From Cleo Coyle: This easy candy cane frosting recipe, which was originally published in our 8th Coffeehouse Mystery Holiday Grind, will quickly dress up a plain pan of brownies, sugar cookies, cupcakes, or sheet cake, and instantly transform them into festive holiday treats.
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Cleo Coyle writes two bestselling mystery series with her husband. To learn more, click here. |
While this recipe is fairly simple (crushed candy canes in a standard buttercream), I've taken care to balance the flavors, keeping the peppermint extract to a minimum and crushing the candy canes finely enough to give the buttercream a gorgeous pink color along with a sweet and delicious flavor.
This frosting is great on plain vanilla cakes and cookies, but it also perfectly complements chocolate, making it a terrific treat for mint-chocolate fans. Enjoy it on chocolate cakes, cupcakes, and brownies.
Cheers, everyone, Marc and I hope you will all be eating with joy this holidays season!
~ Cleo
Cleo Coyle’s
Candy Cane Frosting
Makes 1¾ cups frosting—enough for a thin frosting on a 9×13-inch pan of brownies or sheet cake. For a thicker frosting, simply double the recipe. Not just for the holidays. This frosting is festive and fun for birthday cakes, too!
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. peppermint extract or 1 T. peppermint schnapps
1/4 cup finely crushed candy canes (*See my note below 🎅)
Directions: Using an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the milk, sugar, and peppermint extract. Blend until the sugar is fully dissolved (about 1 minute). Add the crushed candy canes and beat until the frosting is light, fluffy, and turns a pretty shade of pink (about 1 minute more). If the frosting is too stiff, add a bit more milk. Frost your brownies (or cookies, cake, or cupcakes). For a pretty finish, rough chop a few more candy canes and garnish your cake, cupcakes, brownies, or cookies.
🎅*NOTE: To make finely crushed candy canes, simply place your store-bought candy canes in a plastic storage bag and bang away with a rolling pin or ladle. (An instant holiday stress reliever, too!) For a 1/4 cup, you’ll need about 10 small or 3 large candy canes.
To download this recipe in a PDF
document that you can print,
save, or share, click here.
ONE LAST TIP FROM CLEO...
Keep the cheer going! Set aside some candy canes in your cupboard for the coming months. They're easy to find in stores now, and after the holidays are over, when the dreary months of January and February settle in, you can bring them out and make this beautifully festive Candy Cane Frosting to cheer you up again. Just looking at this frosting lifts the spirits and the taste is fantastic. Try it for birthday celebrations, Valentine's Day, baby and wedding showers, and pretty-in-pink spring parties.
The Origin of Candy Canes
In 1670, in Cologne, Germany, a choirmaster wanted to solve the problem of noise caused by children in his church during Christmas Eve services. He asked a local candy maker for some sweet sticks for them. In order to justify the practice of giving candy to children during worship services, he asked the candy maker to add a crook to the top of each stick, which would help children remember the shepherds who paid visit to the baby Jesus. From Germany, the candy canes spread to other parts of Europe. Around 1882, people began hanging them on Christmas trees and in the early 1920s, Chicago confectioners the Bunte Brothers filed the earliest patents for candy cane making machines. (Source: Wikipedia)
Eat with Joy to the World!
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Our Brand-New
Coffeehouse Mystery!
National Mystery Bestseller
(Triple) #1 Amazon Category Bestseller
Fresh Fiction Readers' Selection
To Buy:
"EASILY ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS THAT I HAVE READ THIS YEAR...10 STARS!" —Escape with Dollycas into a Good Book
"A KNOCKOUT STORY....one of the best books in this endearing series...a TERRIFIC READ..." —Dru Ann Love, Raven Award-winning reviewer, Dru's Book Musings
No Roast for the Weary
includes a killer menu of
tasty recipes. Get Cleo's
Free Recipe Guide below...
No Roast for the Weary
includes a killer menu of
tasty recipes. Get Cleo's
includes a killer menu of
tasty recipes. Get Cleo's
Free Recipe Guide below...
"WILDLY ENTERTAINING"
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#1 Amazon Category Best SellerFresh Fiction Readers' Selection
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"Scads of red herrings, peeks behind the show-biz curtain, and bountiful appended recipes will leave fans smiling contentedly."
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"This twentieth Coffeehouse mystery (after Honey Roasted) brings together the history of the shop, ripped-from-the-headlines plot elements, [and] the drama of on-site filming."
The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling works
of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark
Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the
21 titles includes the added bonus of recipes.
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"Amazing and Unique"
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"WILDLY ENTERTAINING"
~ Criminal Element
National Mystery Bestseller
#1 Amazon Category Best Seller
#1 Amazon Category Best Seller
Fresh Fiction Readers' Selection
& 2 Best of Year Lists!
& 2 Best of Year Lists!
To Buy:
🔎 KIRKUS REVIEWS
"Scads of red herrings, peeks behind the show-biz curtain, and bountiful appended recipes will leave fans smiling contentedly."
"Scads of red herrings, peeks behind the show-biz curtain, and bountiful appended recipes will leave fans smiling contentedly."
📚 BOOKLIST
"This twentieth Coffeehouse mystery (after Honey Roasted) brings together the history of the shop, ripped-from-the-headlines plot elements, [and] the drama of on-site filming."
The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling works
of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark
Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the
21 titles includes the added bonus of recipes.
of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark
Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the
21 titles includes the added bonus of recipes.
Cleo Coyle's Books in Order
Click here or on the image below.
Haunted Bookshop
Mystery...
Jack & Pen
Together Again!
~ Fresh Fiction
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