Candy Stripe Twist Cookies Food

CANDY STRIPE TWIST COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift together and set aside the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Cream butter and sugar til fluffy.
• Beat in egg and oil of anise.
• Sift in dry ingredients a third at a time, alternately adding with milk.
• Stir until well blended.
• Divide dough in half and tint one half pink.
• Pinch off 1 tsp each of pink and white dough and roll each into a pencil-thin strip about 5 inches long on a lightly floured board.
• Place strips side by side, pressing ends together, then twist gently into a rope.
• Shape into candy canes if desired, or leave straight for old-fashioned peppermint stick look.
• Bake 1 inch apart at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until firm.
• Cool on wire racks, then store between layers of waxed paper in cookie tin.

STARS AND STRIPES PIñATA COOKIES

Steps:

• For the dough: Line a 3 1/2-inch x 6-inch x 2 1/4-inch mini loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a 4-inch overhang on two of the sides. Set aside.
• Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Beat together the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Beat the butter, granulated sugar and confectioners' sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat until slightly creamy, about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Reduce the speed to low again and slowly pour in the egg mixture; beat until combined. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, increasing the speed as the dough gets thicker to keep the beaters spinning, and scraping down the sides of the bowl and the beaters themselves as needed. Once all the flour is just incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out of the bowl and bring it together. Divide into 3 even pieces (about 13 ounces each) and place the pieces into separate medium bowls. Add the red food coloring to one bowl and mix to combine. Add the white food coloring to another bowl and mix to combine. Add the blue food coloring to the third bowl and mix to combine. Cut each dough ball into 6 equal pieces.
• Press one piece of red dough into the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Press a white piece of dough on top of the red and then a blue piece of dough on top of the white, gently pressing each so that the dough conforms to the shape of the pan. Repeat this process and order until all of the dough is in the loaf pan. The dough will come about 2 inches above the top of the pan, and that is okay. (You want the loaf of dough to be about 5 inches tall.) Freeze the dough until hard, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Using the parchment overhang, remove the dough from the loaf pan. With a sharp knife, cut the dough crosswise into twenty 1/8-inch thick slices and arrange on a baking sheet. Freeze until hardened, about 15 minutes. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone liners. With a 3-inch star cookie cutter, cut a star shape out of each slice and arrange on the lined baking sheets. Cut another star shape out of the center of the big stars with a 1 1/2-inch star cookie cutter. Arrange the small stars on the lined baking sheets. Freeze until hardened, about 15 minutes.
• Fill the center of the larger cookies with the crushed candies (don't worry about filling completely, since the candies will melt and naturally fill in the window). Bake the filled cookies and smaller star cookies until the candies have melted and the cookies are firm, about 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, divide the scraps in half and place each half between two pieces of parchment and reroll to 1/8-inch thick. Place them in the freezer until hardened, about 30 minutes. Cut out 10 stars using the large cookie cutter and arrange them on the lined baking sheets. Cut out smaller stars from the middles of the larger stars and arrange on the lined baking sheets. Freeze until hard, 15 minutes. Bake until the cookies are firm, about 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• For the royal icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl. Add 5 tablespoons water and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the icing forms thick and glossy peaks, adding up to 1 tablespoon more water, if needed, about 2 minutes. Transfer the icing to a resealable plastic bag and seal. Cut a small piece out of one of the corners of the bag.
• Flip the candy-filled cookies over and pipe the icing around the border. Top 10 of the cookies with one of the unfilled large star cookies. Place a pinch of star sprinkles in the center of the cookies. Press the remaining 10 candy-filled cookies on top, sandwiching the icing inside. Let the icing harden, about 10 minutes.

CANDY-STRIPE COOKIE STICKS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Put egg whites and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat on medium speed until foamy. Reduce speed to low. Add flour and salt; mix until just combined. Add butter, cream, and vanilla, and beat until combined.
• Transfer 1 cup batter to a bowl (set remaining batter aside). Stir in red coloring until desired color is reached. Transfer tinted batter to a pastry bag fitted with a small plain round tip (such as Ateco #2). Secure end of pastry bag with rubber band. Set aside.
• Put a 3 by 6-inch rectangle stencil on a baking sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat (such as Silpat). Spoon a heaping tablespoon of plain batter into the rectangle, and spread with a small offset spatula. Repeat with stencil and more batter. Pipe evenly spaced diagonal tinted stripes onto each rectangle. Bake until pale golden, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Immediately loosen edges with a spatula, and flip cookie over. Starting from one long side, roll cookie into a thin cylinder. Place seam side down on a clean work surface; let cool until set. Quickly repeat with second cookie. Repeat process, tinting and baking two or three cookies at a time. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.
• How to Form Cookie Sticks
• 1. Cut a 3 by 6-inch rectangle from card-board as a template. Position template on baking sheet, and spoon on a tablespoon of batter. Spread it to fill template with an offset spatula.
• 2. Pipe evenly spaced diagonal stripes over batter. Repeat a second time on same baking sheet.
• 3. Bake flat, and roll cookies while they're still warm, then set aside to cool.

CANDY CANE COOKIES

Steps:

• Stir together 1 cup sugar, the butter, milk, vanilla, peppermint extract and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Divide dough in half. Stir food color into 1 half. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Stir together peppermint candy and 2 tablespoon sugar; set aside.
• For each candy cane, shape 1 rounded teaspoon dough from each half into 4-inch rope by rolling back and forth on floured surface. Place 1 red and white rope side by side; press together lightly and twist. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; curve top of cookie down to form handle of cane.
• Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until set and very light brown. Immediately sprinkle candy mixture over cookies. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.