Peppermint Snowball Cookies

Ingredients:

A variation of Christmas cookies

• 500g chilled sugar cookie dough, room temperature
• 0.5 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/3 cup crushed red and white peppermint candies, plus extra for garnish
• 1 cup powdered sugar, divided

Variation: Peppermint Candy Cane

• 500g chilled sugar cookie dough, room temperature
• 0.5 cups premium flour
• 0.5 tsp peppermint extract
• 0.5 tsp red food coloring

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 175°C.
2. Divide the cookie dough into 8 pieces. In the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed, thoroughly combine the dough, peppermint extract, 1/3 cup crushed peppermint candies, and 1/2 cup powdered sugar.
3. Roll the dough into 2.5 cm (1 in) balls. Place them on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches (5 cm) apart, and bake until set, about 8–10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on a wire rack.
4. Place 1/2 cup of the remaining powdered sugar in a small bowl. While the cookies are still warm, roll them in the powdered sugar. Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies and serve. The cookies will flatten slightly as they cool.
5. VariationPeppermint Candy Cane
   
   Cut a piece of cookie dough in half. Place the halves in separate large bowls. In one bowl, thoroughly mix the dough with 1/4 cup flour and peppermint extract. In another bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour and enough food coloring to turn the dough red. Mix thoroughly with gloved hands until the color is even.
6. Preheat the oven to 175°C. Divide the white and red dough into 24 pieces (48 pieces total). Roll each piece into a rope 20 cm long and about 0.5 cm in diameter.
7. To form the candy canes, lay one rope of each color side by side on parchment-lined baking sheets. Gently twist them to form a candy cane. Repeat with the remaining pieces, spacing the canes about 2 inches apart. Bake until the edges are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them rest for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks. Carefully remove them from the baking sheets with a long metal spatula and let them cool completely on the racks.