Peppermint-Spritz Cookies

Prep Time:
30 mins
Total Time:
1 hrs 45 mins
Yield:
4 dozen

Peppermint extract gives these wreath cookies their fresh flavor. They're finished with a marbled red-and-white glaze, evoking the classic holiday candy cane.

Ingredients

Glaze

  • 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

  • 3 tablespoons to ¼ cup milk

  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Cookies

  • 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter (6 ounces), room temperature

  • ½ cup granulated sugar

  • 1 large egg yolk

  • 1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract

  • 1 tablespoon milk

  • Red gel-paste food coloring, for glazing (optional)

Directions

  1. Glaze: Whisk together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Whisk in vanilla. Glaze can be stored at room temperature, with plastic wrap pressed directly on surface, up to 3 days; whisk before using. (Makes 2 cups.)

  2. Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter with granulated sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add yolk, flour, salt, peppermint extract, and milk; beat to combine.

  3. Fill a cookie press with dough and fit with a wreath disk. Press cookies directly onto unlined baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until just golden on edges, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer sheets to a wire rack; let cool completely.

  4. Working in batches, add a drop of food coloring to a small amount of glaze (about 1/4 cup); use a toothpick to swirl a tiny bit. Dip tops of cookies in glaze, then turn glaze-sides up and place on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet to catch drips to set. (As you dip, colors will become more combined and no longer look like swirls; change to fresh glaze at this point.) For additional "swirls," dip a toothpick in red glaze and drizzle over cookies. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

    peppermint spritz cookies
    Louise Hagger

Cook's Notes

If your cookie press has adjustable settings, set it at medium for the most defined wreath shape. If you don't have a press, you can form the dough into ropes and shape them into rings.

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