CANDY CANE PIECES RECIPES

Steps:

• Place the softened butter and sugar in a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer). With a hand mixer (or stand mixer with a paddle attachment) on medium speed, beat until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and peppermint extract and mix well to combine. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing on low to combine completely in between each addition. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. Remove half of the dough from the bowl and form into a disc shape, about 1-inch thick. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (or overnight). Place the red food coloring in the bowl with the remaining dough. Mix on low to incorporate the coloring into the dough fully (add more food coloring until you reach your desired shade of red). Remove the red dough from the bowl, knead it a few times on a clean surface to incorporate all of the coloring completely, and form into a disc shape, about 1-inch thick. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Unwrap both pieces of dough and pinch off 1/2-tablespoonful pieces of each color. With the palm of your hand, roll each dough ball on a clean surface into a 5-inch long rope. (It’s best to roll all of the white dough in one spot on your counter, and all of the red dough in another spot, so that the white pieces don’t pick up any red dough left on the surface.) Place the ropes side by side and twist, pinching the tops and bottoms to stick together. Carefully transfer to the sheet trays and form into a candy cane shape. Continue to roll, twist and form all of the cookies. (If the dough starts to get too sticky, or difficult to roll without breaking, re-wrap it in plastic wrap and pop it back in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up again). Bakes the cookies 12 minutes, or just until the white dough looks lightly golden. If decorating with crushed candy canes, sprinkle as soon as they come out of the oven. Let cool completely on the baking sheets. Store in an air-tight container in a single layer, between sheets of parchment paper, for up to 1 week at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a mixer bowl or by hand, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in egg, almond extract, vanilla, and salt. Blend flour into mixture in several additions, beat until just combined.
• Remove half the dough from the bowl. Blend red food coloring into the half remaining in the bowl until the coloring is even. Cover dough a kitchen towel to keep it from drying out as you work. Use a floured teaspoon to measure 1 teaspoon each of white and red dough for each cookie. Roll into 4-inch ropes on a lightly floured surface. Place a red and white rope side-by-side, press together lightly and twist to form a spiral. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Curve top down to form handle of a candy cane. Bake until set, about 9 minutes. While the cookies are baking, put peppermint candies in a resealable plastic bag and crush into small pieces with a rolling pin. Mix the candy with the sugar. Place cooling rack over shallow pan. Immediately remove cookies from cookie sheet and gently place onto cooling rack. Sprinkle with candy/sugar mixture.
• Optional: Cool cookies, drizzle with melted chocolate, and add more candy mixture on top of chocolate.