Addictive candy cane chocolate chip cookies loaded with crushed candy cane and chocolate chips. These pretty holiday cookies are irresistibly buttery, crunchy, and sweet.
Take your favorite chocolate chip cookies and add some crushed candy cane for a holiday twist. These chewy and crispy candy cane chocolate chip cookies are delicious, full of flavor, sweet, and satisfying - the perfect addition to your regular Christmas cookie box and great for a holiday cookie exchange.
Not to mention that anything made with candy cane is perfect for kids; you can be sure they will adore these simple cookies.
Try more of our Christmas cookies: Strawberry Jam Cookies or Walnut White Chocolate Chip Cookies. Or the Red Velvet Mini Bundt Cakes; they would look great on your Christmas table.
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🍬Is peppermint the same as candy cane?
Candy canes and peppermint are related but not exactly the same thing. A candy cane is a type of hard candy traditionally flavored with peppermint and typically formed into a cane shape with red and white stripes. On the other hand, peppermint refers to a flavoring or extract derived from the peppermint plant, a hybrid mint plant that is a cross between watermint and spearmint.
While candy canes are often flavored with peppermint, not all peppermint-flavored candies are shaped like candy canes. Peppermint flavoring can be used in various sweets, chocolates, gums, mints, and other confectioneries besides candy canes.
📋Recipe ingredients
- Candy canes: Peppermint candy canes, bark, or chips are all good. If you use candy or bark, you will have to crush them. Chips make things easier, but I can’t always find them at the store. When candy canes are not in season, use peppermint candies instead.
- Chocolate chips: I use semi-sweet most of the time. However, milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips are also okay; white chocolate chips would also be excellent.
- Butter: Unsalted butter with 82% fat (European-style butter). Don’t be tempted to use anything with a lower fat content; that kind of butter contains more water and is not great for baking.
- The butter should be at room temperature; ensure you take it out of the fridge in time.
- Sugar: A combination of light brown sugar and granulated white sugar.
- Egg: One large egg at room temperature.
- Vanilla extract for extra flavor.
- Dry ingredients: All-purpose flour, baking soda, and a little salt.
👩🏻🍳How to make candy cane chocolate chip cookies?
- You can use a stand mixer with paddle attachment or mix the ingredients with an electric mixer.
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Crush the candy canes and set them aside in a separate bowl.
Mix wet ingredients (butter, brown, and white sugar) in a large bowl. Scrape, add the egg and vanilla.
Sift the flour mixture over the butter mixture and mix until they are just incorporated. Don’t overmix.
Fold in the candy cane bits and the chocolate chips using a spoon.
Form the cookie dough balls; you will have 20, each weighing about 1 oz (30 g). Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving enough space between them as they will flatten.
- Bake the chocolate chip candy cane cookies for 10-12 minutes until the crispy edges of the cookies are lightly golden brown.
- Cool cookies on the baking sheet for another 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
❗️Expert Tips
Always use a digital kitchen scale (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab) in baking; it guarantees the best results.
Candy cane: Don’t crush it too finely, or the powder will melt into the cookies, and they won’t be as crunchy as they should be. Nicely chopped bits are perfect. Crushing them in a freezer bag with a meat tenderizer allows you to control the size of the candy cane pieces better. You can also use a food processor, but make sure that you don’t crush the peppermint too finely; they should not become a powder.
To increase the peppermint flavor, you can add a little peppermint extract.
Chill time: Chilling the cookie dough is essential in this recipe. Otherwise, the cookies will spread into a thin, baking-sheet-large giant cookie.
You can bake two trays full of cookies simultaneously using a fan-forced (fan-assisted) oven. In this case, preheat it to 320°F/ 160°C.
❓Recipe FAQ
You can use semisweet or milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks. You can chop a regular chocolate bar if you don’t have any of these.
Store cookies in an airtight container; they will be fine for about 5 days and get a bit crispier as they stand.
Definitely. Make the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it. You can do this two days ahead. Or freeze the dough balls as instructed below.
Freeze the already-shaped cookie dough balls. Place them on a baking sheet, freeze them until solid, then transfer them to a freezer container or bag for up to 2 months. Bake them from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the baking time.
🍪More Quick Sweet Treats for Christmas
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📖 Recipe
Crushed Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand-held mixer
- 2 baking sheets
Ingredients
- ½ cup candy cane roughly crushed Notes 1, 2
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 245 g
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup butter at room temperature, 1 stick/ 113 g
- ½ cup light brown sugar 90 g
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar 50 g
- 1 egg large, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips 80 g, Note 3
Instructions
- Candy cane: Place them in a freezer bag and crush them with the flat side of a meat tenderizer.Food processor: Break the canes into smaller pieces by hand. Place them in the food processor and crush them roughly; they should not be powdery.½ cup candy cane
- Dry ingredients: Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour / 245 g + 1 teaspoon baking soda + 1 pinch salt
- Wet ingredients: Mix the soft butter, brown, and white sugar in a large bowl. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until creamy.½ cup butter / 113 g + ½ cup light brown sugar/ 90 g + ¼ cup granulated white sugar / 50 g + 1 egg + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Make cookie dough: Sift the flour mixture over the butter. Mix until just incorporated. Don’t overmix. Fold in the crushed candy canes and the chocolate chips using a spoon.½ cup semisweet chocolate chips/ 80 g
- Form about 20 cookie dough balls, each weighing about 1 oz/ 30 g.
- Chill: Place them on a large plate (or directly on the lined baking sheets if you have enough room in the refrigerator) and refrigerate them for one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper (Note 4).
- Bake: Place the balls on the trays leaving enough space between them as they will spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly golden brown around the edges.
- Cool: Leave them on the trays for another 10 minutes; they will firm up. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Candy cane: Peppermint candy, bark, or chips are all good.
- Those were 8 candy canes for me, but your candy canes could be smaller or larger than mine; it’s best to measure the roughly chopped candy with the cup.
- Chocolate: You can also use milk chocolate, white chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks. You can chop a regular chocolate bar if you don’t have any chips.
- Baking: You can bake two trays full of cookies simultaneously using a fan-forced (fan-assisted) oven. In this case, preheat it to 320°F/ 160°C.
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