There’s something about peppermint treats during the holidays that just feels magical. And while I’ll always have a soft spot for those nostalgic grocery store Lofthouse cookies, the soft, cakey sugar cookies piled high with frosting, these Soft Frosted Candy Cane Sugar Cookies take everything you love about the classic and give it a holiday twist.
I started with my viral soft frosted sugar cookie base, then added finely chopped candy cane pieces and a touch of peppermint extract to the dough. For the frosting, I kept things festive with peppermint extract and split the batch—half dyed red, half left white. Both colors go into piping bags, then into a third bag fitted with a large round tip so you get that beautiful red-and-white swirl when you pipe. Each cookie gets topped with crushed candy cane for a sparkling finish.
They’re soft, chewy, sweet, minty, and honestly stunning on a holiday cookie platter. If you’re looking for a cookie that tastes like Christmas, this is the one.
Recipe Tips
Candy Cane Size Chop your candy cane pieces finely so they distribute evenly through the dough. Larger chunks will melt into little pockets (still delicious!), but finer pieces keep the cookie texture soft and uniform. I like to buy crushed peppermints because that way they don’t get as sticky!
Peppermint Extract Peppermint extract is strong, ½ teaspoon is plenty for the dough and a small splash in the frosting goes a long way. Add more only if you like a bolder mint flavor.
Cookie Scoop For bakery-style cookies, use a large 3-tablespoon cookie scoop. This recipe yields 16 big cookies. Using a medium scoop? Bake 8–9 minutes instead and you’ll get around 20 cookies.
Pressing the Cookies These cookies barely spread. Before baking, use the bottom of a flat glass to gently press each dough ball until it’s ¼–½ inch thick.
Underbaking Is Essential Pull them from the oven right when the edges look set—usually 10 minutes on the dot for large cookies. Letting them sit on the warm tray finishes the bake without drying them out.
Cornstarch Don’t skip it! Cornstarch is key to getting that soft, chewy, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
How to Make Perfectly Round Cookies
Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a large round cookie cutter or a glass and gently swirl it around each cookie to shape it into a perfect circle. The cookies are still soft at this point, so this quick “cookie scoot” reshapes any uneven edges and gives you perfectly uniform bakery-style cookies every time.
Frosting Swirl Tip
Place your red frosting in one piping bag, your white frosting in another, snip the ends, and insert both into a third piping bag fitted with a large round tip. When you squeeze, the colors come out together to create the prettiest candy cane swirl.
Storage Tips
Room Temperature: Store frosted cookies in an airtight container for 3–4 days. Separate layers with parchment to protect the frosting.
Refrigerator: You can refrigerate them for up to 5 days, but they truly stay softest at room temp.
Freezing:
Freeze unfrosted cookies for up to 3 months. Thaw fully, then frost and add crushed candy cane right before serving for best texture.
Whether you’re baking for a holiday party, packaging up treats for neighbors, or just craving something festive and nostalgic, these Soft Frosted Candy Cane Sugar Cookies always deliver. They’re soft, sweet, beautifully swirled, and taste like pure Christmas joy. I hope they bring a little extra magic to your holiday season, and I have a feeling they’ll become a yearly tradition in your kitchen.
Soft Frosted Candy Cane Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp peppermint extract
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup roughly chopped candy canes
For the frosting:
- ½ cup salted butter room temperature
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ – ¾ tsp peppermint extract start with let you can always add more
- 4 tbsp heavy cream room temperature
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- red food coloring
- additional crushed candy canes for topping
Instructions
For the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and granulated sugar for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, peppermint extract, and eggs. Mix on low until just combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated, don’t over mix. Fold in the chopped candy cane pieces.
- Scoop 16 large (about 3 tbsp) dough balls onto the baking sheet, spacing them 2–3 inches apart. Use the bottom of a flat glass to gently press each dough ball to ¼–½ inch thickness. I dip the bottom in powdered sugar before pressing so it doesn't stick to the dough.
- Bake for 10–11 minutes, or until the edges are just set. As soon as they come out of the oven take a round cookie cutter or bowl, place it over top and gently scoot the cookie around to reshape into a perfect circle. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the frosting:
- Beat butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, peppermint extract, and salt on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add cream 1 tablespoon at a time until your desired consistency is reached.
- For this design you will need 3 piping bags. Divide the frosting into two bowls and tint one bowl red. Transfer red frosting to one piping bag and white frosting to another. Snip the ends and place both bags inside a third bag fitted with a large round piping tip.
- Starting in the center pipe a generous swirl of red-and-white frosting onto each cooled cookie. Immediately top with crushed candy cane & enjoy!