These Peppermint Sugar Cookies with Homemade Frosting are a lovely holiday sweet treat to make. These holiday cookies have a light, flaky peppermint flavor that isn’t overpowering, and the addition of crushed candy canes makes it perfect for the holiday season.

- What If I Don't Want to Crush Up the Candy Canes?
- What Makes Cookies Flat or Puffy?
- How do you store peppermint sugar cookies?
- Ingredients for Peppermint Sugar Cookies with Homemade Frosting
- Equipment Needed for Sugar Cookies
- How to make Peppermint Sugar Cookies with Homemade Frosting
- Holiday Sugar Cookie Variations
- PEPPERMINT SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE
- Peppermint Sugar Cookies with Homemade Frosting
What If I Don’t Want to Crush Up the Candy Canes?
There are several ways to break a candy cane in a messy freeway, but the tried-and-true method is to place the candies inside a bag that can be sealed and then repeatedly whack the bag with a meat mallet, a piece of glass, or anything else strong enough to break the candies.
You can buy candy canes that have already been crushed on Amazon if you don’t want to go through the hitting process, but since kids enjoy choosing these treats from the store most of the time, chances are you already have a lot of candy canes at home. Rather than throwing them away, here are some ways to crush them so you can still use them for desserts like cupcakes.
Use a Meat Tenderizer to Crush Candy Canes
The tried-and-true method to crush candy canes is to place the candies inside a bag that can be sealed. Then repeatedly whack the bag with a meat mallet, a piece of glass, or anything else strong enough to break the candies.
Ensure that the plastic bag you choose is strong enough to withstand all the hitting; otherwise, it may rip after a few blows and cause a mess as the crushed candy flies everywhere.
If you want your candy to be broken into small, solid pieces but not completely ground up, this method is ideal.
Food Processors Can Crush Candy Canes
Now, you might want to use a food processor if you want your candy canes to have more of a powder-like consistency. In order to use this option, you may simply want to make sure that your candy canes are not sticky when you put them in your food processor. Sticky candy canes could gum up and stick your food processor’s blades, and cleaning it would be a nightmare.
Now, if your candy cane is already sticky, you might want to add some powdered sugar to it and your food processor; this action will solve your problem. Alternatively, you could simply place your candy canes in the freezer before putting them in the food processor to remove the stickiness. Additionally, you might want to break the candy canes into smaller pieces to aid the blades.

What Makes Cookies Flat or Puffy?
Many people enjoy baking and look forward to giving their friends and family some of their baked goods, like cookies. However, there are also times when these delectable treats become something entirely different from what we had anticipated. When cookies turn out too flat or fluffy, you might wonder what went wrong. To help you figure it out, here are some potential causes.
Reasons Why Your Cookies are Puffy
- One of the causes of puffy cookies can be traced to an error made when creaming the butter; you should aim for the proper ratio of butter to sugar to ensure proper blending. This is where things could possibly go wrong. To save yourself some time, you might want to use a high-speed mixer for this step. If you whip too much air into your mixture, your dough will undoubtedly have problems because the extra air will cause your cookies to puff up when they bake.
- Many people enjoy taking their ingredients out of the refrigerator right before they need them, believing that the cold storage will keep them fresh, even though doing so could ruin the entire baking process. Instead of using it cold, ingredients like milk, eggs, and butter should be used at room temperature. Just leave it on your kitchen counter for about 30 minutes. Patience is a virtue when baking because cold ingredients could cause your cookies to come out much puffier than they should!
- We often simply spoon a dollop of cookies onto our baking sheets and pop them straight into the oven. After the baking period, we were surprised to find that the cookies had come out slightly larger or puffier than we had anticipated. In situations like this, it would be best to use a spoon or fork to flatten the dough on the baking sheets. You should feel free to reshape your cookie in accordance with how this technique might make it appear longer or elongated.
Reasons Why Your Cookies are Flat
Flat cookies can also be an issue. No one wants “pancake” cookies. Here are some reasons why your sugar cookies might come out too flat.
- How you incorporate your butter is the main factor in why many cookies turn out to be flat. Because butter spreads quickly in the oven and should not be added excessively, avoid adding too much melted butter to your dough. Your cookie dough will spread excessively if you add too much melted butter, resulting in flattened cookies. Therefore, it is best to simply leave your butter at room temperature so that it can soften in a malleable manner without becoming too soft or melted.
- Because flour quickly releases liquid ingredients in the hot oven while baking, a lack of flour will also cause your cookies to come out flat. If you don’t use enough flour, the liquid will take control, and your cookies will flatten out. Make sure to measure your ingredients precisely by using measuring cups at all times to avoid this. It is crucial that you have accurately measured your ingredients because using a little bit too much could have a significant impact on the final product.
- If your cookie came out flat despite using “softened” rather than “melted” butter and accurately measuring your ingredients, there may be an issue with your oven. Ovens can sometimes state one temperature but actually operate at a completely different one. To see if the situation changes, you should try lowering the temperature by 5 to 10 degrees. In addition, you might want to buy an oven thermometer to monitor the actual temperature of your cherished range.

