Our family loves to cook. We're always trying new recipes. The only problem is that when you try so many recipes, it's hard to keep track of them all! So, we're going to post and share our recipe favorites here--both old and new.
My son broke from tradition this year and rather than a regular cake, he asked me for an ice cream cake for his birthday. He's more of an ice cream fan than a cake fan anyway, so it was fitting. His current favorite flavor of ice cream is mint chocolate chip, so that is what he asked for. To be specific, he asked for a "mint chocolate chip Pokemon ice cream cake." Above is a picture of the cake without the Pokemon cake topper. I looked up a bunch of ice cream cakes online and kind of came up with my own plan that was a combination of a bunch of different ice cream cakes that I found online.
I saw some gorgeous ice cream cakes in my online searches. I saw a version very similar to the one I made using Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches that was soooo pretty! It would be so cute for a girl's birthday cake. Cookies and cream ice cream sandwiches and a cookies and cream cake would be so good too. I saw a really fun banana split cake ice cream cake too. I love that you can be really creative with these ice cream cakes.
Step 1: While cake layer is baking, crush Oreos with a rolling pin.
Step 2: Cut ice cream sandwiches.
Step 2 continued: Place ice cream sandwiches in spring form pan.
Step 3: Spread crushed Oreos and mag shell on bottom of spring form pan.
Step 4: Spread first layer of ice cream on top of Oreo/magic shell crust.
Step 5: Top with cake layer and gently press onto ice cream layer below it.
Step 6: Top cake layer with second layer of ice cream.
Step 7: Top final layer of ice cream with a layer of frozen whipped topping.
Step 8: Remove from spring form pan and decorate as desired.
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake
Ingredients:
1 box devil's food cake mix (with eggs, water, and oil called for on package) Mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches (I used 7, see notes below) 17-20 Oreo cookies 1 (7.25 oz) bottle magic shell topping 1 quart (56 fl oz) mint chocolate chip ice cream 1 (8 oz) container whipped topping Oreo Fudge Covered Mint Creme Sandwich Cookies or additional Oreos, for topping Dairy whipped cream topping, for decorative topping, if desired Chocolate syrup, for topping, if desired
Directions:
Step 1: Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Divide the batter into four equal portions. You will only need 1/4 of the cake batter for your ice cream cake. Pour 1/4 of the batter into an 8 inch round cake pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake the thin cake layer in a 350 degree F oven for 13-15 minutes, or until cake is done when tested with a toothpick. Let cake cool completely. See my notes for tips on how you can use the extra batter.
While cake is baking, place 17-20 Oreo cookies in a zip top bag and crush with a rolling pin.
Step 2: While the cake is cooling, remove mint chocolate chip ice cream and frozen whipped topping from freezer to soften. Prepare ice cream sandwiches by cutting them into equal pieces (measuring about two inches long and one inch wide).
You can get rectangular shaped ice cream sandwiches and square shaped ones. I got square shaped ones. I cut mine into thirds. If you are using rectangular shaped ice cream sandwiches, cut them into fourths (in half length-wise and in half width-wise to get four equal sized rectangular pieces).
Place ice cream sandwich pieces inside of a 10-inch spring form pan along the edges.
Step 3: Mix a little magic shell topping (about 1/4 cup) with your crushed Oreos, until coated. Then pour the Oreo mixture into the middle of your spring form pan and spread until the bottom is evenly covered. Pour a little more magic shell over the Oreos to ensure full coverage. Place in freezer until set.
Step 4: Once ice cream is softened and crust is set, remove ice cream cake from freezer and evenly spread about two to three cups of ice cream on top of the Oreo/magic shell layer. Place in freezer until set.
Step 5: Remove cake from freezer. Add cake layer. Mine just fit into the middle space. Press cake gently down until it is firmly against the ice cream layer below it. Place in freezer until set.
Step 6: Remove cake from freezer. Add second ice cream layer to cake by spreading about two to three more cups of softened ice cream on top of the chocolate cake layer. Place in freezer until set. Put remaining mint chocolate chip ice cream back in the freezer as well.
