These White Chocolate Candy Cane Drop cookies are the perfect cookies for Christmas or for your cookie exchange! Baked with white chocolate chips and candy cane bits, they are beautiful and festive!
Christmas would not be Christmas without these cookies. They are, quite simply, the most delicious, refreshing cookies you will ever eat.
Yes, refreshing. Like skiing down the Alps, the powder flying in your face, sheer joy oozing from every pore. Exhilarating. Transcendent. Life-changing. O.K. I may be overselling these a bit, but not much. Try them. You’ll see.
You know how you always have way more candy canes than you know what to do with? There are only so many cups of hot cocoa you can stir with a candy cane, right?
(Some of you may dispute that there is a limit on the number of cups of hot cocoa one may consume in the winter. That is your right as an American. Even if you are not an American, you can still have an opinion regarding the proper consumption of hot chocolate).
My kids personally will not just eat a straight-up candy cane. Neither will I, to tell the truth. But we all LOVE, and I mean L.O.V.E. these cookies.
But let me warn you: once you make these cookies, you can never go back. You will be obligated to make them every Christmas for the rest of your life. But that’s not so bad 🙂
White Chocolate Candy Cane Drop Cookies
Which Types of Pans are the Best for Baking Cookies?
Cooking times will vary based on whether you’re using metal pans, stoneware, or Silpat. Watch the cookies carefully! As soon as they barely start to brown around the edges, take them out! You might think they aren’t done, but these overbake very quickly. They have a tendency to be crunchy rather than soft, but either way, they are amazing!
I LOVE to use silicone baking mats when making cookies! Check out these Silpat Perfect Cookie Baking Sheets. They even have cookie outlines so you can see where to put your cookies! The outlines are placed a little differently than you would commonly see, but they are spaced perfectly so that your cookies don’t bump into one another.
I do also adore my stoneware. I have a couple Pampered Chef pans, but you can buy this Wilton Perfect Ceramic Pizza Stone for much cheaper. I like to use pizza stones rather than baking pans with sides, because the pizza stones are so much easier to clean.
The cookies will look different depending on which type of pan you use (metal, stoneware, or metal covered with silicone baking sheets). I almost never use metal pans any more, but I do try one batch on both the stoneware and baking mats to see which produce the most beautiful cookies.
Tips for Making White Chocolate Candy Cane Drop Cookies
1.When you make these cookies, you will notice that the dough is very stiff. My hand mixer couldn’t handle it after the first two cups of flour, so I stirred in the rest by hand. You also have to stir in the crushed candy canes and chocolate chips by hand.
2. After I put the dough on the cookie sheets, I smash them just a little bit to help them spread while baking.
3. Warning! Don’t eat these straight out of the oven, because the melted candy cane can be really hot! I know it’s hard, but try to wait at least 20 minutes or more!
We give these to friends and neighbors every year for Christmas, and everyone RAVES over them. But if you don’t have time before Christmas, no worries. Just use up all those leftover candy canes AFTER Christmas and you will be golden.
Looking for more great Christmas cookies perfect for a cookie exchange? Try these super popular Chocolate Orange Cookies, Peppermint Chocolate Slice and Bake Cookies, and Cranberry Orange White Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Festive cookies perfect for Christmas and cookie exchanges! Full of white chocolate chips and candy cane bits, these cookies are refreshing and fun!White Chocolate Candy Cane Drop Cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 30 Serving Size: 1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 133Total Fat: 5.9gSaturated Fat: 3.5gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 72mgCarbohydrates: 18.4gFiber: .3gSugar: 10.3gProtein: 1.9g
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yes yes! i’ve been finishing up some work before i can get into full christmas/holiday mode, but as soon as i’m done (saturday!!) all things peppermint (aka these) will be happening (:
Yes! Buy candy canes in bulk, because you’ll be making more than one batch of these! Thanks for stopping by!
I actually just finished making a batch of these. (If I remember correctly I think we have Melain to thank for this recipe as it was part of a cookie exchange she participated in a few years ago. – a wonderful benefit.) The original recipe also suggests pressing some of the crushed candy onto the cookies just as they are out of the oven. Makes them look a bit more festive. And fortunately this year I found a bag of crushed candy canes in the baking isle so I didn’t have to smash candy canes this year. Wonderful cookies!
These look delicious and festive! Approximately how many cookies do you typically get from this recipe? I would probably use heaping kitchen spoons to scoop, thanks!
HI Laura! I think I typically get about 30 cookies using a medium cookie scoop. Good luck making them! I hope you like them!
Thank you, Melissa! I will be baking on Friday & Saturday and will report back!! YUM!! Merry Christmas!
These look festive and delicious! Any idea how many drop cookies we can get from one batch? Thanks!
how many does it make
It makes about 40, depending on the size of your cookie scoop. Good luck!
My family will love these! Thanks for sharing!
I’m making these yummy looking cookies for a cookie exchange. Do you think it would be alright to make the dough a day ahead or would you recommend baking right away?
You can make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it. But when you are ready to bake, you’ll probably need to let the dough set up for at least a half an hour to soften up a bit. The dough gets super stiff and hard when chilled, and you might break your cookie scoop! Another thing you could do is scoop the dough ahead of time and just refrigerate the balls of dough on the cookie sheets.
Mine did not turn out as nice looking, much more of a chocolate chip cookie colour, but still tasted delicious!!
The great thing about these cookies is that they taste amazing, no matter how they look! Thanks for making them!
What’s the difference between the two sugars?
One is white granulated sugar, and one is brown sugar. Brown sugar adds more moisture and helps the cookies be soft. Hope that helps!
This is exactly the kind of festive recipe I was looking for! Was wondering can I make the the dough and freeze it and bake in a few days or will they be ok to bake a week in advanced ?
I wouldn’t bake these a week in advance, or they’ll go stale. If you want to freeze the dough, I suggest making it into balls and freezing the individual balls. Just put them uncovered onto a cookie tray in the freezer. Then transfer them to a plastic bag once they are frozen. When ready to bake, let them thaw for a couple of hours (or overnight) in the fridge. If you try to bake them directly from frozen, I don’t think they will spread properly. Good luck!
We made these for a cookie exchange and they never made it to the exchange. They barely made it to oven as everyone loved the dough! My husband, who is not a big sweets fan, ate most of them. We will definitely be making these again.
Right? The dough is SO YUMMY! I always have to make like four batches of these cookies because they disappear so fast!
Do these freeze well after baked? I have a dilemma on my hands. I misunderstood how many cookies to take to an exchange and I baked double what I needed. Would like to save the rest for Christmas. By the way they are absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Yes, you can freeze them! They may not be as soft once they thaw, but they will still be delicious!
Hi! Super interested in trying this recipe. Can I use a whisk or do I absolutely have to use a mixer? Thanks!
Hi! If you’re not going to use a mixer, I suggest mixing these cookies by hand with a wooden spoon. The dough is quite thick, and I don’t think a whisk could handle it. Good luck!
Hello! What type of flour do you recommend? Bleached or no?
Yes, all-purpose bleached flour. Hope that helps!