Description
Delightfully spicy and sweet Red Hot Cookies combine a buttery sugar cookie base dotted with crushed cinnamon red hot candies and topped with a creamy, subtly tinted red buttercream frosting. Perfect for holiday gatherings or a fun twist on classic sugar cookies, these treats offer a unique burst of cinnamon flavor balanced with a smooth vanilla frosting.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookies
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup red hot candies, broken into pieces
Buttercream Frosting
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) butter
- 2 tablespoons whipping cream or milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
- 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar
- A few drops of red food coloring
Instructions
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Place the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes, which ensures a smooth base for your cookie dough.
- Add Egg and Vanilla: Incorporate the egg and vanilla extract or paste into the butter and sugar mixture and mix until they are fully combined, creating a homogeneous batter.
- Add Salt and Flour: Slowly add the salt and all-purpose flour to the mixture, mixing gently to avoid overworking the dough. Stop mixing when some flour remnants are still visible to maintain the dough’s tenderness.
- Mix in Red Hot Candies: Break the red hot candies into small pieces using a rolling pin, rubber mallet, or knife. Fold these pieces into the dough carefully until evenly distributed to add bursts of cinnamon flavor.
- Roll and Cut Dough: Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thickness according to your preferred cookie thickness. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters and re-roll the remaining dough pieces as needed until all dough is used. Place the cookies onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
- Chill Dough: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Chill the cut-out dough in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes while the oven heats up; this step prevents excessive spreading during baking.
- Bake Cookies: Bake the chilled cookies for 10-12 minutes until the edges turn a light golden brown. If the red hots spread beyond the cookie edges during baking, loosen them gently with a spatula or knife. Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
- Make the Buttercream Frosting: In a mixing bowl, blend the butter, whipping cream or milk, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing until the frosting is completely smooth and reaches your desired consistency. Add a few drops of red food coloring to tint the frosting pink, if desired.
- Frost and Decorate: Spread the buttercream frosting over the cooled cookies. Optionally, sprinkle extra red hot candies on top for added texture and visual appeal. Let the frosting set before serving, preferably allowing the cookies to rest overnight for maximum flavor fusion.
Notes
- These cookies taste best on their second day when the frosting has set and softened, allowing the buttery and vanilla flavors to meld beautifully while the red hot candies soften slightly.
- Placing red hot candies in a ziplock bag and smashing them with a rolling pin is an effective method to break them into pieces safely and efficiently.
- Both weight (grams) and volume (cups) measurements are provided for accuracy; using grams, especially for flour, results in better consistency.
- When measuring flour without a scale, spoon the flour lightly into measuring cups and avoid packing it down to maintain a light, fluffy texture in cookies.
- Nutrition facts are calculated based on 22 cookies, although actual values may vary with cookie cutter sizes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 140 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 90 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 1.5 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