Step 7: Remove cake from freezer. Evenly spread top with thawed frozen whipped topping until even with the top of the ice cream sandwiches. Place in freezer until set and ready to serve.
Step 8: Just prior to serving, remove ice cream cake from freezer. Remove spring form pan and decorate as desired. I decorated mine with whipped cream topping and fudge covered Oreos. I used 8 fudge covered mint Oreos and 8 sprays of whipped cream topping around the top of my ice cream cake. Serve with additional whipped cream topping and a drizzle of chocolate syrup or magic shell, if desired.
Notes: You can use the extra batter however you like. You could bake the additional batter in 2-3 additional 8-inch round cake pans and use those layers for a traditional cake. Or you could bake the additional batter in a 9x13 inch pan and frost that. Or you could use the extra batter to make cupcakes. Or you could throw it out if you don't want the extra temptation. Ha ha! I probably should have done that.
Instead, I baked my batter into four separate 8 inch round cake pans so I had four thin cake layers. I did it this way because I had never made this before and I wasn't sure if I would be using one or two layers of cake in my ice cream cake. I used one layer for the ice cream cake, and used the extra layers to make two different flavors of ice cream cakes, because I am crazy like that. More on that later. Those ice cream cakes were very basic.
Above: A peek at the layers inside.
Above: Yes, I made three ice cream cakes because I am crazy. We had extra flavors of ice cream in our freezer and extra cake layers, so I got creative. Though, I didn't try to be pretty with these ones. This one had a cake layer on the bottom, Moose Tracks peanut butter ice cream, a layer of whipped topping, and then drizzled melted peanut butter and magic shell topping. I figured that this will keep in the freezer for awhile, so why not?
Above: This one had a cake layer, Double Dribble ice cream (caramel, chocolate, and vanilla swirl ice cream), another cake layer, a layer of whipped topping, and then a drizzle of magic shell.
I think everybody either made or tried hot cocoa bombs this season. It was the "it" holiday sweet. First of all, I apologize for the length of this post. Once you get the hang of these, they aren't too bad to make at all. However, there is a bit of a learning curve to them. But practice makes perfect! Also, even if they aren't perfect, they will still taste fantastic.
I researched a lot of videos on YouTube before attempting these. Speaking of, I made my own video (my first ever for this blog!) because you really have to see how it is done to truly understand how to do it. Watch this 5 minute video (the link is for those viewing the mobile version, or if you are viewing the web version, you can click on the same video below, which for some reason, won't even appear on the mobile version), and then we can talk about what I learned through this process.
One of the videos I first researched insisted that tempered chocolate was a must because it was far superior taste-wise than using melting wafers.
So, I then studied up on tempering chocolate and even bought a spatula with a built in thermometer (you can find that here). I tried the microwave tempering method (where you keep the chocolate under a certain temperature so that it never becomes untempered), and I am not sure if my thermometer wasn't reading the temperature correctly or what, but my chocolate apparently became too hot (even though my thermometer said I was still okay) and therefore my chocolate became untempered. I know this, because it never regained that snap sound that tempered chocolate makes once it hardens again, it was dull rather than shiny, and it was a little soft.
So, then I did the stove top method to temper my chocolate...and it worked! I had beautifully tempered dark chocolate...and as soon as I tried to remove it from the mold, it cracked and shattered (that beautiful snapping sound that proves that you have correctly tempered your chocolate was totally there. Ha ha). Perhaps if I had done a thicker layer of chocolate or a second layer of chocolate, it would have been strong enough to remove from the mold without breaking. I guess I won't know for now, because at that point, I went to plan B (using melting wafers).
In my research, I learned that tempering milk and white chocolate is even harder than tempering semi-sweet or dark chocolate (because the temperatures that you temper at are different. They are lower temperatures than with dark chocolate).
I learned that chocolate melting wafers aren't really considered true chocolate because they don't contain cocoa butter. Candy melts or melting wafers contain added oils to help the chocolate solidify and hold its shape.
