For (almost) as long as I’ve been baking for Christmas, I’ve been making a peppermint swirl cookie. It’s a relatively simple slice and bake cookie that’s seen many incarnations over the years, as I’ve improved it in appearance and ease of preparation. This year, though, I wanted to try something that was a little dressier but still embodied the peppermint swirl. Always feeling that piped cookies have a certain fanciness to them, I decided to try a technique that would pipe the white and green tones together.
To make these cookies as I have, you will need three piping bags. Two smaller ones (I used plastic sandwich bags with a corner cut off of each) and one large one, that the two smaller bags can fit into. You will also need a jumbo star tip.
What cookies do you bake every Christmas?
Peppermint Swirl Cookies
1 cup Margarine
1 cup Icing Sugar
1/4 cup Non-Dairy Yogurt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Peppermint Extract
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
Green Food Colouring
Course Sugar (optional, for sprinkling)
Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
Beat the margarine until smooth and creamy. Measure the icing sugar, then sift into the margarine. Beat for about 3 minutes (don’t cheap out on the beating!), scraping sides as you go.
Add the yogurt, vanilla, and peppermint extract. Beat for another 1 or 2 minutes.
Mix in the flour.
Divide the dough in half. Tint 1 half with green food colouring, until desired shade has been reached.
Spoon the white and green doughs into separate small piping bags. Place the 2 filled bags into a larger piping bag, fitted with a jumbo star tip… Pipe a little dough until both colours come out.
Pipe cookies, 2 inches apart, onto an ungreased baking sheet, and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
Bake for about 12 minutes, until set and bottoms are just turning golden.
Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet, before transferring to wire rack.
Store layered between waxed paper.
Makes approximately 30 – 36 cookies.
beautiful
Thank you Lucy
What a nice simple recipe, I can see them done with cinnamon as well. No cookie traditions for me, just fudge and peanut brittle. So much sugar in everything right now…these look so worth the calories though
Oh, a cinnamon swirl cookie would be delicious! Great idea!… Tis the (sugar) season. But the combination of the cold weather and hard work preparing for Christmas nullifies those calories. Right?
These swirls are simply stunning
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you CCU
These are amazing! Well done
Thanks! The swirl makes them look impressive, but they’re really pretty easy to make
I make mini pecan tarts every Christmas. Just about a 2-bite cookie. That’s all the pecan pie I need.
I love this idea! I like pecan pie as much as the next person, but refuse to limit myself to only one dessert on Christmas. Your mini tarts sound like the perfect solution; so I can have my pie and eat it too
These are beautiful. And, I am absolutely in love with peppermint right now. I’m so glad you shared this recipe – thanks!
Thank you
… You picked the right season to fall in love with peppermint. Everywhere I turn there’s a peppermint flavoured something or other. Seemed wrong to leave it off the cookie platter.
Wow! They look stunning!
Thank you Ally!
They look great!
Thanks! They taste pretty good too
So pretty! What a perfectly festive cookie:) We always have sugar cookies, chocolate chip, crinkles, and hello dollies, but we also throw new ones into the mix each year!