Best Holiday Treats

I like to have at least 4 kinds of cookies on hand for gift giving, and hosting.  The Swirl cookies have become part of my repertoire, and I have made them every Christmas for almost a decade.  Ricardo's Sucre a la creme recipe is the best  I know of. Biscotti is a good addition for those who want a little something sweet, but not a full on sugar/fat buzz.  The candy cane short bread is a recipe I developed recently. In the above photo I mixed the crushed candy cane into the dough, and flattened the cookies with a glass. 

• Sucre a la creme (The best!)
•  Maple Pecan Biscotti (I added maple extract to the dough, and skipped the icing sugar deco.)
• Anise scented Fig and Date Swirls (Worth the trouble! Dough freezes well once assembled allowing for last minute cookie making.)
• Candy Cane Shortbread (Recipe below)

Candy Cane Shortbread Cookies

as seen in Mainstreet

Makes 45-50 Cookies

·      500 ml (2 cups) all purpose flour

·      250 ml (1 cup) icing sugar

·      250 ml (1 cup) corn starch

·      1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) sea salt

·      375 ml (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened

·      5 ml (1 teaspoon) peppermint extract

·      Sufficient quantity cane canes (red/green/white candy canes look best)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the first 4 ingredients. Stir in the butter, and peppermint extract until a well blended dough is formed. Shape into 2.5 cm (1 inch) balls. If dough is too soft to handle, cover and chill for 1 hour.  

Now here is the fun part:  Either throw the candy canes into a food processor or break up the candy canes up by hand using a knife or a mortar and pestle.  You can even turn the canes into a fine powder if you have the patience to do it by hand or throw them in a coffee grinder that is dedicated to spice grinding. I would test a few cookie dough balls by bringing together the cookies and crushed cane in different ways to see which you prefer.  You can try making a indent in a ball and filling it with crushed candy cane, or rolling a ball in crushed candy cane and flattening it with a fork on a cookie sheet.  Alternately if you have made a fine power you can bake them, and then dust the baked cookies (once cool enough to handle), as you would with icing sugar.