How to make Donna Hay chocolate candy cane cookies

3 Dec

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To me Christmas is all about the baking. Well, that’s not entirely true. There’s also the spirit of the season, the wonderment of the day as seen through children’s eyes etc etc but what really gets me excited, and flicking through cookbooks in anticipation, is the bounty of baking that awaits.

Like lots of people have a plethora of Chrissy events to attend, which means finding new recipes to road test.

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I had looked at this recipe for a few years after it appeared in issue 42 [Jan 2009] and decided this was going to be the year I made Donna Hay’s chocolate candy cane cookies. Candy canes, in my books, are ghastly – sticky and fragile and far too sweet. Even my kids’ school has banned them yet here I was, buying and bringing these sugar-packed morsels into my home.

Getting to smash them into smithereens was quite satisfying, though…

If, like me, candy canes aren’t your thing, feel free to omit them and enjoy these chunky, chocky cookies unadorned.

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GATHER:

110g softened butter, diced

¾ cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon best quality vanilla

1 cup plain flour

¼ cup cocoa, sifted

½ teaspoon bicarb soda

120g dark chocolate, melted

250g dark chocolate, extra, roughly chopped

About 5 candy canes, smashed into little pieces

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LET’S GET TO IT:

Preheat oven to 160C and line two baking trays with non-stick paper.

Beat sugar and butter in bowl of electric mixer for 8-10 minutes, until creamy and light.

Add egg, vanilla and beat until combined.

Scrap down sides then add flour, bicarb, and melted chocolate until just combined.

Fold through extra chopped chocolate.

Roll tablespoons [I used heaped teaspoons] into rounds, place on tray and gently flatten. Sprinkle over the chopped candy canes.

Bake 10-15 minutes, depending on size of bickie.

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41 Responses to “How to make Donna Hay chocolate candy cane cookies”

  1. lonaj68 December 3, 2013 at 3:05 am #

    They look great. My nieces and nephews would devour a batch of those in about a second.

    • thehungrymum December 8, 2013 at 5:38 am #

      Think anything with candy canes is a hit with young kids!

  2. Little Gumnut December 3, 2013 at 4:16 am #

    how did they taste? I’m thinking of making peppermint bark this Christmas which also uses candycanes.

  3. Liz December 3, 2013 at 5:08 am #

    pretty!

  4. Tina @ bitemeshowme December 3, 2013 at 5:29 am #

    They look so festive. Love it 🙂

    • thehungrymum December 4, 2013 at 1:32 am #

      Tra la la la…! Getting into the Chrissy spirit 🙂

  5. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella December 3, 2013 at 7:09 am #

    I’ve been experimenting with the candy canes-they come in such large packets that you need to figure out what the do with the leftovers! 😛

    • thehungrymum December 3, 2013 at 11:17 pm #

      You get a lot of bang for your buck with candy canes! $2 gets you a lifetime supply 🙂

  6. everybodylovespretty December 3, 2013 at 4:11 pm #

    Very cute!

  7. Ayesha (Miss Spicy Hat n' Sugar Socks) December 3, 2013 at 7:56 pm #

    Pretty cookies…! 🙂

  8. craftysorcha December 4, 2013 at 11:53 am #

    I love this idea, I would never have thought of putting candy cane on cookies! Thank you for sharing.

    • thehungrymum December 6, 2013 at 12:53 am #

      Thanks for your sweet words! Glad to be of service 🙂

  9. Heather @ Sweet Precision December 4, 2013 at 2:24 pm #

    This looks absolutely delicious! One of my favorite things about holiday baking is how just a few candy canes can jazz up some cookies!!

    • thehungrymum December 5, 2013 at 5:44 am #

      The simple things are often the best, don’t you think! Ta for the lovely words x

  10. tastytreats13 December 4, 2013 at 8:00 pm #

    How festive! Yum!

    • thehungrymum December 5, 2013 at 5:43 am #

      tis the season 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

  11. thepaddingtonfoodie December 5, 2013 at 10:46 am #

    Great minds really do think alike. When we have finished gorging on Candy Cane Cracker Toffee we will be moving on to these. Kris Kringle has deposited even more candy canes in my girls’ school bags. They’re multiplying faster than rabbits. Good reason why they’ve been banned at your children’s school.

  12. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef December 6, 2013 at 9:46 am #

    I almost typed, “Isn’t it about the presents?” but then I thought maybe someone would think I was serious. For me it’s all about family and friends and sharing – and these cookies would be perfect!

    • thehungrymum December 7, 2013 at 12:54 am #

      hahaha! Misses 6 & 8 would def nominate presents as the highlight 🙂

  13. hotlyspiced December 6, 2013 at 8:51 pm #

    To me Christmas is about doing a lot of baking too. I have so many recipes I want to try and get done in readiness for Christmas and my fear is I’m going to run out of days. I do love the look of these cookies – very Christmasy and a great way to use up a stash of candy canes xx

    • thehungrymum December 7, 2013 at 12:53 am #

      yes! I have a gazillion things I want to bake [and blog!] and time is fast running out 🙂 Thanks for the sweet words x

  14. Tandy | Lavender and Lime December 9, 2013 at 6:02 am #

    I read about these cookies in a novel and tried them with regular sweets – but they didn’t work too well. I shall give these ones a try 🙂

    • thehungrymum December 9, 2013 at 9:23 am #

      Hope you like them 🙂 Let me know how they go.

  15. Shanshan Lam (@food_religion) December 10, 2013 at 9:35 am #

    fab idea to use candy canes esp for presentation!

    • thehungrymum December 11, 2013 at 3:29 am #

      Thanks! Lord knows, those candy canes seem to breed in the pantry…

  16. spicegirlfla December 10, 2013 at 7:24 pm #

    these are so festive!! Baking and the holidays just go together….and then we diet!

    • thehungrymum December 11, 2013 at 3:32 am #

      Diet is a four-letter word! bake, eat, repeat – that’s my style 🙂

  17. janinejackson December 11, 2013 at 10:37 am #

    I love this post! I just did a little round up of candy cane recipes on my blog. Wish I’d seen this sooner 🙂 http://janinejackson.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/52-lists-candy-cane-recipes/

  18. My Kitchen Stories December 15, 2013 at 10:24 am #

    Christmas is a fun time. I love to bake and dont seem to be able to fit enough in. Candy cane cookies would go down well at anyones place

    • thehungrymum December 15, 2013 at 10:27 am #

      I keep adding to my ‘must bake’ list – there’s so many great recipes at this tie of year!

  19. themondaybox December 15, 2013 at 11:47 pm #

    Chocolate-peppermint seems to be everyone’s favorite Christmas flavor combination! These look super chocolaty with a peppermint crunch! Yum!

    • thehungrymum December 15, 2013 at 11:49 pm #

      A little bit of candy cane / peppermint makes all the difference in December!

  20. The vegan 8 December 18, 2013 at 8:37 am #

    Anything with candy canes gets my attention! I love how festive these are. I hang candy canes all over my christmas tree… It looks so pretty and yummy! 🙂

    • thehungrymum December 21, 2013 at 10:09 am #

      cheers! I think candy canes look pretty but they are too sweet for me to eat!

  21. trixpin December 22, 2013 at 9:37 am #

    These look great! I don’t like candy canes either, but I’m almost hoping I get some this year just to try this recipe 🙂

    • thehungrymum December 22, 2013 at 10:28 am #

      thanks! Candy canes are something you get whether you want them or not 🙂

  22. The Hungry Mum December 17, 2015 at 7:10 am #

    Reblogged this on the hungry mum.

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