Peppermint Shortbread Cookies with Andes Candy

Butter and superfine sugar into the mixer—that’s where it starts. Two and a half minutes on medium, until it goes light and fluffy like you actually whipped air into it. Then the peppermint extract hits, the food coloring spreads through pink and even, and you’ve got something that smells like Christmas before you even add the flour. Six and a half hours total from start to eating, but most of that’s just the dough sitting in the fridge doing its thing.

Why You’ll Love This Peppermint Candy Crunch Shortbread

Tastes like a holiday cookie without feeling like work. Andes pieces do the heavy lifting—you’re not making peppermint candy from scratch or anything. Comes together in 20 minutes if you move at normal speed. The waiting happens in the fridge, not at the oven. Mint that doesn’t taste medicinal. The extract is gentle. The candies add crunch and sweetness both. Shortbread texture—butter-forward, crisp edges, tender middle. Makes them feel fancy even though they’re not complicated. Actually holds its shape when you slice it cold. No spread-into-blobs situation. Just clean, precise cookies. Wraps up fast as gifts. People think you spent all day on them.

What You Need for Peppermint Candy Crunch Shortbread

All-purpose flour—standard. Two and a half cups. Salt goes in with it, just a quarter teaspoon. Enough to balance the sweetness, not enough to taste salty.

Unsalted butter. One cup, softened to the point where your finger leaves a mark but it’s not greasy. This is the whole cookie. Don’t use cold butter straight from the fridge. Doesn’t incorporate right.

Superfine sugar. Three quarters of a cup. Regular granulated works in a pinch—just blend it a few times in a food processor if you have one. Superfine dissolves faster into the butter, makes it fluffier.

Peppermint extract. Three quarters teaspoon. Not peppermint oil. Extract. They’re different—oil is stronger and tastes sharper. This one tastes like candy.

Red food coloring. Half a teaspoon liquid. Just enough to get that pink-but-not-hot-pink thing happening. Makes it look festive without screaming. Gel works too, use less—maybe a quarter teaspoon.

Andes Peppermint Crumble candies. Three quarters cup finely chopped. These are the star. They add crunch, they add flavor, they add color. Don’t use regular peppermint bark or crushed candy canes—texture’s different. Andes pieces have a specific texture that works here.

How to Make Peppermint Candy Crunch Shortbread

Whisk the flour and salt together in a bowl. Just mix it, keeps it separate and ready. Set it aside.

Butter and sugar go into the stand mixer bowl with the paddle on. Medium speed for two and a half minutes. Watch it go from grainy to light and pale. Scrape the bowl and paddle once halfway through. This step matters—you’re building air into the dough so the cookies don’t end up dense.

Add the peppermint extract and red food coloring. Beat for 30 seconds. You want it completely uniform. No pink streaks. Just solid pale pink throughout.

Pour half the dry mix in. Low speed. Just until the flour disappears—stop as soon as you can’t see white streaks anymore. Overmixing makes tough shortbread. Not good. Scrape the bowl again. The paddle too.

Add the rest of the flour. Mix once more, low speed, until the dough clumps together and pulls away from the sides. Should take maybe 30 seconds. No more. No dry pockets, but don’t overwork it.

Fold in the Andes pieces on medium speed for 30 to 40 seconds. Just until they’re scattered evenly through the dough and it starts forming a rough ball. Done. The candies stay intact—they don’t dissolve into the dough.

Shape it into a log. Twelve inches long, about two inches wide. Wrap it tight in plastic wrap. Stick it in the fridge.

This is the crucial part. Chill it minimum six hours. Overnight is better. The dough needs to firm up completely or it’ll be too soft to slice clean. It’ll just smush everywhere. Don’t skip this.

How to Get Peppermint Shortbread Crisp and Perfect

Oven to 350°F. Line a sheet with parchment. Non-negotiable. Cookies stick otherwise.

Pull the dough log out. It should feel hard. Slice it into half-inch pieces. Space them two inches apart. They’ll spread a little, not dramatically, but enough that you need room.

Bake for 10 to 13 minutes. Watch the edges. When they turn light gold and the centers look set—firm to the touch when you tap gently—pull them out. Don’t wait for them to brown all the way. They’ll keep cooking on the hot sheet after you pull them.

The smell gets intense about halfway through. Minty, sweet, buttery. That’s when you start paying attention.

Cool them five minutes right on the sheet. Then transfer to a rack. They firm up as they cool. The texture gets crisp on the edges and tender in the middle. That’s the goal. That’s shortbread.

