cane recipe.

A hint for the crushed peppermint melting on the cookie sheet is to use parchment paper. All you do when you are done is throw it away. Clean up is a snap. I always put the peppermint as soon as them come out of the oven most of it melts to the cookie. If your pepperment pieces aren't staying you need to chop them smaller. I use an electric chopper works great. Hope this helps.

This is the same recipe I always use. I think it came from the old Betty Crocker cookbook. My mom always made these when I was a kid. I make them and my family loves them. I could never figure out why mine flatten? they never look like this picture. Its a good recipe, very tasty.

I used the reviewer's suggestion with less almond and more flour. Good cookie, basically like a shortbread sugar cookie (a little odd). I decided I'm going to try to dip the cookies into the sugar/peppermint mixture while warm. Sprinkling on top only made them stick to the very top, creating a weird looking row of sprinkles, and a mess underneath the cooling rack. My kids like them, but I think it's mostly cause they look like a candy cane.

This recipe was absolutly amazing i loved the kick the almond extract added however the dough broke many times and it was extremely frustrating and difficult to twine them together and make the candy cane shape so i made about 2 candy canes then gave up and settled for differant chrismas shapes, so i would do 1/2 cup of butter, and a 1/2 cup of butter flavored crisco that way it holds up better, other than this I LOVED the cookies and everyone was absolutly all over them. they were a big hit in my home.

Like some others, I use peppermint extract instead of almond. Also, I brush a little egg white on the cookies and then sprinkle the candy/sugar mixture on them. Works great and they are very tasty!

This is like a blast from the past and a taste of childhood! The key here is to make the cookie thin and delicate. Too thick and it just looks weird. Just be really careful when you take them off the tray to cool so they don't break, and also don't over bake them. If you pakage them use care!

These are good cookies, but I could not get them to wrap around each other like hey were supposed to. It is almost like there is to much flour in these, they are difficult to work with and they fall apart constantly. So I just made green shaped candy canes and red shaped candy canes.

I did not have good luck with this recipe, and I really wanted them to turn out. The dough was very difficult to work with, even after being stored in the freezer it became very sticky when handling. If I try this again, I will replace the almond extract with peppermint, and reduce the amount of salt in the recipe, it was too salty for my liking.

Made these tonight at work, first batch was ok following the recipe. However we did add sugar/candie in the dough and smothered them with the sugar/candie mix. We added red/green food coloring. Seperated the dough then mixed them together. Please see photo that I uploaded to see. They ended up turning out pretty good.

The cookies turned out a bit dry and bland, was not impressed

These are without doubt my favorite holiday cookie! I loved making them with my Mom just as much if not better than actually eating them! We revived that tradition last December & had a lot of fun! One tip comes to mind about any kind of cookie dough that you'll be rolling flat, making balls or making these candy cane cookies: Don't use plain old flour when working with dough...use at LEAST half confectioner's sugar. Keeps the dough from becoming too dry & the cookies won't be tough from over-working with extra flour being added in that way. And now, I'm off to start cracking peppermint candies...it's THAT time of year again! I love to bake! :)

I thought this recipe was great. I used peppermint extract and vanilla extract and sprinkled them with powdered sugar (I didn't want to bother crushing the peppermint candy this time!) They turned out so pretty!

These were very pretty but the cookies had almost no flavor at all. If I were to make them again I would change the recipe quite a bit to include peppermint extract and no almond extract. The candy does not stick to cookies so you have to use something to get it to stick like karo syrup or milk.

My all time favorite Christmas cookie! So fun to make and eat!

I love these! We didn't put candy on top, made them red & green so they looked like candy canes and added the 1/2 cup white sugar to the mix. I made them with my kids and we had a blast

needs an extra cup of flour to be thick enough and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and almond, otherwise its great! used it for my christmas cookie platters!

Great! My peppermint-loving 3-year-old son couldn't get enough of these during the holidays. The freeze well...actually it's the beginning of March, and I just gave my son the last one from the freezer today!

