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Hohoho…Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year! I love everything about Christmas! Getting together with family and friends, decorating the farmhouse, festive food and of course the main reason for celebration – the birth of Jesus. Part of how I get myself into the holiday spirit is baking! And since pumpkin gets all of the attention, October through November, then Peppermint should get some attention in December, right? So this year I thought I kickoff the holiday season by sharing some Southern Holiday Treats with a tasty Holiday Peppermint Cookie!
Holiday Peppermint Cookie
This is a simple sugar cookie recipe that I bet you already have most of the ingredients for right in your pantry. So let’s get these southern holiday treats going!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Beat together 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of sugar until pale in color and well incorporated. Add in 1 egg and beat well. Next mix in 3/4 teaspoon almond extract.
Next add in 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda before you begin adding your flour. Add flour in small amounts until you have added 2 and 3/4 cups Do not over mix.
Lightly flour a surface to roll out your dough. Roll out to desired thickness and cut into round pieces. I recently found a set of cutters that I have used for both cookies and biscuits! I am so glad I found them because I have found them to be pretty handy in the kitchen!
Place cut dough on to a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes – just until they start to turn golden on the edges. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.
Once you have finished cooking it is time to whip up the topping! This is the fun part y’all!
Marshmallow Peppermint Icing
Whip together 7 ounces of whipped marshmallow fluff with 1 and a half sticks of butter (yes, it is a lot of butter). Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. Crush your peppermints with a hand chopper – trust me you do not want to use a mini chopper or food processor! Not that I am speaking from experience or anything!
Spread the icing on the cooled cookies and add the crushed pieces of peppermint. Allow to dry a little before storing. The good thing about these cookies is that the peppermints allow you to stack the cookies on top of each other, which is nice for transporting! Speaking of, did you know that the average person tacks on 6-10 pounds during the holidays? So transporting my goodies is how I avoid dreaded extra pounds! I found these festive boxes and have found them to be just the right size for my bake and take method…that is I take a lot of the goodies, that I bake, with me to work to share with others!
I hope you enjoy these little goodies as much as we do! They go great with a hot cup of coffee or a Southern Hot Chocolate too! They are a fun way to kickoff your holidays and to celebrate National Cookie Day! Check back for more Southern Holiday Treats as we make our way closer to Christmas!