Peppermint Shortbread Cookies Tips and Common Mistakes

The dough log has to be hard when you slice it. Room temperature dough is a disaster. It melts. It doesn’t hold a shape. The six hours minimum isn’t negotiable. I’ve tried rushing it. Bad call every time.

Uniform pink color matters less than you’d think, but get it close. The food coloring goes in with the butter already whipped, so it distributes unevenly if you don’t beat it long enough. Thirty seconds minimum.

Don’t skip scraping the bowl. There’s always butter clinging to the sides that won’t mix in with the flour. Scrape it. Especially between dry ingredient additions.

Andes Peppermint Crumble candies are specific. They’re thin, they crunch, they dissolve slightly on your tongue. Other peppermint candies feel waxy or tough in comparison. Worth tracking down.

Overmixing after the dry ingredients go in makes the cookies tough and dense. Low speed, brief mixing, stop as soon as the dough pulls together. You’ll get used to the timing.

The cookies will seem slightly underbaked when you pull them out. They are. They’re supposed to be. They’ll set and crisp up as they cool. If you bake them until the centers look fully done, they’ll be hard and dry.

Food coloring is optional. You can make them plain and white. Mint and butter taste the same either way. The pink is just for the holiday look.

Peppermint Shortbread Cookies with Andes Candy

By Emma

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Prep:

20 min

Cook:

10 min

Total:

6h 30min

Servings:

24 servings

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid red food coloring
• 3/4 cup finely chopped Andes Peppermint Crumble candies

Method

1. 1 Whisk together flour and salt in a medium bowl; keep nearby.
2. 2 In stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment, beat butter and superfine sugar medium speed for 2 1/2 minutes until light and airy; scrape down bowl and paddle once halfway.
3. 3 Add peppermint extract plus red food coloring; beat 30 seconds to distribute color evenly - you want uniform pink, not streaks.
4. 4 Pour half the dry mix in; mix low speed just long enough for flour to disappear into butter—avoid overmixing or dough toughens; scrape bowl and paddle again.
5. 5 Add remaining flour; mix once more briefly until fully combined and dough starts clumping, no dry pockets.
6. 6 Fold in Andes pieces on medium speed 30-40 seconds till evenly scattered and dough clumps into rough ball pulling from bowl sides.
7. 7 Shape dough into a 12 by 2-inch log; wrap tightly in plastic; chill minimum 6 hours or overnight—don't skip chilling, dough will be too soft to slice if rushed.
8. 8 Preheat oven 350°F; line sheet with parchment paper.
9. 9 Cut chilled log into ½-inch slices, spaced 2 inches apart on sheet to allow spread.
10. 10 Bake about 10 to 13 minutes watching edges carefully; when cookie centers appear set and edges barely turn light gold, pull out. Smell intensifies minty sweets; surface feels firm when touched gently. Overbaking brings dryness; be wary.
11. 11 Cool cookies 5 minutes on sheet then transfer to rack to cool completely. Cookies firm up while cooling; texture crisp but tender inside.

Nutritional information

Calories

175

Protein

2g

Carbs

20g

Fat

10g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Peppermint Candy Crunch Shortbread

Can I use regular peppermint extract instead of liquid? Different thing. Regular extract is oil-based. Tastes sharper, almost medicinal. Liquid tastes more like candy. Stick with liquid for this one.

What if I don’t have a stand mixer? Hand mixer works. Takes longer to get the butter and sugar fluffy—maybe four minutes instead of two and a half. Wooden spoon and elbow grease also works. Just tiring. Butter’s gotta be super soft if you’re doing it by hand.

Can I slice and bake the same day? Technically yes. But the dough spreads more. The edges come out thicker. The texture gets less crisp. The chill time is doing something. Just plan ahead.

How do I store these? Airtight container at room temperature. They last a week easy. Two weeks if you don’t eat them. Freezer works too—up to three months. Thaw them in the container so condensation doesn’t make them soggy.

Why does the dough pull from the mixer bowl sides? That means the hydration’s right and the gluten’s developed just enough. That’s the signal to stop mixing. If it’s still clumpy and won’t pull away, mix for another 10 seconds. But watch it—the line between perfect and overdone is fast.

Can I substitute the Andes candies? Crushed candy canes are too hard and sharp. Homemade peppermint bark breaks into uneven chunks. Andes Peppermint Crumble has a specific texture. Tried other things. Doesn’t work the same way. Worth ordering online if your store doesn’t stock them.

What if my dough is too soft to slice? Didn’t chill long enough. Put it back in the fridge for another hour. Or freeze it for 20 minutes. It’ll firm up. Soft dough slices messy and bakes uneven.

Does the red food coloring affect the taste? No. Half a teaspoon is nothing. You won’t taste it. Just adds color.