PEPPERMINT STICKS RECIPES

Steps:

• Coat a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray, and set aside. Place sugar, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan. Cover; bring to a boil. Remove lid, and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until syrup registers 305 degrees (hard-crack stage) on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and carefully stir in lemon juice, extract, and food coloring.
• Pour hot syrup onto prepared baking sheet, being careful not to touch syrup. Using a metal spatula coated with cooking spray, fold edges toward the middle (this will help cool the syrup). When it is cool enough to handle but still quite warm, using plastic gloves, strech and pull candy, folding it over onto itself before pulling again, until it is opaque and just starting to firm up, about 10 minutes.
• Immediately pull off pieces to form long pencil-thin ropes. Working quickly, cut into 7-inch lengths with a pair of kitchen scissors. Continue pulling until all candy is used or is no longer pliable.
• Temper chocolate: Heat 2/3 of chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water until chocolate registers 118 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove pan from heat, and add the remaining chocolate; stir with a rubber spatula (avoid using a wooden spoon, which can impart other flavors) until it cools to 84 degrees. Remove any unmelted pieces, and discard. Return bowl to pan, and stir until chocolate reaches 88 to 90 degrees.
• Dip top 3 inches of each pepperment stick in the chocolate, if desired. Allow excess to drip off; set on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and let harden.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt. In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg whites and peppermint extract and beat on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute more. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture, beating until incorporated. Transfer 1/2 cup of the dough to a medium bowl. (If using burgundy food coloring as well, divide dough into 2 bowls and add red coloring to one and burgundy to the other. Continue this step, repeating the process with each color.) Add food coloring to bowl, and mix with a spoon until dough is evenly colored. Transfer dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8 round tip or a resealable bag with a corner cut off. To form each cookie, use a small offset spatula to spread 2 teaspoons of the uncolored dough into a 3 1/2- by 4 1/2-inch rectangle on a prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 apart. Pipe diagonal lines of red (and burgundy, if using) dough over the rectangles to resemble candy canes. Bake 1 sheet of cookies at a time until the edges are firm to the touch but have not yet taken on any golden color, 6 to 7 minutes. Working quickly, use a metal spatula to gently transfer one cookie to a flat surface. Firmly roll the cookie around the thin handle of a wooden spoon or the larger end of a chopstick, then slide cookie off and transfer to a large plate. Repeat rolling process with remaining cookies; if they become too cool and fragile for shaping, return them to the oven for 30 seconds or so to soften. Repeat baking and rolling process with remaining dough. (Be sure to cool cookie sheets completely before spreading out more batches.) Set finished cookies aside to cool completely, about 15 minutes, then store in an airtight container up to 2 days.
  
  

  Looking for more dessert ideas? Check out our homemade chocolate chip cookie recipes, apple pie recipes, and chocolate cake recipes.