Rainbow candy cane-topped sugar cookie cake will delight your family

Candy canes come in all sorts of colors and flavors these days, and I can’t resist buying them all up. But one can eat only so many candy canes. Use the extra ones you have around to decorate a sugar cookie cake. It makes for a super-colorful topping and unique treat for the holiday season.

I love all things rainbow. And food in rainbow colors is even better. This festive sugar cookie cake will make everyone smile for so many reasons.

Reason #1: It’s basically a big sugar cookie. Reason #2: It’s a rainbow. Reason #3: It’s got everyone’s favorite holiday treat — candy canes — on top.

Crushing candy canes is also pretty darn therapeutic.

And for the type A personalities, you can make it symmetrical. Create a circle template by tracing the bottom of your cake pan. Using a good old ruler, draw 8 equal “pie” slices. Cut out 1 of the pie slices, and discard it. Place the round template on top of your cookie cake, and fill in the empty pie slice with your crushed candy cane. Rotate and repeat until the entire cake is filled in.

Or you can make whatever design you like. You can even just sprinkle the crushed candy canes randomly over the cookie cake. It will still be a rainbow and just as delicious! Bring it to your next holiday party, and get ready for all the oohs and aahs.

Sugar cookie cake with rainbow candy cane topping recipe

This cookie cake uses a vanilla boxed cake mix and vanilla buttercream frosting, but you can mix and match with your favorite cake and frosting flavors. If you don’t want to take the time to evenly spread the crushed candy cane into equal-size “slices” on top, then you can just sprinkle them all over. It will still make for a fun holiday treat.

Yields 1 (9 x 9-inch) cake

Prep time: 30 minutes | Inactive time: 3 hours I Cook time: 25 minutes | Total time: 3 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 box vanilla cake mix
• 3/4 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 cups vanilla frosting
• Candy canes in various flavors and colors, crushed and separated into bags or bowls

Directions:

1. With a mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix until all incorporated.
3. Add the dry cake mix and cornstarch (the mixture will be thick and cookie dough-like).
4. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F when ready to bake.
6. Grease or flour a round 9 x 9-inch cake pan, and spread the dough evenly in the pan.
7. Bake for 25 minutes, until the edges are just golden brown.
8. Allow the cookie cake to cool completely, and then remove it from the pan.
9. Spread the frosting across the top of the cookie cake.
10. To spread the crushed candy canes evenly into triangular, pie-like shapes on top of the cookie cake, trace the bottom of your baking pan onto cardboard (or cardstock paper). Cut out the circle. Using a ruler, divide into 8 equally sized “pie” slices. Cut out 1 of the pie slices, and discard it. Put the round template on top of your cookie cake.
11. Spread the crushed candy cane pieces over the open part of the template (as in the picture). Rotate the template, and repeat with different colors of candy cane until you fill in the cookie cake.
12. Slice and serve. You can cut each color slice and serve, or cut each color slice in half for smaller slices.

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