Santa Sparks

What You’ll Need.

For the Cookies:

• 2.5 cups of white flour
• 2 teaspoons of Corn Starch
• 1.5 teaspoons of Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of Salt
• 1/2 cup of Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon of Peppermint Extract
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon
• 1/4 cup of vegetable shortening
• 1 cup of Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 Egg White

For the Frosting & Topping:

• 1 package of Cream Cheese (softened)
• 2.5 cups of Powdered Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Peppermint Extract
• Peppermint M&Ms
• 1 Candy Cane

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift the dry ingredients together: white flour, corn starch, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Pour about half of the flour into the mixing bowl with the other ingredients and set the rest to the side. This will make it easier to mix the spices in. After the ingredients are mixed, set aside.

Add in the shortening and softened butter to the mixing bowl. Add in sugar as well, and beat on medium speed for a few minutes. Reduce speed and add in the egg and egg white. Then slowly add the dry ingredients that were set aside. Mix slowly so you don’t have a snowstorm in your kitchen! Trust me I have done this a time or two.

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The final touch for the peppermint spark batter is the vanilla and peppermint extract. I say 1 teaspoon of each, but you can adjust according to taste. I do usually throw in a little bit of extra peppermint, if I am not sharing the batch with many others. I know not everyone loves peppermint as much as me!! Mix both extracts in briefly on low speed.

Place the mixing bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes. This is not a necessary step but it makes it easier to maneuver the dough and form the balls.

Once the dough has hardened slightly, it is time to roll the dough into balls. Lay out two sheet lined with parchment paper. Roll the dough into ping pong ball sized balls and place spaced out on the sheet. You will probably need to do a few batches in the oven in order to properly space out the dough balls. Bake for 12 minutes.

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While the cookies are baking, it is time to prepare the toppings. For the peppermint topping, add 1-2 candy canes and a bag of peppermint M&Ms (If the peppermint are out of season, regular M&Ms work just fine! Just add a few more candy canes into the food processor/blender.) Blend candies until they are all small pieces.

For the frosting, add the cream cheese to the bowl and a small portion of the powdered sugar. VERY slowly mix the cream cheese and the powdered sugar in. Gradually pour more and more powdered sugar in as the mixer continues to run on low. Only add small amounts of the sugar at a time or it will cause another snow storm in your kitchen! Add 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract to the frosting.

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Add the frosting to a piping bag or any ziploc you have lying around. Use a spatula to add the frosting to the bag. Cut off the tip of the bag.

Once the cookies are baked and have had time to cool, frost the cookies with your piping bag. Sprinkle the crushed candy on top and enjoy!

Second day, if they make it that long!, pop the cookies in the microwave for 15 seconds. They are even better warm!