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Peppermint Sticks Recipe
This year make your holidays doubly delicious! Give homemade cookies paired with one of ourfavorite 2011 cookbooks for a gift that keeps on giving.Recipe created by Shelley Kaldunski.
O, The Oprah Magazine
|
November 09, 2011Photo: Hannah Whitaker
Ever wish you could make all your cookies look as good as they taste? In the book Art of theCookie, food stylist Shelly Kaldunski teaches tricks of the trade to making professional-lookingtreats like these ethereal candy-cane-inspired tuiles.
Makes about 30 cookies
Ingredients•
¾
cup all-purpose flour•
¼
tsp. salt•
½
cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar•8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature•3 egg whites•
¾
tsp. peppermint extract•Red gel-paste or liquid food coloring•Burgundy gel-paste or liquid food coloring (optional)
Directions
Total cooking time: 1
½
hours
Preheat oven to 325°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a mediumbowl, whisk together flour and salt. In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter with an electric mixeron medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg whites and peppermint extractand beat on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute more. With the mixer on low speed,slowly add flour mixture, beating until incorporated.Transfer
½
cup of the dough to a medium bowl. (If using burgundy food coloring as well, dividedough into 2 bowls and add red coloring to one and burgundy to the other. Continue this step,repeating the process with each color.) Add food coloring to bowl, and mix with a spoon untildough is evenly colored. Transfer dough to a pastry bag fitted with a
⅛
round tip or a resealablebag with a corner cut off.To form each cookie, use a small offset spatula to spread 2 tsp. of the uncolored dough into a 3
½
×
4
½
rectangle on a prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 apart. Pipe diagonal lines of red(and burgundy, if using) dough over the rectangles to resemble candy canes.Bake 1 sheet of cookies at a time until the edges are firm to the touch but have not yet taken onany golden color, 6 to 7 minutes. Working quickly, use a metal spatula to gently transfer onecookie to a flat surface. Firmly roll the cookie around the thin handle of a wooden spoon or thelarger end of a chopstick, then slide cookie off and transfer to a large plate. Repeat rollingprocess with remaining cookies; if they become too cool and fragile for shaping, return them tothe oven for 30 seconds or so to soften.Repeat baking and rolling process with remaining dough. (Be sure to cool cookie sheetscompletely before spreading out more batches.) Set finished cookies aside to cool completely,about 15 minutes, then store in an airtight container up to 2 days.
Bake it better!
Gel-paste food coloring gives these cookies their vibrant color; you'll find it at specialty bakingshops and at amazon.com.If you like, substitute regular food coloring for paler shades.
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