Peppermint Sugar Cookies

12 Days of Christmas Cookies Day 4! It’s funny, I don’t like mint that much in savory dishes, but I really look forward to cookies with peppermint at Christmas. I always try to find some way to include peppermint in my holiday cookie plans. I usually pair it with chocolate, since that seems like a natural combination. In this case, mint is the main star, just put into a sugar cookie. 

Whenever you put candy in a cookie, you have to be very careful with the candy’s natural inclination to melt. The original recipe mentioned that you should crush up the candy very finely. I use pre-crushed peppermint (which you can usually find at coffee shops this time of year), but I crushed it even more so that there wouldn’t be big chunks. The candies still melt a little bit around the edges, but I think this was the most successful outing of baking with candy.

I shaped some of these by pressing them down with a fork, like peanut butter cookies, and others I flattened with the bottom of a glass. The ones I flattened with a fork didn’t hold their shape; maybe I needed to refrigerate them more. I think the ones I flattened with the glass turned out a little better. They are still a little rough around the edges, but they have wonderful peppermint flavor. They are crispy and melt in your mouth, and the peppermint adds that extra something. 

Peppermint Sugar Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 large egg yolk

2 large egg whites

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

1/2 cup finely crushed hard peppermint candies/candy canes

Powdered sugar

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar until light. Add egg yolk; stir to combine. Add the egg whites and peppermint extract and mix well. (The mixture may not be smooth.) With the mixer on low, stir in the flour mixture. Stir in the peppermint candies.

Wrap the dough in plastic and chill for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in powdered sugar and with flatten with a fork or with the bottom of a drinking glass. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until barely golden on the bottom. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Recipe Girl