The outdoor ice skating rink at Bryant Park is beautiful in the moonlight. Especially during the first snowstorm of the year. when the snowflakes falling from the sky are big enough to grab onto and, even though you are surrounded by whirling masses of color – tourists and natives alike gliding giggling gazing – a certain hush has fallen over the city. Snow, you see, has a kind of dampening effect, as if the little flecks that glisten like silver have absorptive properties that suck in all of the sound and churn it back out as peace and goodwill. Or at least, that is what it feels like.
So there you are, also gliding giggling gazing when out of the corner of your eye you spy a crowd forming at one end of the rink. The far end. And even with your bad leg, which is really not happy with you might I add for putting it through any of this, you make your way over, not wanting to be the last to know.

Visions of broken legs, amputated fingers, crying children pop into your head. (Why do we always assume the worst?) The car accidents of the ice rink that will have all other passengers rubbernecking as they pass. But as you move closer, you can tell that none of these are correct. The chill in the air isn’t quite cruel enough to enable such catastrophe; things like that don’t happen (not me not here not now) during the first snow of the year.

At the forefront of the crowd now, you see it. A man. One knee. Ring proferred. A woman. Smiling crying nodding. Yes. I do. I will.

But the cookies. What does it have to do with the cookies?

Well. According to the New York Times, homemade cookies are all the rage at weddings these days with family members joining forces in the months before the big day to produce over 6,000 cookies for the beloved couple.

A tradition that, although it is indigent to Pittsburgh, may just have to be incorporated into my future wedding. I figure if I start now, with a dozen cookies a week, I will be prepared. Although seeing as how I still haven’t truly decided which cookies to make for Christmas yet, it is actually preposterous to consider planning an uncertain event that is four or five years in the future. What I really need to do is buckle down and focus on the concrete. The here and now.

That couple in the park though? They need to get started, whether they know it or not. So to them, I offer these cookies.

36 down.

5,964 to go.
Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen, adapted from The Pioneer Woman

2 sticks Salted Butter, Slightly Softened
1 cup Powdered (confectioner’s) Sugar
1 whole Egg
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2-½ cups Flour
½ cups Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
4 ounces white chocolate
About 5 candy canes, crushed into flakes

Cream softened butter with powdered sugar. Add egg and vanilla and mix to combine. Add dry ingredients and mix together until dough comes together. Place plastic wrap on surface of dough and refrigerate for 2 hours.

In the meantime, unwrap candy canes and place them in a plastic bag. Beat with a mallet until finely crushed, leaving larger chunks if desired.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll cookie dough in walnut-sized pieces and place on a cookie sheet. Gently press balls flat with a plain, smooth surface. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, being careful not to burn. Cookies will remain the same general size and shape after they bake. Remove from oven and place cookies on a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely.

Place crushed candies in bowl. Melt white chocolate in the microwave. Dip cooled cookies into white chocolate, coating half the cookie. Immediately sprinkle crushed peppermints over both sides of the almond bark. Gently set on parchment paper and cool in the refrigerator for half an hour or until chocolate hardens.

I am submitting these to Foodie Fans of the Pioneer Woman. The theme for this edition is Christmas/Holiday recipes.

You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.
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36 Responses to Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

  1. girlichef says:

    Awww! These sound pretty awesome 😀 And they’re so pretty, too.

  2. You had better be careful, if your Mom reads that you are making wedding plans, there will be no stopping her.

    I am done Christmas baking, but i sure have saved this recipe for next year. What a terrific combination

  3. those look amazing! My youngest daughter would gobble them right up!

    Merry Christmas!

  4. tra says:

    oh my. eye of the tiger is the bomb! my go to karaoke song would have to be a boy band song since i knowt he words. EPIC EMBARRASSING.

    cookies….
    donuts…yum.
    i think you need to come here and meet this guy! loll. i think xmas card is a good idea, since money would be…tactless? i dunno. not the way to go.

  5. Ola Joanne,14 for me …so how many down…(u mus have given some away…..
    Oh wedding plans sound so so romantic but aint making any myself….
    and can u believe its beeb 10 days am looking for candy canes ,some super marts dont even know what they are..had so many plans for candy canes so now m going to eye urs long enuf….
    I love snowy weather too and love it so so muc coz we live in a tropical climate and even that nip in the air is ever so lite…
    and the best part ur dang cutey cookie’s with white chocolate-u remind me that my cookie makin has been on hold for 2 whole days coz have been running around so muc …..
    they r so so so cute….and they look like the crunchy ones to me…am i right?

  6. Michelle says:

    Love cookies made with Confectioner’s Sugar instead of white sugar. It makes the cookie so much better!

