Pink Peppermint Sweetness

Angel Dust

Cookie dough

Ready to bake

Red on left, peppermint on the right

My little helper Kesha

What do candy canes look like?  Mostly white with stripes of red, correct?  What happens when you powderize them?  PINK of course and who doesn't like pink?
This is one of my very favorite Christmas cookies that I make every year ( and throughout the year ). It was given to me by a friend Jane Specht many many years ago.
I took candy canes from the Dollar Store and unwrapped them and put them in my Magic Bullet ( wonderful little invention ).  They turned into a powder dust with a few small chunks of candy depending on how much you blend it.  I usually sprinkle the cookies before they go into the oven with colored sugars or even cinnamon sugar mixture but as the first 2 batches of red came out I thought why not try the peppermint dust??  Since it is Christmas I will call it pink angel dust. While these baked in the oven the peppermint spread and crisped up a bit giving the cookie a nice peppermint flavor with just a hint of crunch.  These would be even better if I had left more little chunks of candy in the "angel dust". The more you add on top, the more color and flavor you will have.
Well - - - -  they passed inspection and taste by myself, my husband and my little furry friend ( Kesha ). She loves to sit in the corner where I am working while I bake just in case I drop something.  I don't have to sweep the floor afterwards.  She also knows the crumbs under the cooling rack go into her bowl after I am all finished!     They also passed inspection of my little elf.  He jumped right out of my tree onto the plate for this picture.   Recipe as follows:
1/2 cup margarine                                               Dry ingred:  3 cups flour
1 1/2 cup sugar                                                                      1 tsp. salt
2 eggs                                                                                    1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla                                                                           1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sour cream
       I mix the sugar and margarine, add the eggs and other liquids, mix well before adding the dry ingred. I always double the recipe, also.  Drop on ungreased cookie sheet and sprinke with your choice of colored sugar or "angel dust".  Bake 10 min. or so at 350, just until the edges are brown.
Try these, I think they will become a favorite of yours.              Until next blog,           Shirley