I found these cookies to taste fine but not great. They would have gotten a four based on taste alone but it took me a long time make them look cute so the only got a three. If you want cute cookies its worth the time but if you don't care about looks pick a different recipe that is faster and yummier.

Dough was hard to work with and the cookies tasted like play-doh.

They were a little dry. I like my cookies to be moist.

Not bad, just not amazing, either. I used peppermint instead of almond extract, and recommend 1/4tsp salt, not 1 tsp. Also, perhaps would try 3 1/2 C flour isntead of 2 1/2C. Oh, and butter needs to be softened. :)

The biggest pain in the bum to make. It is very bland and the sugar is hard to make stay on. They're not awful just not sweet enough for me.

dough was reallllllly sticky I could not work with it! they turned out really dry but I do have to say a GREAT taste!! I wont make these again!

Sorry to say the directions are poorly written (for first time bakers) and needs more flavor. Nice idea though. :(

Baking cookies is a hobby. It is rare to find a recipe I can't work with. This recipe was terrible. The dough was difficult to work with. I did my best. The cookies fell apart when I removed them from the oven. Not that it mattered as the taste was not good. They were so bland. I was very disappointed as were my kids.

I am laughing at myself over this recipe. I doubled the recipe and they taste fantastic, but myy candy canes look just like fat shrimp. Ha. Maybe this is one recipe you can't double because it has too much baking powder in it. I salvaged the dough by mixing the peppermint and sugar in the dough and rolling them like sugar cookies. Pressed them down with a glass. I then sprinkled green and red sprinkles on them. If I had a digital camera I would take a picture so everyone could see my Christmas shrimp. This was no fault of the recipe - it is the baker's mistake.

I'm sorry but these were sticky and salty. :( Very disappointed! :(

I did not have almond extract at home so I used peppermint extract. I thought they came out good but were a little dry.

I loved these, they were a hit at the party! I used all three colours in each candy cane and honey after baking to adhere the peppermint topping.

Thank you! Every one loved these cookies at my family's Christmas reunion and at work. They were the best of all.

I loved these! Very fun and easy to make. They stayed soft for a few days which was a nice bonus!

this recipe is 1 my grandma used to make every year 4 christmas before she passed away. it brings back such fond memories of her! The trick she taught me to keep these cookies from sticking is to sprinkle a little powdered sugar on wax paper before rolling them into very thin 3in long pieces. i hope this helps!

I love these cookies. So yummy! Next time I will probably skip the crushed peppermint as it didn't really stick to the cookies, but they were delicious without it.

the batter kept breaking a part. The taste was better good though

Followed the recipe exactly and was not impressed. They do look cute but they brake very easy! i didn't think they tasted very good. The person that wrote about using karo syrup was so right, it worked so good to make the candy stick.

This is a pretty good cookie! My only suggestion is to omit the almond extract and add about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract. Makes it much better and more flavorful.

I am going to give four stars as is they were a bit tasteless as is. Also the sugar mixture is not going to stick when cookies are fresh out of the oven so I added the crushed peppermints into the batter. Then before cooking them, I sprinkled sugar on the cookies. Also, next time I will omit the almond extract and just use Vanilla. I thought about peppermint as some suggested, but for me, I think that would be to much with the crushed peppermint pieces. Also, the cook time was a bit much, the cookies were to crisp. I would cut it back a bit.

taste nice. However, it's time consuming to do.

Did have to add more flour so less sticky- added 1/4 cups flour (and some more powdered sugar) until dough consistancy. Got lazy at the end and just did circles dipped in the candy cane mixture and came out to be cute candy cane sugar cookies. Mixed candy canes into the dough and added a few drops of peppermint oil.

I made these because I thought they looked like a simple & fun cookie to make with my 5 year old. I didn't expect them to be so yummy. Definitely a new holiday favorite.

easy, fun for kids, we switched the measurements of almond and vanilla, using more vanilla than almond...still a heavy almond flavor, we favor vanilla. Next batch we will omit the almond entirely

good cookies but not great. Easy and fun to work with though, would be great for a kids recipe.

