Cookies For Santa!

 Merry Christmas Eve! We are making cookies for Chris Kal-el me Santa at the Borquez house. :) Candy Cane cookies to be precise. I've enjoyed this recipe since I was a little girl. My mother would bake them for me during the holidays. I think it's a great Santa cookie tradition for my own family to make on Christmas Eve.  I had plans for Super to help me make them tonight but my sweet boy is still a bit under the weather and I want to make sure he's well rested so he can enjoy Christmas Day. I thought I'd share this recipe so if nothing else I'd have it on file to look back in the event I forget this basic but extremely delicious cookie recipe!

 Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 teaspoons almond extract....(Ok this is my personal way of making this because I ADORE almond..DOUSE dough with extract like your putting out a fire!!) lol Sorry its that important, a pure drug;)
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Red food coloring
• 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy canes
• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extract. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
• Divide dough in half; add 6-7 drops of food coloring to one half. Shape tablespoonfuls of each color of dough into 4-in. ropes. Place ropes side by side; lightly press ends together and twist. Place on ungreased baking sheets; curve to form canes.
• Bake at 375° for 9-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Combine crushed candy canes and sugar; immediately sprinkle over cookies. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely

      This is the first batch of the raw dough twists I made. You really need to make the "ropes" a tad bit longer than the recipe indicates of they will be a little too stubby like above.

               My favorite part...crushing of the candy canes..great stress relief..yes that's a hammer ;)