Description
Delightfully festive Peppermint Candy Sugar Cookies featuring soft, buttery sugar cookies topped with a glossy royal icing decorated in classic peppermint swirls. Perfect for holiday gatherings, these cookies balance a tender crumb with vibrant peppermint-flavored royal icing that hardens to a beautiful finish.
Ingredients
Scale
SUGAR COOKIES
- 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1.5 inch round cutter
ROYAL ICING
- 1/2 cup meringue powder
- 1 scant cup (almost full) water
- 2 pounds (32 ounces) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract (if desired)
- Super white gel icing color
- Pink, red or green icing color
- Small squeeze bottles
- Toothpicks
- 3X4 Treat bags
- Twine or Twist ties
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Dry Ingredients: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and baking powder; set aside for later use.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cold, cubed salted butter with sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, which creates a smooth base for the cookies.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Beat in one egg along with the vanilla and almond extracts until fully combined, enhancing the flavor complexity of the dough.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients: Add the flour mixture gradually, one cup at a time, on low speed to avoid overmixing. Mix until just combined, then scrape down the sides to ensure the thick, crumbly dough has no dry pockets.
- Roll and Cut Dough: Line your rolling surface with wax paper and dust it, along with your rolling pin and cookie cutter, generously with flour. Roll a portion of the dough to 1/4 inch thickness, then cut circles using the 1.5 inch round cutter. Gather scraps, knead briefly, and repeat until all dough is used.
- Freeze Cookies: Place the cut cookies on the prepared baking sheets and freeze for about 10 minutes to help them maintain shape during baking.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 9-12 minutes. Once done, allow them to cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before trimming edges if needed and transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare Royal Icing Base: When cookies are cool, prepare the icing by combining meringue powder, peppermint extract (optional), and water in a stand mixer bowl and mix until foamy and combined.
- Add Powdered Sugar and Corn Syrup: Sift in powdered sugar, add corn syrup, and mix on low just until incorporated. Scrape the bowl’s sides and beat on medium-low for 5 minutes, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until glossy with stiff peaks forming.
- Tint Icing: Tint a small portion of the royal icing pink using gel icing color. Add a few drops of white gel color to the remaining white icing to enhance brightness.
- Outline Cookies: Using squeeze bottles, pipe white icing to outline each cookie precisely, setting the stage for flooding.
- Flood Cookies: Thin the white icing by adding water gradually until it reaches a thick syrup consistency. Flood the centers of each cookie with this thinned white icing.
- Create Peppermint Design: Pipe pink dots around the perimeter of the flooded area, then drag a toothpick through the dots towards the center to form the signature peppermint swirl pattern. Repeat with the remaining cookies.
- Drying Time: Allow decorated cookies to dry completely for 24 hours to set the royal icing hard for a beautiful finish.
Notes
- If the pink icing sits on top of the white without sinking in, add a few more drops of water to thin the icing until it blends properly.
- Rolling the dough between sheets of wax paper can minimize sticking and make clean-up easier.
- Freezing the cut cookies before baking helps maintain their shape and prevents spreading.
- Use a light dusting of flour on the rolling pin and cutter to prevent sticking while shaping cookies.
- Store decorated cookies in an airtight container once completely dry to maintain freshness and icing texture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 65mg
- Fat: 5g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 0.2g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 15mg