I also learned that chocolate chips can't be tempered. They don't have cocoa butter and they are too soft for tempering. In order to temper chocolate, you have to start with tempered chocolate. Tempered chocolate contains cocoa butter. For instance, a chocolate bar that snaps when you break off a square and contains cocoa butter is tempered. A chocolate chip never really snaps. It is soft, even when it holds its shape. A chocolate chip's composition is specifically made the way it is so that they can be soft and chewy at room temperature so you have a soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie instead of a cookie with a chocolate crunch. Tempered chocolates have that snap, shine, solidity, and the ability to hold its shape at room temperature.
You can add vegetable oil to chocolate chips to help it hold its shape at room temperature better, but then that makes them very similar to melting wafers anyway.
So, here's what I learned through a lot of trial and error:
For this particular recipe, tempering is not for me. It might be for you, but it is not for me! I am too much of a chocolate amateur. It just makes this recipe more time consuming and difficult.
If tempering is for you, and you are a skilled chocolatier, feel free to buy high quality tempered chocolate, chop it up, melt it down, make sure it is tempered again and make your beautiful pure chocolate cocoa bombs.
I, however, wanted something that would not only be delicious, but also faster and easier for me, personally, to assemble and produce on a larger scale.
Straight chocolate chips taste amazing in this recipe, though they melt easily. So, they are hard to handle when you are forming the balls because they will melt in your hands as you are touching them. You can hide a lot of flaws with drizzled chocolate and toppings though. Also, they will retain their shape best if stored in the refrigerator.
As mentioned above, if you add a little shortening (2 tablespoons shortening for every 2 cups of chocolate chips), you can make your own version of chocolate candy coating that will work better for these cocoa bombs and can be stored at room temperature, rather than in the fridge.
It is easier to make these hot cocoa bombs with bare hands rather than while wearing gloves. You kind of need your bare skin to handle the chocolate. The gloves make things too slippery.
Chocolate chips with or without shortening taste great in this recipe.
Candy melts or melting wafers also taste great in this recipe.
When I made mine, I used melting wafers, straight chocolate chips, and chocolate chips with shortening. I thought all of them were delicious, so I suggest you use what you are most comfortable with.
Finally, you will need a medium size silicone mold. There are bigger ones, but they are way too big for your standard size mug. You can find the one I used here.
Hot Cocoa Bombs
Ingredients:
2 cups chocolate chips or melting wafers 2 tbsp shortening (only if using chocolate chips) 1 scoop hot cocoa (any flavor) per bomb 1 scoop mini vanilla dehydrated marshmallows per bomb Sprinkles, crushed candy, crushed cookies, etc. for decorative topping, if desired 1 cup steaming hot milk (any kind) per bomb, for serving
Directions:
Melt chocolate chips or melting wafers in a microwave safe container at 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until completely smooth.
Add a spoonful of melted chocolate to each mold indentation. Using the back of the spoon, spread chocolate evenly over each indentation.
Place mold in the freezer for 5 minutes, or until completely set.
Once set, carefully remove the chocolate from the molds.
Gather your hot cocoa and mini marshmallows for easy assembly.
Place a microwave safe glass dish in the microwave. Microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot.
Carefully place warm dish next to the chocolate shells. Place one shell half, seam side down, on the warm plate to clean up and slightly melt the edges.
Fill that shell half with a scoop of hot cocoa. Top that with a scoop of mini marshmallows.
Place second shell half, seam side down, on the warm plate to clean up and slightly melt the edges.
Carefully place the two shells together, smoothing the seam with your finger and using additional melted chocolate to help seal it together, if necessary.
Repeat until you run out of chocolate and/or you have the desired amount of cocoa bombs.
Let the bombs sit until completely set.
Using a squeeze bottle or spoon, drizzle completed bombs with additional melted chocolate that has cooled slightly. You don't want to use chocolate that is too hot or it will melt a hole right through your bomb and ruin all of your hard work! (Yes, I am speaking from experience. RIP cocoa bomb that got drizzled with chocolate that was too hot)
Immediately top with sprinkles, crushed candies, or crushed cookies, if using. If you wait too long, the chocolate drizzle will set and the toppings won't stick to it.
