Red Velvet Peppermint Shortbread

While I had full intention of kicking off this blog with some Halloween crafts and spooky baking, one thing lead to another, and it’s now a mere three days before Christmas! Given that, what a better way to start than with a cookie recipe…

Red Velvet Peppermint Shortbread, a photo by saucypotato on Flickr.

These little cookies were adapted from another shortbread recipe that included white chocolate dipping and crumbled pistachios, but I’ve nixed that and given them a minty twist by adding candy cane sprinkles instead. They have a mild chocolatey taste with just a hint of peppermint candy flavour.

The following recipe is for approximately 24 bite size cookies:

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 tbsp red food colouring
peppermint candies (broken into fine bits)

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt until well blended. The butter and food colouring can be added either by hand or with a food processor. If using a food processor, mix ingredients on low until a workable dough has formed - however I mixed this batch by hand. For this method, cut the butter and food colouring into the dry mixture with a knife until it resembles crumbs. It can be a time consuming process, but is easier if the butter has been sitting at room temperature for a few hours. For a deeper red, more food colouring can be added.

Next, knead the crumbs (or doughy mixture) until you have a well-blended dough ball with evenly distributed colour throughout. For this part I highly recommend using gloves so as not to stain your hands from the food colouring. It's also a good idea to tape down a sheet of parchment paper for protecting your work surface. Once the dough is blended, roll out the ball onto a floured surface to approximately 1/4" thickness, and begin cutting your shapes with a floured cutter. I used a 1 1/2" snowflake, but any shape will do!

Preheat oven to 325°F. Lay the cut pieces approximately 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. I find I get more consistency baking with old school metal sheets than with dark coated pans, but both are suitable for shortbread. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until centers are set.

The least messy method to break up your candies would be to place them in a zip-up plastic bag and smash them on the counter top. After removing the cookies from the oven, let them cool to room temperature before sprinkling over the candy bits. If they are too hot, the peppermint will melt! After sitting for a short time, the candy bits will naturally stick to the surface.

That's it! Your cookies are now ready for sharing!