Twisted Peppermint Cookies {12 Days of Sweet Treats}

Welcome to day one of 12 days of Christmas Sweets!  Today, and for the next 12 days, I'll be posting my favorite Christmas cookies, candies and desserts.  Post will be Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until Christmas.  I'll also be sharing my favorite Christmas memories, decor and printables that you can download and use in your own decorating this holiday season.

The first complicated cookie recipe I ever tried to make were these Peppermint Twist Cookies.  I was in middle school and I spent all day making them and they were horrible.  Bland in color and in taste.  I was devastated because the picture in my Step-Mom's Betty Crocker cookbook looked so beautiful!

I tried to find the original recipe but it turns out that I don't have that particular cookbook!  My mom and step mom have copies.  Worn out, food splattered, pages falling out copies that I still love to look through every time I am in their kitchens.  They even smell like their kitchens.  Like the spices and extracts that have been inadvertently splashed on them.

I miss hanging out in my mommas kitchens, especially around the holidays!  There would be so much baking and good times.  I miss them something fierce, but it just isn't feasible to make a holiday visit this year.

Peter's momma comes to visit right after Christmas and his family stays until New Year's.  We're going to celebrate Christmas with a dinner and everything just like it's the 24th.  I can't wait to share some of my cookies with them!

Like I mentioned, I wasn't able to look at the original recipe but the Betty Crocker website had one posted which looked like what I remembered.  So I took that recipe and changed it up a bit based on what I remembered about my original results.  So I had more peppermint extract and flavored half of the dough with cocoa and additional sugar to jazz them up a bit.  Brown and pink is so cute together!

Twisted Peppermint Cookies

adapted from Betty Crocker

1 cup butter, room temp 1/2 and 1 tablespoon white sugar 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoon cocoa powder 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon peppermint extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt red food coloring brown food coloring if not using cocoa white sugar or crystal sprinkles for decoration

Directions

	In a large bowl, cream together the butter, 1/2 white sugar and confectioners' sugar. Beat in the egg, vanilla and peppermint extracts. Combine the flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended. Cover or wrap dough and chill for at least one hour.
	Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough into halves. Color one half red by mixing in the food color. Color the other half with cocoa until desired brown color, add additional sugar (or just use brown food coloring!). Roll a small amount of each dough into a 2 inch long worm. Roll them together in a twisted rope and curve the end like a cane. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle with sugar or sugar sprinkles.
	Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Tip:  If your dough isn't co-operating, try refrigerating for up to 30 minutes.  The dough can get pretty floppy due to the heat of your hands and all that rolling and twisting! Linked up at these blogs this week=)