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Peppermint Swirl Candy Cane Cookies
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Peppermint Swirl Cookies

Shaped like candy canes or rounds, these Peppermint Swirl Cookies are a soft and chewy cake mix cookie recipe that's easy to make.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cookies, peppermint
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 9 minutes
Total Time 19 minutes
Servings 24 cookies

Ingredients

  • 15.25 oz white cake mix
  • ½ cup vegetable oil *
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp peppermint extract*
  • Red food coloring I used 10 drops for half the dough

Decorating

  • 6 ounces white chocolate candy melts
  • holiday sprinkles if desired

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Combine the cake mix, oil, flour and extract into a mixing bowl and blend on medium until well mixed.
  • Divide the dough in half.
  • Add red food coloring to ½ of the dough and work together until it has disbursed throughout the dough and it is all one color.
  • Using a small scoop or one level tablespoon, make 12 dough balls out of each color.
  • Divide each ball of cookie dough in half – ending with 24 small dough pieces of each color.
  • Using one red and one white dough ball, roll together until the desired “swirl” is achieved.
  • Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes.
  • Allow to cool on pan for approximately 1 minute before transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Decorate

  • Place the candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second increments at 50% power, stirring in between each interval until melted and smooth.
  • Drizzle the cookies with the melted chocolate and add sprinkles.

Candy Canes

  • Start with each color side by side. Pressing gently, roll the dough until they are about 1.5” long.
  • Start to twist a few times, keeping the dough portion short still.
  • Lay on a flat surface and continue to roll until each portion is about 5” in length.
  • Carefully pick up and place the dough on the cookie sheet and then bend the top portion to create the hook.
  • Bake 7-9 minutes.
  • Allow to cool on pan for approximately 1 minute, transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Decorate as desired using the same method as the round cookies.

Notes

*In a liquid measuring cup, place one tablespoon of peppermint extract. Then add the vegetable oil to the ½ cup mark. If you add the extract first, you will ensure the TOTAL oil content is ½ cup.
** You could use a ½ tablespoon measuring spoon if you have it. In that case, make 24 out of each color.
Remember that if they are scraggly looking going in the oven, they will be scraggly coming out.