Candy Cane Cookies

These cute cookies also make for adorable tree ornaments. Just don’t expect them to stay up very long.

You’ll Need:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon salt
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon red food coloring
¾ cup white decorating sugar or granulated sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Have ready ungreased nonstick cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the butter and
   confectioners’ sugar until light, two to three minutes. Beat in the egg, almond
   extract, and salt. On low speed, gradually beat in the flour until a
   medium-firm dough forms.
3. Divide the dough in half. Beat the red food coloring into half of the
   dough. Blend until the color is evenly mixed throughout the dough.
4. Pinch off 1 teaspoon of the red dough. Roll between your palms to form
   a four-inch-long rope. Pinch off one teaspoon of the plain dough and form
   into a four-inch-long rope. Press the ropes to each other at one end and
   then twist them together to resemble a striped cane. Shape one end into
   a hook. Repeat with the remaining dough. As the cookies are shaped,
   arrange them on the cookie sheets, spacing them about ½ inch apart.
5. Bake in the center of the oven until just firm when lightly pressed with
   a fingertip, eight to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with
   the decorating sugar while still hot. Let cool on the cookie sheets for
   two minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Cookie Exchange Tip: To use these cookies as tree ornaments, gently tie a red or
white ribbon around the handle of the cane, creating a 2- to 3-inch loop that will
easily slip onto the branch of the tree. Or, make a hole in the handle of the cane
before baking and then thread the ribbon through the hole.
Makes 42 cookies

Excerpted from Very Merry Cookie Party: How to Plan and Host a Christmas Cookie Exchange by Barbara Grunes & Virginia Van Vynck. Copyright © 2010 by author. Excerpted by permission of Chronicle Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the book!