When ready to serve, you can explode your cocoa bomb one of two ways. You can place a cocoa bomb in the bottom of a mug and slowly pour 1 cup of steaming hot milk on top. Or, you can prepare a mug of steaming hot milk and gently place the bomb into your mug of milk.
Source: Holy cow, this is everywhere. All you have to do is Google it to find videos and/or recipe links all over the place. For me, it started when my sister found an ad saying they would be available at Costco. We searched and never found them, so we decided to make our own.
Notes: Please watch the video above, because honestly, these aren't too hard to make once you get the hang of it, but it is a completely visual recipe. You kind of have to see how it is done for it to totally make sense.
I love Ghirardelli melting wafers. That's what I used for the hot cocoa bombs in all but one (the final) picture. Even in that picture, I used the Ghirardelli melting wafers for half of those cocoa bombs. I found them in my local grocery store. If you can't find them locally, you can find them here.
I found dehydrated vanilla mini marshmallows on Amazon, here.
If doing a large batch, a squeeze bottle is easiest for drizzling chocolate. If doing a small batch, a spoon is easier. I used a squeeze bottle similar to these ones here.
The easiest way to steam milk is to put one cup of milk in a microwave safe container and microwave for 1 minute. Stir. After one minute, that is a good temperature for kids. If you like it hotter, microwave for an additional minute.
Also, if you long for the taste of real, tempered, cocoa butter packed chocolate, but can't figure out how to make them work in your molds without them shattering, simply put a couple of squares of high quality chocolate in a mug, add a scoop of hot cocoa, add some mini marshmallows, and then add some steaming hot milk and just enjoy it with the knowledge that you didn't make a huge mess of your kitchen in the process.
Hot Cocoa Bomb Flavor Combinations:
Dark chocolate melting wafers, raspberry hot cocoa, red nonpareil sprinkles
Dark chocolate melting wafers, peppermint hot cocoa, crushed peppermint candies
Dark chocolate melting wafers, dark chocolate hot cocoa, chocolate sprinkles
Dark chocolate melting wafers, mint truffle hot cocoa, green sugar or crushed wint-o-greens candies
White chocolate melting wafers, white chocolate hot cocoa, red sugar
White chocolate melting wafers, pumpkin spice hot cocoa, cinnamon sugar or a little nutmeg
Dark or milk chocolate melting wafers or chocolate chips, salted caramel hot cocoa, finely chopped toffee, butterscotch candies, and/or coarse salt
Dark or milk chocolate melting wafers or chocolate chips, toasted coconut hot cocoa, toasted shredded coconut, finely chopped
Milk chocolate chips, peanut butter cup hot cocoa, crumbled Nutter Butter or other peanut butter cookies
White chocolate melting wafers, cookies and cream hot cocoa, crushed Oreo cookies
Dark chocolate melting wafers or milk chocolate chips, cookies and cream hot cocoa, crushed Oreo cookies
Milk chocolate chips, English toffee hot cocoa, finely chopped toffee
Milk chocolate chips, hazelnut hot cocoa, finely chopped hazelnut chocolate candy bar
Milk chocolate chips, mocha or macchiato flavored hot cocoa, chocolate sprinkles
Milk chocolate chips, Mexican style hot cocoa, cinnamon sugar
Milk chocolate chips, milk chocolate hot cocoa, mini chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
Milk chocolate chips, cherry hot cocoa, red sugar
Wherever your taste buds and your creativity take you!
Above: This is the only picture that I took of the hot cocoa bombs that I made as gifts for my family. It was honestly such a process, I had so much to learn, and I was so under the gun to get them delivered on time that pictures didn't even occur to me until I was literally about to drop the last gift plate on my sister's porch. So, I grabbed my cell phone and snapped a few quick pics. Ha ha. Do yourself a favor and have a few trial runs to get comfortable with these before planning to make 50 at once to deliver while you are under a deadline to do it.
