Candy Cane Thumbprint Cookies

With all of the holiday baking going on, sometimes you just need to take some shortcuts.

I’m eternally thankful to my husband for getting me a stand mixer a few years ago. I don’t think my wrists could take creaming butter and sugar together for four different batches of cookies.

Another shortcut: parchment paper. I don’t know how I baked cookies directly on the sheet so many time before! Parchment paper is a lifesaver and makes for easy cleanup.

My favorite shortcut this year: using pre-made sugar cookie mix for this recipe. Is it really all that hard to sift flour, baking powder, and salt together? No. But having it all done for you and just having to add egg or butter is a lifesaver. Especially for these cookies; there were other steps in this recipe that were time consuming and difficult. Using a pre-made dough means you can focus on the harder parts—like twirling together red and white dough.

I have to say, I’ll probably never make these cookies again. They were a pain! They’re very festive, very delicious, but too time-consuming for my holiday baking spree.

Don’t get me wrong, these were a delicious hit. But all the effort put in could’ve been used elsewhere.

If you’re into getting really hands on with your dough, and making a show-stopper for a Christmas cookie spread, this recipe is for you. It might even be a good one for kids to get involved. There’s a lot of “snake rolling” with the two doughs together, and I can totally see a kid having fun doing that. Some things adults think of as chores, kids think of as fun.

P.S.: white chocolate Hershey’s kisses melt way easier than milk chocolate kisses. Freeze your kisses for at least 30 minutes before you top the cookies! Most will melt down a bit, but that’s okay.

Enjoy!

Candy Cane Thumbprint Cookies

• Servings: 2 dozen
• Time: 40 mins
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Print

Sweet sugar cookies with a candy cane kiss topper.

Ingredients

• 1 (17.5 oz) package pre-made sugar cookie mix
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 package Hershey’s Candy Cane kisses, frozen
• Red food coloring

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer, mix sugar cookie dough according to package instructions (butter & egg).
2. Split dough in half and place in separate bowls.
3. Add a few drops of red food coloring to one batch of dough. Knead and add more red food coloring until you get the color you desire.
4. Split each dough again so you get three sets of dough each (6 total). Roll one red and one white into a log, trying your best to make it striped. Wrap in plastic wrap tightly. Repeat with remaining doughs.
5. Freeze dough for about 10 minutes so it’s easy to cut.
6. Place parchment paper on a few baking sheets. Cut cookies from logs and place on baking sheets
7. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Immediately top with a frozen candy cane kiss and remove cookie to a wire rack to cool.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer, mix sugar cookie dough according to package instructions (butter & egg). Split dough in half and place in separate bowls.

Add a few drops of red food coloring to one batch of dough. Knead and add more red food coloring until you get the color you desire. Split each dough again so you get three sets of dough each (6 total).

Roll one red and one white into a log, trying your best to make it striped. Wrap in plastic wrap tightly. Repeat with remaining doughs.

Freeze dough for about 10 minutes so it’s easy to cut.

Place parchment paper on a few baking sheets. Cut cookies from logs and place on baking sheets

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. Immediately top with a frozen candy cane kiss and remove cookie to a wire rack to cool.