How do you store peppermint sugar cookies?
No matter how delicious your cookies are, there may still be leftovers. These leftovers don’t always have to be thrown away or left on the kitchen counter until they go bad; in some cases, you can give them to your kids as a quick snack if you’re too exhausted to make something else.
Grab an airtight container that matches the style of your kitchen counter or living room, where it might also serve as decoration if you want to store your peppermint sugar cookies properly. This method of storage will keep it fresh for up to three days.
In addition to keeping it in an airtight container, you can also freeze it—either the cookie dough or the baked cookies. All you have to do to keep the cookie dough or the cookies themselves edible for up to three months is to place them in a zip-top bag and store it in the back of the freezer.
Ingredients for Peppermint Sugar Cookies with Homemade Frosting
These sweet treat Peppermint Sugar Cookies with Homemade Frosting require the following ingredients:
- Flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Softened Butter
- Shortening
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Mint Extract
- Soft Cream Cheese
- Powdered Sugar
- Crushed Candy Canes

Equipment Needed for Sugar Cookies
This list of tools will assist you in achieving the best results with this recipe:
- Whisk, Paddle, or Mixer
- Parchment Paper
- Oven
- Cookie Scooper
- Cookie or Baking Sheet
- Measuring Cups
How to make Peppermint Sugar Cookies with Homemade Frosting
Peppermint sugar cookies are so good you will be making these again and again. Don’t be surprised if people ask for the recipe.

STEP 1: CREAM THE BUTTER, SHORTENING, AND SUGAR
Cream together butter, shortening and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

STEP 2: ADD EGGS, VANILLA, MINT, AND DRY INGREDIENTS
Add the eggs, vanilla, and mint, and blend for 1 minute.
Then add salt, cornstarch, baking powder, and flour.

STEP 3: STIR TO COMBINE
Stir until all dry ingredients are combined.

STEP 4: ADD CRUSHED CANDY CANES
If you wish to add crushed candy canes, add them and stir a few times to incorporate them.

STEP 5: CHILL
This step is hard to do, but is very important! Chill the dough for 1 to 2 hours.

STEP 6: PREPARE FOR BAKING
Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or by spraying lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Scoop the sugar cookie dough into balls with a cookie scoop.
Place the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.

STEP 8: BAKE
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the edges look lightly golden brown.

STEP 9: MAKE THE FROSTING
Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add peppermint extract and blend for 30 seconds.
Begin adding the powdered sugar and mixing, you can start with 2 cups and add more to achieve the thickness you desire. This part is a personal preference if you like frosting thick or thinner.
Frost the cookies with a generous smear of this frosting, then sprinkle crushed candy canes on top.
Be sure to store these in a covered container.

Holiday Sugar Cookie Variations
Even though these Peppermint Sugar Cookies with Homemade Frosting are delicious on their own and suitable for both children and adults, there is one easy way variation you might like.
Replace part of the vanilla extract with peppermint extract if you prefer a stronger peppermint flavor. This is a good variation for people who adore a strong peppermint flavor.
PEPPERMINT SUGAR COOKIES RECIPE
You can print off the Peppermint Sugar Cookies recipe below.
If you love this recipe, please come back and leave us a 5-star rating.
Peppermint Sugar Cookies with Homemade Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 ½ c flour
- 2 tablespoons of corn starch
- ½ teaspoon of baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- ½ c softened butter
- ¼ c shortening
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
- 1 teaspoon of mint extract
- Crushed candy canes optional
Frosting Ingredients
- 4 ounces of soft cream cheese
- ¼ cup of soft butter
- 1 teaspoon of mint extract
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- Crushed candy canes
Instructions
- Cream together butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, vanilla, and mint, and blend for 1
minute. - Add salt, cornstarch, baking powder, and flour. Stir until all dry ingredients are combined.
- If you wish to add crushed candy canes to the dough, add them and stir a few times to incorporate them.
- Chill the dough for 1 to 2 hours.
- Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper,
or by spraying lightly with nonstick cooking spray. - Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Scoop dough into balls with a cookie scoop. Place 3” apart on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until the edges look lightly golden brown.
- While the cookies are baking prepare the frosting. (see below for frosting directions)
- Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting!
Make Frosting:
- Cream together butter and cream cheese.
- Add peppermint extract and blend for 30 seconds.
- Begin adding the powdered sugar and mixing,
you can start with 2 cups and add more to achieve your desired thickness. - Frost the cookies with a generous smear of this frosting, then sprinkle on crushed candy canes.
- Refrigerate any leftovers.
If you liked this delicious recipe, be sure to check these other great recipes out:
- Easy Mickey Mouse Christmas Cookies
- Red Truck Christmas Cookies
- Adorable Grinch Cookies for Christmas

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