How to Make Elemental Bakery’s Comforting Candy Cane Cookies at Home

There’s something about holiday cookies that just make one smile, which is definitely the case with Deva Randolph’s, pastry chef at Elemental Bakery & Coffeehouse, Candy Cane Cookie recipe. The red-and-white treats aren’t too hard to make, though there are a few steps, and the result is a pretty, easy-to-share treat for you and your friends and family.

“For many families who celebrate Christmas, there’s that one cookie recipe that comes out every year. For me, Christmas is all about butter cookies. My Grandma would make these cookies for my Dad and his brothers when they were kids at Christmas time. These cookies held a very special memory for him of times with his Mom at Christmas, so in turn he started making them for us. 

It quickly became my Mom’s favorite cookie, and it wasn’t Christmas unless we had candy cane cookies. To this day every year my Dad waits until I come home for the holidays so we can sit together and go through the tedious work of rolling out the dough (usually while watching Harry Potter movies) so my Mom can have her favorite cookie with her coffee on Christmas morning. It’s a memory and recipe I hope to pass down to future generations one day.” – Deva Randolph 

Candy Cane Cookies

By chef Deva Randolph, of Elemental Bakery & Coffeehouse in Denver

Yield: 20 to 24 cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup Butter 

1 cup Sifted confectioners sugar 

1 egg

1 ½ tsp Almond extract

1 tsp Vanilla extract

2 ½ cups All purpose flour 

1 tsp Salt

Red food color

Granulated sugar (for topping)

Crushed candy canes (for topping)

Instructions: 

1. Using a stand or hand mixer, cream together butter and confectioners sugar until just combined.
2. Add the egg and extracts. Mix until just combined.
3. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the flour and salt. Mix just until a dough forms.
4. Split the dough in half. Reserve one dough to the side.
5. Place the other half of the dough back in the mixer and add the desired amount of red food coloring. Mix until just combined.
6. Wrap each dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rest for about an hour.
7. Take the dough out of the fridge and cut each dough into quarters.
8. Take one white quarter and one red quarter and roll each into a long rope at your desired thickness.
9. Once you have both colors rolled to the same length, place them next to each other and cut into 4 ½ strips. 
10. Take each paired strip and twist the colors together to make a candy cane pattern. 
11. Place on a sheet tray with parchment and curve top end to make a candy cane shape. Repeat with the remaining dough until all the dough has been used. 
12. Place finished candy canes in the freezer or fridge to rest for about 10 minutes.
13. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 
14. Bake at 350 F for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
15. Sprinkle the cookies with granulated sugar and crushed candy canes as soon as they come out of the oven and are still warm.