Candy Cane Snowball Cookies Food

CANDY CANE SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• 1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar. Stir in vanilla. Gradually add flour. Stir in pecans. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until easy to handle. Roll into 1-inch balls. Place 2-in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 F. for 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Dip the top of each cookie into the candy coating, then into the peppermint candy.

WHITE PEPPERMINT SNOWBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut the cookie dough into 8 pieces. In bowl of electric mixer, on medium speed thoroughly combine the dough pieces, peppermint extract, 1/3 cup crushed peppermint candies, and 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar.
• Roll the dough into 1-inch diameter balls. Arrange, 2 inches apart, on parchment lined cookie sheets and bake until set, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on cooling racks.
• Add 1/2 cup of the remaining powdered sugar to a small bowl. While the cookies are still warm, roll them in the sugar. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies and serve.
• As the cookies cool, they will flatten slightly.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cut the roll of cookie dough in half. Put the halves in separate large mixing bowls. In 1 bowl, thoroughly mix 1/4 cup of the flour and the peppermint extract into cookie dough. In the second bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour and enough food coloring to make a red dough. Mix well with gloved hands until the color is well blended.
• Divide the white and red dough into 24 pieces each, (for a total of 48 pieces). Roll each piece into a rope 8 inches long and about 1/4-inch in diameter.
• To shape candy canes, arrange 1 rope of each color side by side on parchment lined cookie sheets. Gently twist together and shape into a candy cane. Repeat with the remaining pieces, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are very lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest, about 5 minutes, before transferring the cookies to racks. Gently remove them from the cookie sheets with a long metal spatula and cool on cooling racks.

CANDY CANE COOKIES

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.