Festive Peppermint Kiss Christmas Cookies
The richness of the chocolate cookies pairs perfectly with the bold yet sweet peppermint in these holiday favorite and oh-so-festive peppermint kiss chocolate cookies. These easy cookies definitely aren’t short on peppermint flavor! There’s peppermint extract and crushed candy cane pieces in the cookie dough, and a Hershey’s Candy Cane Kiss is pressed into the center of each cookie while they’re still warm. And because I can’t resist chocolate around the holidays – or really ever, who am I kidding – I made the cookie dough with double the chocolate. I used both melted chocolate and cocoa powder, partly for flavor and partly for the perfect texture both kinds of chocolate lend to the cookies. This is a festive take on my favorite peanut butter blossom cookies recipe. If you’ve made peanut butter blossoms before, the baking process is nearly identical in this peppermint version — there are just a few ingredient swaps! Bring these candy cane Kiss cookies to your next cookie exchange, plate them up for a holiday party, or gift to friends, family, or teachers for a treat everyone will love!
Ingredients in Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies
These chocolate peppermint Christmas cookies require basic fridge and pantry ingredients you likely have on hand. Gather the following ingredients:
Semi-sweet chocolate (use a bar, not chocolate chips – see the Tips section below if you want to know why) Unsalted butter Granulated sugar Light brown sugar Egg Vanilla extract Peppermint extract All-purpose flour Cocoa powder Baking powder Salt Crushed candy cane pieces Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses*
*You’ll need to keep an eye out for Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses at your local grocery store or big box retailer since they’re a seasonal item, but they usually start cropping up in stores before Halloween, crazy, I know! On the plus side, that just means you can make these chocolate peppermint Kiss cookies well before Christmas! If you absolutely can’t find them, use regular Chocolate Kisses, or White Chocolate Kisses are also a nice variation. Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Peppermint Kiss Cookies
The dough for these candy cane Kiss cookies doesn’t need to be chilled before being baked, so you can whip up a batch of these cookies at a moment’s notice. I confess, when it comes to vanilla extract, if a recipe says 1 teaspoon, I probably add 2 teaspoons, and I use the eyeball method….Because with vanilla extract, more is better! However, you do NOT want to do that with peppermint extract because it’s so much more potent, intense, strong, and frankly your dessert will taste like mouthwash! So do NOT add more than called for. There are different types of minty extracts including peppermint, spearmint, wintermint, and on it goes. Use peppermint extract. Do not use peppermint oil. There’s always someone who asks me if they can use an oil in place of an extract – no, you can’t. Use peppermint extract. Wondering what to make with the rest of the bottle of peppermint extract? White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge, Peppermint Bark, Chocolate Peppermint Cake, or Double Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies are all fabulous and festive. There’s just about 15 minutes of active prep time and about 30 minutes total time, which includes bake time and a bit of cooling time. The Kisses get pressed into the cookies right when they come out of the oven, so there’s no wait time there either! Here’s an overview of the basic recipe steps: Step 1: Melt the chocolate in 30-second intervals in the microwave until fully melted. Set aside to cool slightly. Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars before adding in the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Step 3: Add in the melted chocolate and mix until just combined. Step 4: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Step 5: Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing just until incorporated. Step 6: Fold in the crushed candy canes. Step 7: Using a medium-sized cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough into tablespoon-sized balls. Roll the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar before placing on parchment paper-lined baking trays. Step 8: Bake the cookies just until the edges are set and the center still look soft. Step 9: As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press a Hershey’s Candy Cane Kiss into the center of each one. Then, transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before enjoying.
Tips for Making The Best Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies
If you want a less peppermint-y cookie, leave out the peppermint extract and/or crushed candy canes from the chocolate cookie dough. Do NOT add extra peppermint extract! Peppermint extract is much stronger and more potent than vanilla extract. Adding too much can cause your cookies to taste like mouthwash. See my Words of Caution, above. To easily crush the candy canes, place the unwrapped candy canes in a zip-top bag and gently smash with a rolling pin or the flat side of a meat tenderizer. You might want to place the bag of candy canes on a cutting board before smashing to protect your counters! Buy crushed candy canes to make your life easier. It’s well worth the price paid to not have to smack candy canes inside a zip-top plastic bag with a rolling pin, but that method is also viable should you choose it. Feel free to use any flavor of Hershey’s Kiss. This recipe is also great with regular Hershey’s Kisses or other holiday varieties! So if you can’t find the Peppermint Kisses, never fear and use what you can find! Press the Hershey’s Kiss firmly into the baked cookie. You want the Kiss to stick to the peppermint blossom cookies as they cool. Use a chocolate bar and not chocolate chips. Chocolate bars melt better and won’t seize up as easily as chocolate chips, which contain stabilizers and are resistant to melting. Use any chocolate bar you like! Dark or semi-sweet chocolate will make richer cookies, while milk chocolate will make sweeter cookies. For a less sweet cookie, you can skip the sugar coating. However, these really aren’t an overly sweet cookie and are more rich than ‘sweet’, and I think the sugar coating is a great touch. It also helps give a very light crispness to the exterior of the cookies when baking.
Storage Instructions
Store the chocolate peppermint Kiss cookies for up to 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature or freeze for up to 3 months. You can also roll and freeze the raw cookie dough. Wait to roll them in sugar until you’re ready to bake the frozen cookie dough! When you’re reading to bake them, you don’t need to thaw the dough balls first. Rather, you can simply bake them for an extra minute or two.
More Chocolate Cookie Recipes:
Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies — Rich, decadent, soft and chewy double chocolate cookies are sandwiched together with a tangy cream cheese filling before being rolled in crushed candy canes and drizzled with white chocolate for extra flavor and holiday festiveness! They’re the PERFECT Christmas cookie! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cookies — Very chocolaty, ultra FUDGY, and loaded with chocolate chips and peppermint patties!! If you love mint + chocolate, you’ll adore these easy, soft, and decadent chocolate bombs!! Andes Mint Chip Soft Fudgy Chocolate Cookies – Big, thick, fudgy chocolate cookies with a hint of mint and loads of chocolate in every bite! Hot Chocolate Cookies — These gooey hot chocolate cookies are complete with big gooey marshmallows and chunks of melted dark chocolate. This is the perfect holiday and winter time cookie recipe! Chocolate Crinkle Cookies — These chocolate crinkle cookies are slightly chewy around the edges with a very fudgy interior and perfectly crinkly seams! Soft Frosted Double Chocolate Cookies — Soft, chewy, double chocolate cookies topped with tangy cream cheese frosting!! A match made in heaven! And everything’s better with sprinkles! Soft and Chewy Nutella White Chocolate Chip Cookies – Thick, rich, chocolaty cookies that are so soft you won’t be able to resist them! Caramel-Stuffed Quadruple Chocolate Cookies – Soft and chewy cookies with four kinds of chocolate and so much gooey caramel! Dark Chocolate Chunk and Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies – Rich, soft chocolate cookies with chocolate chunks and peanut butter chips! Devil’s Food Cake Cookies — Foolproof cookies made with just 5 ingredients!! If you’re craving chocolate and want to make super EASY cookies that are soft, FUDGY, and delicious, this is the recipe to make!! Mexican Chocolate Shortbread Cookies — These buttery shortbread cookies are full of chocolate, cinnamon-and-sugar, and a bit of spice thanks to a couple unique ingredients! They remind me of a good cup of Mexican hot chocolate, in cookie form. Great for cookie exchanges because they keep well and the perfect conversation piece cookie to set out at your next holiday party or fiesta!
