Candy Cane Cookies

You better watch out...you better not cry....better not pout, I'm telling you why...Santa Claus is coming to town......

 

Wow!!!!!  xmas is just round the corner!!!  I chanced upon a cute candy cane cookie receipe in Taste of Home magazine and thought I should try it.  Oh my....these cookies are really delicious and buttery!!!!

 

Do note that the dough for this cookie is very very soft and difficult to handle.  Do not be tempted to add more flour...you would not want your cookie to taste floury and tough.  The receipe stated to refrigerate 1-2 hours.  However, the dough still remains too soft for me to roll into a candy cane.  In the end, I freeze the doughs for around 15 mins and they were easier to handle.

 

The divided doughs

 

Candy Cane Cookies

 

Ingredients

225g     Unsalted Butter, softened

180g     Sugar

1            Egg

2 tsp     Mint Extract

½ tsp    Vanilla Extract

330g     Plain Flour

½ tsp    Salt

Red Food Colouring

Green Food Colouring

 

Directions

1. Using a hand mixer or standing mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in egg and extracts.
3. Combine flour and salt, gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
4. Set aside half the dough.  Divide remaining dough in half.  Add green food colouring to one portion and red food colouring to the other.  Wrap the doughs separately in plastic wrap.
5. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or until easy to handle.  I freeze the doughs for around 15 mins.
6. Preheat oven to 180°C .
7. Divide green and red dough into 20 portions each.  Divide plain dough into 40 portions.  Roll each into a rope.  Place each coloured rope next to the plain rope.  Press together gently and twist.  Repeat with remaining ropes.  Place 2 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
8. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set.  Cool 2 minutes before carefully removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Herbs Dinner Roll

This herb dinner roll taste really delicious and fragrant with the herbs!  Even my kids love them!

Herbs Dinner Roll

Ingredients

1 cup    Water, warmed

2¼ tsp   Active dry yeast

350g     Bread flour

30g       Butter, melted
1            Egg
56g       Sugar
1 tsp     Salt
½ tsp    Dried basil, crushed

½ tsp     Dried Oregano, crushed

½ tsp     Dried Thyme, crushed

½ tsp     Dried Rosemary, crushed

Additional butter, melted

Directions

1. Mix sugar and yeast in warm water till the yeast bubbles, around 5 mins.
2. Put the yeast mixture into a standing mixer and add melted butter and egg, mix well.
3. Mix the crushed basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary and salt in the flour and mix into the yeast mixture.
4. Using the dough hook, mix till it forms a dough that is not sticky and it pulls away from the side of the mixing bowl.  Be careful not to add too much flour else the bread will be tough.  If the dough is sticky, add a tsp of flour at a time.
5. Proof the dough in an oiled bowl for at least 1 hour, cover with cling wrap or damp cloth.
6. Punch the dough down and separate the dough into small portions.  I measure 30g each and I have around 24 pcs of bread.
7. Roll the dough to form a ball and place them on a buttered baking sheet pan.
8. Let the doughs proof for another 45 mins to 1 hour, cover with cling wrap or damp cloth.
9. Bake the breads at 170°C.
10. Once done, brush the breads with butter.