Candy Cane Cookie Decorating Ideas

Amazing tasting Candy Cane Sugar Cookies! My all-time favorite sugar cookie recipe is perfect for making decorative cut out cookies.

Sugar cookies cut into snowflake and gingerbread men shapes, coated with white royal icing and decorated with red dots and lines.

This recipe for Candy Cane Sugar Cookies uses candy canes that are ground very finely into a sugar consistency. The candy cane sugar replaces some of the sugar usually found in sugar cookie recipes. I used pink colored cherry flavored candy canes. They add great flavor and give the cookies a beautiful pink color. Once you try this recipe I'm sure you'll agree this is the best tasting sugar cookies you've ever baked! Decorate with royal icing to create some beautiful edible art. Check out this recipe for Royal Icing for easy step by instructions to decorate cookies with royal icing.

Sugar cookies cut into gingerbread men shapes, coated with white royal icing and decorated with red dots.

In addition to the amazing flavor, these cookies cut out beautifully with all your favorite Holiday cookie cutters. I love to collect beautiful cookie cutters. Some of my favorites are the copper snowflake ones I have collected over the years. These make perfect gifts or stocking stuffers.

Pink tinted sugar cookie dough rolled out with copper Holiday shaped cookie cutters.

How to make cut out sugar cookies.

Simple ingredients of flour, butter, sugar, egg, salt, and a vanilla bean. Pure vanilla extract can be used instead of vanilla bean. Using a grinder, grind candy canes into fine sugar consistency.

Bowls filled with ingredients for making candy cane sugar cookies.

Beat together room temperature butter with regular sugar and candy cane sugar.

Add eggs and vanilla, mix well and then gradually add flour and salt.

Electric mixer beating pink sugar cookie dough.

Divide dough into 2 or 3 disks. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Two disks of pink candy cane flavored dough wrapped in plastic wrap.

Roll cookie dough to ¼ inch thickness on a well-floured surface. Dust cookie cutters with flour to prevent sticking.

Pink sugar cookie dough rolled out with snowflake and gingerbread men cookie cutters.

Using a spatula place cookies onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.Place the baking sheet into the refrigerator for 10 minutes to chill the dough again. This will prevent cookies from spreading so they keep the nice sharp edges.

Pink sugar cookie dough cut into Christmas cookie shapes on baking sheet lined with white parchment paper.

Bake in preheated oven 350ºF for 8-10 minutes. Just until the edges start to brown. Cool on the baking sheet for a while, and then move to a cooling rack.

Pink colored cookies in Christmas cookie shapes cooling on cooling rack.

Sugar cookies cut into snowflake and gingerbread men shapes, coated with white royal icing and decorated with red dots and lines.

Candy Cane Sugar Cookies

Amazing tasting Candy Cane Sugar Cookies! The perfect recipe for making decorative cut out cookies.

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Cook Time 9 mins

Total Time 9 mins

Course cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 36

Calories 153 kcal

3 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 ½ cups butter room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup finely ground candy canes I use pink or red cherry flavoured
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1 vanilla bean
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

Mix together flour and salt.
Using food processor grind candy canes to fine sugar consistency.
Using electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and candy cane sugar together until fluffy (about 4-5 minutes)
Add eggs, egg yolk and vanilla, beat to combine.
Add flour a bit at a time until all the flour is combined.
Separate into 2 or 3 even pieces, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350º F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Flour work surface, then roll dough to ¼ inch thickness.
Dust cookie cutters with flour before cutting shapes from dough.
Transfer to baking sheet. Place baking sheet into refrigerator for 10 minutes to chill the dough again. This will prevent cookies from spreading so they keep the nice sharp edges.
Bake 350ºF for 8-10 minutes (just until edges start to brown)
Cool completely. Decorate with royal icing.

I like cherry flavoured red and white candy canes. They make a beautiful pink colour, but lately can only seem to find the red and white peppermint variety. These will work just fine just with a peppermint flavour instead of cherry. Link for How to Decorate cookies with Royal Icing

Calories: 153 kcal Carbohydrates: 19 g Protein: 2 g Fat: 8 g Saturated Fat: 5 g Cholesterol: 29 mg Sodium: 136 mg Potassium: 20 mg Fiber: 1 g Sugar: 8 g Vitamin A: 250 IU Calcium: 6 mg Iron: 1 mg