Gluten-Free Candy Cane Cookies

These candy cane cookies are just as delightful as the regular candy canes, but they don’t provide the guilt feeling. It’s gluten-free and can be easily turned into a vegan version. Perfect to be served or given as a gift during the holidays!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 9 minutes

Total Time 29 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 76kcal

Equipment

Baking Sheet (Rimmed)

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 ½ teaspoon xanthan gum remove if your flour blend already has it
1 ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
¾ cup coconut sugar
¼ cup sugar-free confectioners’ sugar
6 ounces or 1 ½ stick unsalted butter room temperature
3 medium eggs beaten
½ teaspoon pure, gluten-free vanilla extract
½ teaspoon pure, gluten-free peppermint extract
⅛ teaspoon beetroot purée or as needed for red color

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare 2 to 3 rimmed baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and sugars. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, making sure that the mixture is well-blended before adding the next one. Once all the eggs are in, add butter, eggs, and extracts, and whisk until homogenous, thick, and smooth.
Divide the cookie dough into two. Wrap one piece in plastic wrap and set aside. Put the other piece in parchment paper (or another plastic wrap), add about ⅛ teaspoon of the beetroot puree, and knead the dough until the desired red color has been evenly formed.
Divide both doughs into a teaspoon-sized or 10-gram pieces, then roll each one into a small, 4-inches long log. Cover the balls with plastic wrap as you shape the other ones to make sure that they don’t dry out.
Take one uncolored and one colored log, pair them together, and twist them in opposite directions to twirl. About 3 or 4 turns should do, so be careful not to overtwist them as the dough may crack or break. Once your shaped cookie dough looks like a rope, bend one end into a hook so that it resembles a candy cane. Do the same process with the remaining dough and place the done ones, about 1-inch apart from one another, onto the prepared baking sheets. You should end up with around 40 candy cane cookies.
Bake the dough, turning halfway, for about 9 minutes in total or until the cookies are puffed and the edges are starting to brown. Remove from the oven and cool down to room temperature before handling or packaging. Enjoy!

Notes

For the vegan version, replace the egg with a vegan egg replacer such as Ener-G Egg Replacer, and use vegan or coconut butter instead of regular unsalted butter.
If you prefer a deeper red color, boil the beets and simmer to reduce them until they reach the desired color. Cool them down to room temperature before applying as a food color.

Nutrition