Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

candy cane cookies

Christmas is well and truly in the air. I mean it, I think I still smell like cinnamon from this morning’s baking! The decorations are up, the menus are planned, the Christmas shopping is, um, well, let’s move on, shall we? I love the traditions associated with Christmas, and memories of years past. From Dad lifting me up to put the angel on top of the tree, to opening presents on Christmas morning, to that obligatory Christmas Day dip in the pool with all of my cousins. Now that I’ve grown up, I’ve started creating traditions of my own, and I just wanted to share some of my favourite Christmas recipes with you all!

These gorgeous candy cane cookies caught my eye in last year’s Donna Hay Christmas issue but I never got around to making them until now. They looked so pretty and festive, and I can’t go past the delicious flavour combination of chocolate and peppermint! They were actually a lot of fun to make, a team effort with my sister one evening. She made the dough and I decorated them with the candy cane pieces.

We made mini cookies, smaller than the recipe suggested, using a small ice cream scoop to make the cookies an even size. They spread a fair bit in the oven, so make sure to leave enough room between the cookies on the tray. I loved the textural changes of the chocolate pieces and candy cane pieces in each bite.

It’s a perfect recipe to make with the kids for a Christmas Eve snack for Santa – I’m sure a plate of these and a glass of milk would make Santa would change his mind about even the naughtiest! They would also make adorable and thoughtful gifts, if you can bring yourself to share them!

candy cane cookies

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Recipe from Donna Hay Magazine
Makes 40 small cookies

• 110g butter, softened and chopped
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain flour, sifted
• ¼ cup cocoa, sifted
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 120g dark chocolate, melted
• 280g dark chocolate, extra, chopped
• 120g candy canes, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).
2. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until light and creamy. Add the egg and the vanilla and beat until well combined. Add the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and melted chocolate and beat until just combined. Fold through extra chopped chocolate.
3. Roll teaspoons of the mixture into rounds. Place on baking trays lined with non-stick paper, allowing room for the cookies to spread, and flatten slightly.
4. Press the chopped candy canes into the tops of the cookies and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are firm. Allow to cool on the trays.

8 Comments on “Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies”

  1. The first thing I thought when I saw the first image of the cookies was "those aren't bits of candy cane in the cookie… are they?".

    Never would have thought to use candy canes in a cookie such as this. I presume it retains is crunchy, pepperminty bite?

  2. Trissa, aww thank you! What a compliment!

    Simon, the candy cane becomes a little more chewy after it's been baked but still a definite textural change and pepperminty taste.

    FFichiban, I've been a naughty girl this year!

    Natalie, thanks! We do too!

    Cookeaze, thanks! Yeah, it was a really great cookie.

    Dawn, thanks!

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