    When I was growing up, every year my Dad made an ice skating pond in our backyard. We used it almost every night, so fun!

  7. Bob says:

    Awesome, I could totally go for several dozen of those myself!

  8. I adore Pioneer Women’s recipes as much I love the combination of chocolate and peppermint. These look like very good cookies.

  9. What a happy moment 🙂 I am absolutely craving these cookies now! Why don’t you live just down the street so I could pop in to help you sample, eh? 🙂

  10. Velva says:

    I can’t think of anything nicer than it snowing in NYC while skating at Bryant Park…Only to pause to watch a marriage proposal. Awwwww!!!
    I like the idea of everyone making a batch of homemade cookies for the bride and groomIn fact, I think that is quite cool. Next wedding I go too, a batch of cookies will be in order 🙂

    By the way, your cookies look fabulous!

  11. Elra says:

    Beautiful cookies. Merry Christmas to you and your love one Joanne!

  12. burpandslurp says:

    Oh, they are delightful! Love the contrasting flavors and colors!

  13. Amy says:

    If I let you know when my anniversary is, will you make me a batch? Does that count?

    I saw this great article about cookies and weddings and loved. I think it’s a fabulous idea. http://nytimes.com/2009/12/16/dining/16cookies.html

  14. These look fantastic with crushed candy cane!

  15. SE(Denufood) says:

    very delightful….plan for future..but live for present..I guess that is important..so these cookies for now seem very inviting..wedding cookies for later time !!!

  16. These sound fantastic. Thanks for sharing them with the KrAzY KitcHeN Christmas party.

  17. Jen says:

    leave it to joanne to make an awesome unusual cookie 🙂 yum!

  18. Muneeba says:

    *sigh* .. kinda romantic and cheesy at the same time … that proposal in Bryant Park! These cookies, however, look just right. Thks for sharing Joanne .. happy holidays .. no place like NYC during this season!

  19. Ben says:

    Oh yeah! More holiday cookies, hehe. Have a great Christmas 😀

  20. I would rather read your stories than eat your cookies and those cookies look really good.

    I come for my daily fix here so keep both the stories and recipes coming.

  21. oh what an adorable tale it will be you one day girlie can’t wait for the post lol great cookies as ever

    Love Rebecca

  22. Faith says:

    I recently heard about that cookie tradition at weddings…too bad I heard about it after my wedding, lol! Your cookies are gorgeous, I love the chocolate/minty combo!

  23. Love it! I guess I could dip those Nigella chocolate ones in the dip and candy canes. They have been my signature cookie this season.

  24. Karen says:

    You write the best posts! The cookies look great!

  25. chrystad72 says:

    Looks like you are well on your way!! Cookies look fabulous. Yum! Great flavors.

  26. thats interesting that the NY Times said homemade is the new thing!!

    these cookies sound great for a party!! yum 🙂

  27. When the big day comes, call on me…I’ll bake cookies for you 😉 What tasty morsels these must be!

  28. Kathleen says:

    Yay! Another wonderful cookie to add to my last minute baking tomorrow!

  29. Everything about this entry is just the best – a perfect holiday moment and a wonderful recipe to go with it! I can’t wait to send you homemade cookies on your extra special day 🙂

  30. I haven’t heard of this tradition! And the way you described the hush when snow starts to fall is perfect. So are the cookies! They look scrumptious!

  31. Kim says:

    This cookie reminds me of that addictive peppermint bark (which I love). Plus, they are really pretty and festive. Cute story about the proposal!

  32. theUngourmet says:

    How cool is the homemade cookie/wedding thing! These cookies would be a hit no matter where or when they were served! Super yum!!!

  33. Debinhawaii says:

    Yum–chocolate and peppermint are my favorites–these look amazing!

  34. Katy ~ says:

    Touching opening words; I can just see that moment in time, the bowed heads, the breath being caught in excitement, the on-lookers suspended in time with the young lovers…

    These cookies look GOOD! We eat peppermint right up through Easter, so plenty of time to make these and enjoy. Can’t wait to try them.

  35. Cristie says:

    The Cookies!! Don’t you love them! I think I gained three pounds and threw the last ones away to keep me from eating more. Great blog- three of my kids were in NY when your blog was posted and had a great time, but said it was COLD! I don’t think they went skating, but I’ll have to ask.

  36. What a sweet story! So, now we’ve evolved from cupcakes for weddings to cookies? Velly intellesting! Great choice of cookies.
    Thanks for submitting this to Foodie Fans of the Pioneer Woman. I’m still working on what to post by Sunday.

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