My vegan candy cane cookies will be a hit this festive season. A buttery ‘melt in the mouth’ cookie flavoured with peppermint are shaped as candy canes. Containing only 7 ingredients, they’re also vegan, easy to make and take less than 12 minutes to bake. You’ll love them!
Vegan Candy Cane Cookies
Introducing Vegan Candy Cane Cookies! These festive little treats bring all the holiday cheer without the use of any animal products. Made with a buttery plant-based dough and a hint of peppermint, these cookies are shaped like classic candy canes and have the perfect balance of soft cookie and peppermint flavour. They’re ideal for festive gatherings, cozy nights in, or as a delicious sweet gift for friends and family over the Holidays. Best of all, they’re extremely fun to make and eat, making them a holiday tradition everyone can enjoy.
Looking for more festive recipes? Check out my:
- VIRAL Vegan Pine Cone Truffles
- Mini Gluten-free Vegan Yule Logs
- Vegan Gingerbread Steamed Pudding
- Vegan Gingerbread Cake
- Best Vegan Christmas Pudding
- Gluten-free Vegan Yule Log
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Festive fun: Shaped like classic candy canes, these cookies instantly make you in the festive spirit!
- 100% Vegan: Made entirely without the use of animal products, they’re perfect for plant-based diets and those with dietary preferences.
- Deliciously minty: Each cookie has a yummy peppermint taste that’s perfectly balanced, not too overpowering, just a touch of holiday magic while tasting like a candy cane.
- Buttery texture: These cookies strike the perfect balance or light crunch and melt in the mouth cookie.
- Simple ingredients: Made with accessible ingredients for a treat that’s both flavourful and easy to make.
- Gorgeous: Something about the red and white stripes is eye-catching. No-one who you share these with will be able to tell they are easy to make!!!
- Perfect for gifting: Share with loved ones over the Holidays, simply gift in treat bags.
- SUPER fun to make: Shaping the dough into candy canes super fun that’s perfect for baking with friends, family, and little ones.
- Less than 15 minutes to bake: These cookies can be made and ready to serve in as little as 12 minutes, trust me… these will be your go-to cookie this festive season.
How to make candy cane cookies?
While candy cane cookies may look complicated, they’re actually simple to make. They start with a buttery shortbread cookie dough, flavoured with a splash of peppermint extract (tip- if you don’t like peppermint, you can use different flavours such as almond extract, lemon or simple vanilla). Half of the dough is dyed red, before being twisted up with plain dough to create the gorgeous candy cane cookie effect.
Be sure to check out my Instagram video showing you how to make these festive little cookies, linked here. If you make these cookies, be sure to tag me in photos and videos, I absolutely love seeing your re-creations of my bakes!
Candy cane cookie tips and tricks –
Here are a few tips and tricks to make your vegan candy cane cookies perfect each time:
- Use food gel: I can’t stress this enough. DO NOT use a liquid food colour, it contains too much moisture and doesn’t have enough pigment. It will make the dough super runny and simple work work in this recipe. I highly recommend using THIS food gel (ps.. it’s vegan).
- Chill the dough: For easy shaping, chill your dough for at least 20 minutes. This makes it less sticky and easier to roll out.
- Don’t over-bake: These cookies can brown quickly, keep an eye on them in the oven. Over-baking can result in a crisp cookie.
- Use grease proof paper: Prevent the cookies sticking to your tray while baking, be sure to use grease proof paper / parchment paper to line your tray.
- Peppermint: A little goes a long way when it comes to peppermint. Add a little drop of peppermint extract for a hint of minty flavour without it being too overpowering.
- Storing the cookies: Store the cookies in an air-tight / sealed container at room temp for up to 3 days. You can store in the fridge, allow to come to room temperature before serving to give the butter time to soften.
- Gifting the cookies: Once the cookies are cool to the touch, simple slide in some treat bags with a festive ribbon attached, perfect for gifting over Christmas.
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking! Make sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram , TikTok and Facebook! And if you want to pin this recipe for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, above or below this post, or on any of the photos. Happy baking all!
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Vegan Candy Cane Cookies
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 10–12 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
How to make fun and festive Vegan Candy Cane Shaped Cookies, flavoured with peppermint. They are easy to make and perfect for the Holidays. Vegan, No-Egg and No-Dairy.
Ingredients
- 113g of cold vegan butter
- 120g icing sugar / powdered sugar
- 30g of dairy-free milk 9you can use any dairy-free milk)
- 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract
- 240g of all purpose / plain flour
- Red food gel (vegan friendly)
- Granulated sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 ºC fan and line a baking tray with grease proof paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the vegan butter, icing sugar, milk, vanilla and peppermint extract. Mix until everything is fully combined. Cream the mixture until fluffy. You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer with paddle attachment.
- Add in the flour and mix until a smooth dough is formed.
- Take half of the dough and transfer it to the second mixing bowl. Add red food colouring to half the dough and mix it in. To prevent your hands from staining, use food grade gloves.
- Wrap both red and white dough in grease proof paper and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- When the dough is firm, shape. Take a heaped teaspoon of each colour dough and roll into matching 5″ ropes. Place the strands next to each other and twist creating the candy cane shape. Transfer the twisted rope to lined prepared baking tray and fold down the top third to create a hook for the candy cane shape. Repeat with the remaining dough. Leave an inch space between the cookies as they spread out a little bit. At any point, if the dough is warming up and gets more challenging to shape, you can place it back in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to firm up again.
- Sprinkle granulated sugar over the cookies then bake in the center of the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the bottom and edges are a lightly golden brown colour. Allow the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking tray, then gently transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat for all the cookies.
- Store in a sealed container. Best enjoyed within 3 days of making.
Notes
Storing the cookies: Store the cookies in an air-tight / sealed container at room temp for up to 3 days. You can store in the fridge, allow to come to room temperature before serving to give the butter time to soften.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8-10 minutes
- Category: cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
