Buttery cookies with a hint of peppermint flavor shaped into festive candy cane cookies, now with a twist – sourdough starter! Sourdough Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies will be the highlight of your Christmas cookie tray with its sweet and refreshing flavor and tender texture!
Sourdough Candy Cane Cookies – the best cookies to grace your holiday cookie box during the festive Christmas season.
These delightful treats seamlessly merge the classic love of Christmas cookies with a unique twist, as they’re made with a touch of sourdough starter, elevating them to a whole new level of deliciousness.
If you’re looking to add more sourdough Christmas cookies to your cookie tray, you may like Sourdough Snowball Cookies, Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies, or Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies!
Picture perfectly shaped candy canes, adorned in vibrant red and white swirls, making them an eye-catching and festive addition to any holiday cookie assortment.
The magic of these cookies lies not just in their appearance but in their taste as well. With each bite, you experience the unmistakable sweetness of a traditional candy cane coupled with a subtle tanginess from the sourdough starter. This delightful combination transforms them into a must-have during the Christmas season, earning them a well-deserved spot as one of the best cookies for the holidays.
So, whether you’re continuing a cherished holiday tradition or looking to start a new one, these delicious Sourdough Candy Cane Cookies are ready to be the star of your holiday cookie box, adding a unique and flavorful touch to your festive celebrations.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
Festive:
Twisted white and red dough is then curved into a candy cane shape bringing the perfectly festive holiday cookie to your Christmas parties or cookie exchange!
Easy:
Impress your guests at your holiday parties with these beautiful cookies! Little do they know that they are a breeze to prepare and bake.
Flavor:
Sourdough Candy Cane Cookies highlight one of the favorite flavors of the holiday season – peppermint! These buttery sugar cookies are perfectly balanced with the bright and refreshing flavor of peppermint extract. It’s delicious on its own, but also a knockout when served with hot chocolate!
Ingredients
Unsalted Butter – Bring to room temperature for easy mixing.
Powdered Sugar – This recipe uses confectioners’ sugar rather than granulated sugar in the dough.
Egg – Brings moisture to the cookie dough.
Peppermint Extract – To highlight one of the favorite flavors of the season!
Vanilla Extract – For the best flavor, I prefer vanilla extract, but use what you have.
Sourdough Starter – Active Sourdough Starter or Sourdough Discard can be used for this recipe. I suggest using unfed sourdough starter (sourdough discard) that is no more than 1 week old for sweet recipes.
All-Purpose Flour – Be sure to measure the flour accurately. Either measure with a kitchen scale or spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off with a butter knife if you do not have a kitchen scale. Too much flour will make these cookies very brittle.
Salt – Any unrefined salt will do, but my favorite is Redmond’s unrefined salt for some extra minerals!
Red Food Coloring – Red gel food coloring or liquid coloring can be used interchangeably.
Supplies
Plastic Wrap
Wire Rack
How to Make Sourdough Candy Cane Cookies
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the room-temperature butter and powdered sugar on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.
Add the peppermint extract, vanilla extract, egg, and sourdough starter/discard and mix until combined. Stop to scrape the sides of the bowl, when needed.
Finally, gradually add the flour and salt. Mix on low speed until a dough forms.
Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Remove half of the dough from the bowl. Form into a small disc and cover the plain dough with plastic wrap.
Add red food coloring to the remaining dough and mix until fully incorporated. Remove the red dough, form into another disc, and cover with plastic wrap. Place the red and white dough in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
When ready, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Pinch off a teaspoon of the red dough and white dough. Roll each piece into a round dough ball, then roll into a 4-inch rope. Twist the two ropes around each other and pinch the ends together. Curve the end of one side to create a candy cane shape and place the cookie on the baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining dough.
*If you are working in a hot kitchen, you may want to chill the cookie dough in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to reduce the dough from spreading.
Bake the Sourdough Candy Cane Cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the bottoms are just lightly golden brown. Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then carefully place the candy cane sugar cookies on a cooling rack.
How to Decorate
If the shape of these unique cookies wasn’t enough to wow your guests, maybe this will do the trick!
Before baking, sprinkle coarse sugar on top of each candy cane cookie. Or right as you pull the cookies out of the oven, sprinkle each with crushed peppermint candy canes for a more festive color and crunch!
Looking for more sweetness? Drizzle each cookie with a simple peppermint glaze! Mix 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3/4-1 cup of powdered sugar, until desired consistency is reached. Then stir in 1 tsp of peppermint extract.
How to Store
Store leftover Sourdough Candy Cane Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days.
