Candy cane sugar cookies

We own a couple dozen cookie cutters, but they rarely get used because I am easily annoyed and trying to roll out cookie dough in dry, hot Nevada is annoyingly complicated.

Usually this means that I wastefully chuck a bunch of dough because when I'm annoyed I'm also impatient (and have we mentioned that I have a short fuse? I do. Think Looney Tunes' Daffy Duck ... "I've never been so humiliated in All My Life!" ...).

Anyway, earlier this week yet another failed roll-out-the-dough project led to a fun discovery: Candy cane sugar cookies.

You see, the dough wouldn't roll out nicely because the August heat was causing the chilled dough to melt. M..E.L.T.

For once I calmly assessed the situation and we decided to shape the dough into logs which we then rolled in Sugar in the Raw, sliced, dipped in the sugar and baked.

I began running low on sugar, though, so went to My Guy who was clinging to a 2-pound peppermint candy cane that Santa brought. In December.

After a bit of cajoling and work with a tear-covered hammer I escaped with a chunk of candy cane pulverized enough for use as a rolling sugar.

Basically, roll your sugar cookie dough log through a plate of candy cane dust and pebbles. Cut the log into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices.

Place each slice in the peppermint pebble dust, pressing down lightly to really pick up some of the crunchy stuff.

Bake as directed in your cookie recipe, adding one or two minutes as needed to cook throughout.

Finally, separate from one another as the dough was filled with unstable sugar causing it to melt and spread like crazy while baking. Place on cooling racks and enjoy with care!

Ah, you caught me, I did say "with care!" These candy cane cookies, while very pretty in speckled Christmas colors, have sharp sugar edges: Sort of like shards of sugary glass protecting each cookie from consumption.

Either consume the cookies with care or roll each cookie along its edge before storing so that the shards are knocked off.

Also, don't store your peppermint delights with things that you prefer remain non-pepperminty ... the flavor seeps into everything nearby.