The top two are dark chocolate Ghirardelli melting wafers, peppermint hot cocoa mix, mini marshmallows, and topped with crushed peppermint. The two below that are dark chocolate Ghirardelli melting wafers, raspberry hot cocoa mix, mini marshmallows, and topped with red nonpareils. The two with red sugar are milk chocolate chips, milk chocolate cocoa mix, mini marshmallows, and red sugar sprinkles.
The final one with green sprinkles is a mini long story. I ordered Ghirardelli milk chocolate melting wafers on my online pickup order, but then they were unavailable. This was the substitute the store made. Dang online order substitutions! Am I right? They looked like melting wafers, but turned out to be more like chocolate chips. They worked, but I didn't add shortening because I thought they were melting wafers. The result was that these were the hardest to assemble because they were so prone to melting. They exploded nicely when milk was poured on them though. So, that was milk chocolate wafers, milk chocolate hot cocoa, mini marshmallows, and green sprinkles.
I then made three more (the ones in all of the rest of the pictures), just so I could take pictures for this blog post. Ha ha! Those are dark chocolate melting wafers, raspberry hot cocoa, and red nonpareils and dark chocolate melting wafers, peppermint or candy cane hot cocoa, and crushed peppermints.
Above: You can also make them UFO-style. Instead of using the hot plate method to fuse the shell halves together, you pipe slightly cooled melted chocolate onto the edges and then put them together. You then roll the bomb in sprinkles, crushed candy, or chopped cookies for decoration. These are milk chocolate chips (without shortening), raspberry hot cocoa, and red sugar. These were my very first attempt at hot cocoa bombs. You can kind of see that when I handled them, the tops became less shiny and dull. These tasted like ambrosia though.
Again, sorry for the long post, but I hope my errors and learning experiences along the way will help you avoid problems in your own hot cocoa bomb journey.
However you decide to make them, I hope you love them as much as we did!
This is the old Scottish Trifle recipe that we always had for dessert on Christmas Eve while I was growing up.
Scottish Trifle
Ingredients:
Angel food cake (pre-made from your grocery bakery or homemade) 17 oz. frozen raspberries 4-5 tbsp. orange juice 3 oz. raspberry Jell-O 4 oz cook and serve vanilla pudding, with milk called for on package instructions 1/2 pint whipping cream 1/2 cup granulated sugar, or to taste 1/2 cup blanched sliced almonds Maraschino cherries
Directions:
Thaw and drain raspberries, reserving juice.
Crumble cake on bottom of large serving bowl or trifle dish. Pour orange juice over cake. Spoon drained fruit over the top.
Using reserved raspberry juice, prepare Jell-O using slightly less water (about 3/4 cup boiling water and 3/4 cup cold water/juice mixture). Pour Jell-O liquid mixture over raspberries and crumbled angel food cake. Chill to set.
Prepare cook and serve pudding according to package instructions. Chill completely.
Spread chilled pudding on top of trifle. Chill completely.
Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add in sugar and continue beating until incorporated.
When ready to serve, spread whipped cream on top of trifle and sprinkle with almonds (toasted or untoasted, according to your preference) and maraschino cherries.
Source: My mom found this in the recipe section of the Deseret News around 30 years ago. I couldn't find it on their site, but you are welcome to peruse their recipe archives!
Notes: We always use a store-bought pre-baked angel food cake. It is just easier that way, and they are delicious. The original recipe also says that you can used canned raspberries. In that case, you wouldn't drain or strain them. You would just use water to prepare the Jell-O. After trying the new version and the old version of Scottish Trifle, we decided that we would probably try to make a new hybrid version next year. The consensus was that we loved the homemade custard and fresh raspberries in the new version, but we loved the added flavors from the orange juice and raspberry juice in the old version. So, stay tuned for December 2021 for yet another version of Scottish Trifle. Ha ha!
1 angel food cake (pre-made by your grocery bakery, or homemade) 1 recipe homemade custard, fully chilled (see below) 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup granulated sugar, or to taste Slivered blanched almonds 2 pints fresh raspberries
Directions:
Beat heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Sprinkle in sugar and continue beating until incorporated.