After chilling the dough for a long time, and using extra powdered sugar to handle it (tastes better than extra flour) I was able to make the candy canes. The problem was that when I tried to remove them from my pans after baking them, they stuck terrible and half of them broke! I was going to use them for cookie plates for my neighbors, but now I don't have near enough to do that. They tasted fine.

I have been looking for this recipe. My sister emailed it to me to make for this upcoming holiday. These cookies my mom use to make when we were little. She stopped making them because it was a lot of work rolling them into candy canes. I had to beg and plead the last time. So I decided to make them for myself. I used them in my cookie press and made them in to wreaths instead. They turned out great. I wrapped them up and gave them with gifts to the people at work and they loved them. I am planning on making them again because they are all gone. I have my aunt placing orders for me to make them now...what did I start. :o)

I used peppermint extract instead of almond extract and couldn't imagine it having less peppermint taste, more would have been a bit better. When I pulled the cookies out of the oven, I couldn't get the peppermint sugar mixture to stick, so I did my best to sprinkle it on top and put them back in the oven for a couple minutes. This worked, but not as well as pressing the cookies into the mixture before baking. I also dyed half the dough red and swirled it with the plain dough. I love having peppermint flavored, candy cane shaped, red and white swirled cookies, but I really hate rolling ropes.

Ok so, I'm giving it 4 stars for taste. But, my cookies fell apart so I just put them all in a pile having candy cane pieces.

Ok, I just made these tonight. It took about an hour and a half to finish the batch. These were wonderfully tasty, especially with the peppermint candies. I also added peppermint extract and did not use vanilla or almond. I will add vanilla next time to see how that is. Also, next time I will roll the canes in the candies first then bake. I agree with others that it was rather difficult to get it to stick to the cookies. So tasty...can't wait to share with my daughters. Thanks!

These cookies are very cute and tasty. The only downside is that it takes a bit of time to get all of the dough twisted and rolled into canes. I ended up mixing the two colors of dough together and just shaping it into canes. They looked great that way as well.

YUMMY I REMEMBER HAVING THESE WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNGE. THANK-YOU .FOR SHARING...

I've tried to make these for 2 years and both times them came out disappointing. It is to difficult to get the peppermint crushed candies to stick and what's with the almond extract shouldn't it be peppermint...

My mother made these cookies when I was growing up and I have been making them for several years. They are always a hit and we use this exact recipe.

These were Extremely messy to make and tasted awful. The dough should be chilled or something.

Took forever and were the least liked cookies I made.

Blah! I agree with a previous reviewer... I couldn't get the dough to roll because it was waaay too sticky!

My mom made these when I was a kid! I love the almond flavor! thanks for the recipe because we had lost her old Betty Crocker book and the new book I bought didn't have this recipe. So many memories, Thanks!!

These are so adorable and they taste great! I just put in 1 teaspoon of almond extract, but next time I will put in all 1 1/2 teaspoons. I found the dough a little hard to work with at first, but after I sprinkled it with flour, it was okay. Mine needed 10 minutes in a 375 degree oven. I know I'll make these again and I am going to take these to my church cookie-swap tomorrow!

Very good! Will make again, thanks!

I will have to agree with DROOSMOM. These were awful! The dough was so sticky and flimsy, I had to add a bunch of flour and it still didn't help. Also, when trying to put the sugar/peppermint candies on top after baking, they didn't stick but just rolled right off. It did help to sprinkle on the mixture prior to baking but that didn't help these unflavorful cookies that came out looking like a 5 year old's art project. Cute idea, but not worth the effort.

My Mom taught me to make these when I was 10 years old. I am now 67 and still bake them. They are and always will be a family favorite.

This is a great recipe! It isn't too sweet, but has flavor. It was easy to prepare, the only thing that took time was making the candy cane shapes. I did only add about half the salt that the recipe calls for. I also found it easier to roll the dough in the candy cane mixture before rolling it out or cooking. It was just too messy to try to sprinkle it on when they were warm.

My grammy made these every year and it's a tradition in our house. When my daughter comes home from college she always requests that we make these together. I never add almond extract, just 1/2 tsp vanilla and pepperment extract. When they are right out of the oven I roll them in a mixture of sugar and crushed candy canes. Yummy. I always make about 6 dozen.

