food comas

This recipe is courtesy of Closet Cooking’s Peppermint White Chocolate Chip Cookies. Closet Cooking’s Kevin is all over the holiday cookie baking, and this recipe was his festive spin on white chocolate chunk and macadamia nut cookies. He decided to use peppermint candies in place of the macadamia nuts. I had a box of mini candy canes, which I had primarily bought for decoration for a holiday gathering I was hosting. These cookies were a good way to actually use the candy canes, as I rarely actually eat them.

I found the mini candy canes much easier to crush than regular sized candy canes because each mini candy cane was wrapped in a loose plastic package. I was able to crush the candy canes in their own individual bags and then just open the bag to dump into the dough mixture, which made it a lot less sticky and messy to deal with. I made the initial mistake of crushing a naked candy cane in a bowl and it all just clumped together on the pestle. The humidity here was partly to blame for that, and this process has taught me an important thing about baking in Singapore. The standard “room temperature” to soften butter does not apply to the tropical humidity here. I had to stick the butter back into the fridge before it melted from just sitting on my counter for 20 minutes.

This cookies are crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside. And beware, because they are also ridiculously sweet. I think I would cut down the sugar by at least a quarter cup next time. But these are great for a holiday sugar high!

White Chocolate Chip and Candy Cane Cookies (from Closet Cooking)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C butter, softened at room temperature (not Singapore room temp though… think non tropical humidity room temp)
• 1/2 C brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 C white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 C all purpose flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 C white chocolate chips
• 1/2 C peppermint candy cane, crushed (preferably not in a humid environment to avoid clumping)

Directions:

Mix the butter and sugars in a bowl. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.

Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until they are just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate and the peppermint candy cane.

Chill the dough in the fridge for 30-60 minutes before placing it onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet one table spoon at a time rolled up into balls.

Bake in a 350°F (177°C) preheated oven until just lightly golden brown around the edges, about 8-10 minutes.