Cut or tear angel food cake into bite size cubes. Spread a layer of angel food cake onto the bottom of a trifle dish or large bowl. Sprinkle evenly with fresh raspberries.
Top angel food cake and raspberries with homemade custard.
Top custard layer with whipped cream. Chill until ready to serve.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread slivered blanched almonds onto foil covered baking sheet. Bake almonds, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and toasted. Let cool completely.
When ready to serve, sprinkle top of the trifle with toasted slivered almonds and fresh raspberries.
Source: This was a combination of this recipe that I found and the old one, found here, that we used to make while I was growing up.
Notes: I used a pre-baked angel food cake from my grocery bakery. It is just nice to simplify things when everything else has so many steps. The reason my trifle bowl doesn't look very full is that I split this recipe in half and separated it into two trifle bowls so I could keep one half for our family and give the other half to my mom. Pictured is the one I gave to my mom. If I put the entire recipe into one trifle bowl, it would fill it to the top. You could even alternate layers, if desired, and do six layers instead of three (1. angel food cake and raspberries, 2. custard, 3. whipped cream, 4. angel food cake and raspberries, 5. custard, 6. whipped cream, raspberries, and toasted almonds).
Homemade Custard
Ingredients:
4 cups heavy whipping cream, scalded 5 egg yolks 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Beat the yolks with the sugar until it is light and forms a ribbon when the beater is lifted.
Add the scalded cream slowly in a stream, stirring. (You can also use the mixer on low speed)
Transfer the custard to a heavy saucepan and cook it over moderately low heat, stirring until it thickens, but do not let it boil. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in vanilla. Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a metal bowl. Set in a bowl of ice. Let it cool, stirring occasionally, then chill, covered.
Source: My sister-in-law, Angie Adams.
Notes: The longer you let it chill, the thicker it will be. I recommend making it a day before you need to assemble the trifle, and letting it chill overnight. This is rich and heavenly stuff.
You know the saying, "Nobody makes 'em like mom?" This is true of snickerdoodles. I still haven't figured them out. My mom made us a batch of snickerdoodles in a Christmas care package, and they tasted like childhood and heaven. Light, fluffy, and cakey. Soooo good. Here is her recipe.
Giant Snickerdoodles
Ingredients:
1 cup margarine, softened (use a good brand that is preferably marked "good for baking") 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tbsp. sugar 2 eggs 2 3/4 cups flour 2 tsp. cream of tarter 1 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 2 tsp. cinnamon
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl with mixer at medium speed, cream butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and eggs until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture until well blended, but do not overmix.
Refrigerate at least 1 hour to chill dough.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon in a flat open bowl.
*Important: Prepare balls of dough for one batch of cookies at a time. Keep unused dough refrigerated. The texture of the cookies is dependent on the dough remaining chilled right up until baking.
Shape dough into 2-inch balls and roll in cinnamon-sugar. Place 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Snickerdoodles will puff up at first, then flatten out to giant size during baking. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.
Source: My mom got this recipe from a Ladies Home Journal magazine about 40 years ago.
Notes: You cannot substitute butter or shortening for this recipe. You need margarine, and not just any margarine, but a good quality margarine. Some margarine brands water their formula down, so that will alter the outcome of the recipe as well. Look for a brand of margarine that specifically claims that it is "good for baking." Also, do not overmix the batter. Finally, it is imperative that you keep the dough chilled in the refrigerator right up until it is ready to be rolled into a ball and baked, otherwise the cookies will spread. They will lose their thick, light, fluffy, and cakey texture and instead be flat, chewy, and quickly become hard. If this happens, the cookies are still edible, of course, but you will want to warm them in the microwave for 7-10 seconds per cookie prior to eating to soften them up.
We have two amazing chocolate chip cookie recipes on this blog. One of them can be found here. The other one can be found below. We posted it nearly a decade ago, here, but my mom made a batch for us for Christmas, so I felt it deserved another post.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1 lb. butter or margarine 1 1/2 cups white sugar 2 cups brown sugar 3 eggs 6 cups flour 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. vanilla 2 bags (4 cups) chocolate chips) Walnuts, if desired
Directions:
Cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.
