Candy Cane Cookies

Tree Candy

Edible ornaments make post-holiday cleanup a tasty task.

Every year, I look forward to the magnificent display of decorated trees at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland. The Women's Committee is endlessly inventive with themes such as literature, the arts, history and popular culture. Year after year, the committee comes up with dazzling color schemes and ornaments to convey its particular topic. The only drawback is how puny and unimaginative my little tree at home seems after their grandeur.

Who would have thought that even Christmas trees are slaves to fashion! When I was growing up in the 1950s, every self-respecting Christmas tree was festooned with bubble lights, glass balls that broke into a million dangerous shards if someone sneezed, and tons of toxic tinsel. When my girls were decorating our tree in the 1980s, we had to have the latest bauble from Hallmark - you know, the kind where you stick one of your lights into the back to illuminate Santa's Workshop. And last year, people were paying a premium for retro aluminum trees!

This year, I hope to start a new tradition - edible ornaments. No more bubble lights, no more Hallmark scenes, no dangerous glass bulbs or fragile snowflakes. I'm going to make an assortment of cookies that can hang from the branches and then allow all visitors to take some home with them. When all the ornaments are eaten - out goes the tree. Think of how many trips to the attic I'll save.

I guess you can wrap and hang almost any cookie from your tree, but these candy-cane cookies have the peppermint flavor, aroma and red and white striping to please any holiday palate.

Candy Cane Cookie Ornaments Makes 2 to 3 dozen
Ingredients: 4 cups flour 1 cup sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 21/2 sticks butter (softened) 1 teaspoon peppermint extract 3 eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring	Instructions: Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender or paddle of mixer. Mix the peppermint extract with the beaten eggs and stir into flour mixture. Remove half of the dough. Add the red food coloring to the remaining dough and mix well. At this point, you can roll the dough into 2-inch logs, wrap in plastic and store in the refrigerator or freezer. When you are ready to make the cookies, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the white and red logs at 1-inch intervals and roll into a thin rope about 4 inches long. Twist together 1 red and 1 white rope, pinch the ends, shape into candy canes and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for approximately 15 minutes until the cookies are light-brown. Wait a minute or two and place onto cooling racks.
Ginger Bread Cookies
Ingredients: 1/2 cup molasses 1/4 cup sugar 3 tablespoons butter or shortening 1 tablespoon milk 2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon each: salt, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves 2-3 tablespoons water (if needed)	Instructions: Heat the molasses to the boiling point. Stir in the butter, milk and sugar until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Mix the flour, baking soda and spices in a large bowl. Add the molasses mixture and stir well. Add enough water to form a firm dough. Roll out on a lightly floured board to 1/4 inch thickness. Use cookie cutter to shape ginger bread figures. Put a hole in the top of the head with a straw or toothpick if you intend to hang the cookie from the tree. Place on a parchment lined or buttered cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool then decorate with white icing, raisins, nuts, etc. More Recipes Printer Friendly Page