I use mint instead of almond, vanilla or peppermint; and I replace 1/2 the butter with shortening to keep the white whiter. The shortening also helps the cookies keep their shape when baking. Definitely let them cool on the sheet before trying to remove! A wonderful tradition, my Grandmother used to make these every year!

This is my favorite Christmas cookie recipe. Be prepared to spend some time if you want the red and white twisted candy canes. They are very time consuming and take practice. Last years were a joke. This year, they actually look like candy canes. And like everyone else, skip the almond, use peppermint.

Yumm!

This is one of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes. My roommate loves them and I always double this recipe!

My husband, two kids and I did not like these and when do children turn down cookies? Hubby said hard to make as he made these with the kids. Said dough hard to roll out. Not making again obviously.

Took much longer than I though (it was tedious to twist the dough), but they turned out beautifully! Sprinkled crushed/powdered candy canes on top right out of the oven and it stayed there. Added a little more flower as some suggested, and not quite as much almond extract. Can't wait to serve them tonight.

the dough was super think and when they cook they get really a bland taste. they need a lot more sugar in them.

Sorry, but these look good enough, but without the candy they are bland and not sweet enough. With the candy (that doesn't fall off), they are still not sweet enough and just don't taste right.

Fun to make with kids and it is not a real sweet cookie. It looks great for a reception table. You make into wreaths by changing food coloring to green, twisting into a circle and top with a few red cinnamon candies. They look gorgeous!

I did not understand how to get the candy cane effet. I need pictures or a video. - bri

When ever I do these in the last 5 minutes of cooking I pull them out and sprinle my crushed candy cane on them. It melts and covers more of the cookie and doesn't fall off whem storing.

We are totally disappointed in this recipe. The dough was super hard to work with and cracked so much we rolled it out instead and cut little circle cookies. Then the sugar completely didn't stick to the warm cookies. And we really did not like the taste

lol

my grandma makes this and i love this!

make sure to keep in the fridge after baking because the get sticky overall very good

With the substitution of peppermint extract instead of the almond, it was a great recipe! Will definitely make this again.

Very bland. I made this for christmas last year and it wasn't very gOod at all. Only good thing was the cookies were soft.

I made the cookies exactly like the recipe, but I guess I must have done something wrong because the dough ended up tasting like play dough and was very difficult to shape. It may just be me, but I didn't really like this recipe.

I really like Allrecipes, I look to this site if I am in doubt or want to make something , I know Allrecipes has it, and it always turns out well.

Made this today and am very disappointed. They LOOK beautiful... unfortunatly only about half a dozen didnt break. And they taste OK, not great. Rolling them into candy canes was a pain in the butt and fell apart. Wont be making again.

I make this cookies every year,I follow the recipe excactly the way it is, for me is perfect and everybody love it!

These cookies are a tradition in my family - this recipe works fantastic if after you make the dough (split in two and color one half of dough red or other color) and put in fridge for a few hours. Once it is cold, roll dough into color and plain dough, 4-5 inch strips and twist one strip of each color together. BAKE in a very very HOT oven for 8-9 minutes. really good!

Exactly the recipe I was looking for because mine went awol after kitchen renovations. My family loves these, but not peppermint so I use sugar (mixing red and crystal sugar) for the topping. I always add the topping before baking because I have never had luck making it stick to hot cookies. Thanks for a family favorite.

The cookies taste okay, but the sugar will not stay on after baking. You need to brush with egg wash and sugar before baking. I've been baking for years and should have known better. Takes 8 minutes to bake at 350.

Not a great recipe. They don't taste that good and the dough is hard to work with. I even refrigerated it. I also put the candy and sugar on top immediately after coming out of the oven and it just didn't stick.

I tried it and the cookies were good but they spread too much and some did not keep their shape, that was a little disappointing but the kiddies still loved them and gobbled them up :)

The powdered sugar makes it taste just like I remember as a kid! So glad someone posted this recipe. I look forward to making it many more times.