Then add eggs, flour, salt, baking soda, and vanilla. Once incorporated, add chocolate chips, and walnuts, if using.
Mix well. Put on ungreased cookie sheet with small ice cream scoop. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes.
Source: My mom found this in a ward/church cookbook about 30 years ago. She mentioned in the comments below that it was a recipe either submitted by Jo Hatch and/or Sharon Boam.
Notes: We originally added pecans to this as well, but since my son developed a tree nut allergy, we have omitted the nuts.
My mom has mentioned a number of times that her mom used to make candy cane cookies that had anise and almond flavoring. However, her mom never passed on a recipe to them. I decided to try my hand with the internet and see if I can find a recipe that was close to what her mom used to make. She said this one came pretty darn close and brought back a lot of memories.
Now, you can have a lot of fun with the flavorings on these cookies. I found a lot of different options online. Some recipes used 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract for the red dough and 1 teaspoon almond extract for the white dough. Some recipes used 1 teaspoon peppermint extract for the red dough and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for the white dough. The version my mom always had used 1 teaspoon anise extract for the red dough and 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract for the white dough.
I made these cookies two ways. I made one batch using the anise extract for the red dough and almond extract for the white dough. Then I made another batch where I used peppermint extract for the red dough and vanilla extract for the white dough. It was fantastic both ways. These are light, soft, and chewy butter cookies. I think you will love them. Besides being delicious, they were also adorable.
Christmas Candy Cane Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup confectioners' sugar 1 large egg, room temperature 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring (or more, to get your desired color) 1/2 cup peppermint candy, crushed, optional 1/2 cup sugar, optional
In a large bowl, cream the shortening, butter, and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Divide dough in half; mix the food coloring into 1 portion. Then mix in the extracts: almond, peppermint, or anise into the red dough and vanilla or almond into the white dough.
Cover each portion of dough separately and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle. I put each into a separate zip top bag.
Just before removing dough from the refrigerator, mix crushed peppermint candy and sugar together, if using.
Shape 1 teaspoon plain dough into a 4-inch rope. Shape 1 teaspoon red dough into a 4-inch rope. Place ropes side by side; pres together lightly and twist carefully. Be gentle to avoid breaking or cracking the dough. Place on an ungreased baking sheet; curve top of cookie down to form handle of cane. Repeat with remaining plain and red dough, placing cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets. I kept the dough I wasn't currently working with in the refrigerator to keep it chilled.
Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes or until set. Sprinkle the candy mixture lightly on top of the warm cookies. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Nutrition information: 1 cookie: 86 calories, 4 g fat, 48 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate (6 g sugars, 0 g fiber), 1 g protein.
Source: I found variations of this cookie recipe all over the internet. I followed this one from Taste of Home. you can find it here. However, here are some more versions of the recipe. Another Taste of Home version, here. This Taste of Home version is cinnamon flavored with crushed red hots! You can find it here. Don't feel like making dough? This version, here, uses refrigerated sugar cookie dough. This was the only one I found that used anise flavoring. You can find it here. I am not sure why it was so poorly reviewed. Probably someone who doesn't like anise flavoring. But I love it! A cute three color candy cane with red, green, and white, here. Version one from Allrecipes.com, here. Version two from Allrecipes.com, here. Version three from Allrecipes.com, here.
Above: I could have spaced them a little more and fit nine cookies to a pan, all facing the same direction, but this is how I did mine this time.
Notes: I LOVED the anise and almond flavor combination. The anise flavoring was not overpowering. This is not eating a black jellybean cookie, I promise. It is subtle and just such a lovely flavor combination. It was so good. I also loved the peppermint flavored cookies as well. Though the almond and vanilla flavor combination might be the most kid friendly. As you can see from all the versions I found, you can experiment with what works best for you! Also, definitely check out the tricolor candy canes (red, green, and white). Those were really fun and cute too!
