As I mentioned yesterday, today’s recipe is a recipe for one cookie dough that you can make into four cookies. You can actually make the dough into many more and I could probably come up with some crazy cookie for every day of the year but thought I’d stop at four so that my family didn’t have me committed to a mental hospital! 
There were a few mishaps along the way (including the sacrifice of several bags of chocolate chips that seized rather than melted), but in the end my family has really enjoyed the final four cookies.
The dough needs to be refrigerated for at least a few hours, but you can make it one night and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few days. If you are interested in making all four upcoming cookies, QUADRUPLE the basic dough recipe, divide it into 4, wrap in plastic wrap, then refrigerate. It’s a lot easier than making the dough 4 times. Or if you want to make two of the cookies, DOUBLE the basic dough recipe. I quadrupled the recipe and it really wasn’t that much dough and easy to handle. That’s a lot of math, and I’m starting to confuse myself, so I’ll stop.
All four cookies are distinctly different in shape and flavors. No one will believe that they all came from the same dough. It will be our little secret. Today’s recipe is Peppermint White Chocolate Sticks (the remaining three include Nutty Jam Nests, Salted Peanut Butterscotch Cookies, and Kahlua Drizzled Butter Cookies). Wish I could give you all four today, but I’m still working on finishing up the other three but they’ll be ready over the next few days, I promise!
Like I mentioned, I quadrupled the basic dough recipe then used a scale (but you can eyeball it) to divide into 4 portions. Wrapped each portion in plastic wrap then stuck in the refrigerator.
I had my kids take small balls of dough and roll them on a silpat. If the dough is a little sticky, put a little flour on your hands. You can also roll the dough into a long “log” then cut into smaller pieces.
The cookies should be about 2 inches long.
The cookies will flatten as they cook.
Now comes the fun part! Dip the cookies in melted chocolate then sprinkle crushed candy canes on top.
When they’re all done, they’re almost too cute to eat!
| Peppermint White Chocolate Sticks |
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- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (11oz.) bag white chocolate chips
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 6 candy canes, finely crushed
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar with electric mixer until well combined and creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined.
- In a separate small bowl mix together flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Beat into butter/sugar mixture until well combined. Wrap dough up in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until well chilled (can refrigerate overnight or up to a few days).
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats (or lightly spray with nonstick spray).
- Break dough apart into small pieces and roll with hands until about 2 inches in length. Place on prepared baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 11-14 minutes or until lightly browned underneath. Cookies will flatten as they cook. Place cookies on wire racks to cool.
- Meanwhile, place white chocolate in microwave safe bowl and microwave on half power in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until smooth. (Be careful, the white chocolate can seize and become a mess rather quickly) Stir in peppermint extract.
- Dip cookies in white chocolate. Place on waxed paper (or silpats or parchment paper) and sprinkle crushed candy canes on top of chocolate. Cool completely until chocolate sets.
SNAPPY SUBSTITUTIONS: Instead of candy canes you could also use starlight mints, sprinkles, or any crushed candy. If use something such as sprinkles that don’t have a peppermint flavor I would suggest adding a little more peppermint extract to the white chocolate. You could also substitute other types of chocolate for the white chocolate such as dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate.
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Those white chocolate peppermint sticks look divine!