FAQs:
Why are my candy cane cookies spreading?
It is important to work quickly when shaping the Sourodugh Candy Cane Cookies. If the dough gets too warm, then it will spread when baked. If you think the cookie dough is a bit too soft, place the shaped cookies into the freezer for 10-15 minutes before baking to allow the dough to firm up again.
Can I prepare these cookies ahead of time?
Absolutely! You can prepare the cookie dough, cover it in plastic wrap, and store it in the fridge overnight until you are ready to shape.
You can also shape the cookies and keep them in the fridge overnight before baking the following day.
If you want to shape and then freeze the cookies, do so by placing the shaped candy cane cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, freezing them, and then storing them in a zip-lock bag for up to 2 months. No need to thaw the dough, just bake as instructed and add a minute or two to the baking time.
Happy baking!
More Sourdough Christmas Cookie Recipes Like This:
Sourdough Gingerbread Cookies Recipe
Easy Sourdough Thumbprint Cookies Recipe
Sourdough Snowball Cookies Recipe
Sourdough Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies Recipe
Buttery cookies with a hint of peppermint flavor shaped into festive candy cane cookies, now with a twist - sourdough starter! Sourdough Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies will be the highlight of your Christmas cookie tray with its sweet and refreshing flavor and tender texture!
Ingredients
- 14 Tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted (180g)
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract (5g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (3g)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup unfed sourdough starter, discard (70g)
- 3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (455g)
- 1 teaspoon salt (6g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring
Instructions
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream 14 T of room-temperature butter and 1 1/3 c powdered sugar on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy in texture.
2. Add 2 tsp peppermint extract, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 egg, and 1/4 c sourdough starter/discard and mix until combined. Stop to scrape the sides of the bowl, when needed.
3. Finally, gradually add 3 1/4 c flour and 1 tsp salt. Mix on low speed until a dough forms.
4. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Remove half of the dough from the bowl. Form into a small disc and cover the plain dough with plastic wrap.
5. Add 1 1/2 tsp red food coloring to the remaining dough and mix until fully incorporated. Remove the red dough, form into another disc, and cover with plastic wrap. Place the red and white dough in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
6. When ready, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Pinch off a teaspoon of the red dough and white dough. Roll each piece into a round dough ball, then roll them into a 4-inch rope. Twist the two ropes around each other and pinch the ends together. Curve the end of one side to create a candy cane shape and place the cookie on the baking sheet.
7. Repeat with the remaining dough.
*If you are working in a hot kitchen, you may want to chill the cookie dough in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to reduce the dough from spreading.
8. Bake the Sourdough Candy Cane Cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden brown. Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then carefully place the candy cane sugar cookies on a cooling rack.
Looking for more sweetness? Drizzle each cookie with a simple peppermint glaze! Mix 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3/4-1 cup of powdered sugar, until desired consistency is reached. Then stir in 1 tsp of peppermint extract.
Notes
How to Decorate
If the shape of these unique cookies wasn't enough to wow your guests, maybe this will do the trick!
Before baking, sprinkle coarse sugar on top of each candy cane cookie. Or right as you pull the cookies out of the oven, sprinkle each with crushed peppermint candy canes for a more festive color and crunch!
Looking for more sweetness? Drizzle each cookie with a simple peppermint glaze! Mix 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3/4-1 cup of powdered sugar, until desired consistency is reached. Then stir in 1 tsp of peppermint extract.
How to Store
Store leftover Sourdough Candy Cane Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days.
FAQs:
Why are my candy cane cookies spreading?
It is important to work quickly when shaping the Sourodugh Candy Cane Cookies. If the dough gets too warm, then it will spread when baked. If you think the cookie dough is a bit too soft, place the shaped cookies into the freezer for 10-15 minutes before baking to allow the dough to firm up again.
Can I prepare these cookies ahead of time?
Absolutely! You can prepare the cookie dough, cover it in plastic wrap, and store it in the fridge overnight until you are ready to shape.
You can also shape the cookies and keep them in the fridge overnight before baking the following day.
You may want to shape and then freeze the cookies. Do so by placing the shaped candy cane cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, freezing them, and then storing them in a zip-lock bag for up to 2 months. No need to thaw the dough, just bake as instructed and add a minute or two to the baking time.
made these and they turned out SO cute! seriously the cutest christmas cookies ever. i did substitute the peppermint for vanilla and a little bit of almond
Where can I find the measurements
Hi Alona!
If you scroll down to the recipe card, you will find the measurements.