Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies
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These peppermint kiss cookies are easy to make and the chocolate and peppermint combination is a holiday classic!
Can we just talk about these kisses for a minute? They are Hershey’s Holiday Candy Cane kisses and they are marvelous. I was skeptical at first, thinking they might be overly sweet. They are sweet but I was totally won over by the little crispy bits of peppermint candy in each bite.
Have you ever had those melt away mints that come in pastel colors with the little white “candies” on the bottoms of them? I’m sure they have a name; they are served at parties and weddings frequently. They’re totally addicting and these kisses taste just like them. I’m hooked. Pair them with a rich chocolate cookie and I’m a happy camper.
About These Cookies
I start with the same cookie base as chocolate cherry thumbprints because really, it is just that good, rich and chocolatey. It doesn’t take any fancy ingredients. It’s a pretty simple cookie which uses basic pantry ingredients.
Paired with the creamy deliciousness of the candy kisses–you’ll want to send these cookies away on gift platters to friends and family, just to get them out of the house.
If you’re a chocolate with mint fan, be sure to try these peppermint chocolate sugar cookies, too.
I’ll run through the recipe here and give you extra tips to help out. As always, you’ll find the printable recipe card near the bottom of the post with measurements, instructions, and nutrition information.
What You’ll Need
- All-Purpose Flour: I haven’t tested these with whole wheat flour but I’m pretty sure that would work too. It may be a bit heartier in flavor.
- Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder is found in the baking aisle of the grocery store. It is high in antioxidants. If it contains hard lumps, press it through a fine strainer before adding it to the flour mixture.
- Salt: Just a pinch of fine salt keeps the cookies from tasting flat.
- Unsalted Butter: Make sure the butter is softened, or at room temperature. If all you have is salted butter, omit the salt in the recipe.
- Sugar: Use regular granulated white sugar that is normally used for baking.
- Egg: You’ll need one large egg.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: To add flavor.
- Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses: Each 10 oz. bag contains 70-75 kisses. Depending on how large you make your cookies, you’ll need 40-45. The remaining kisses are a bonus for you to eat or share!
How To Make This Recipe
Begin by unwrapping the candies. If you have helper elves, this is a good job for little fingers. Expect a few candies to disappear though.
Get the oven preheating and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl. In a larger bowl, combine the butter and 1 cup of the sugar. Save the other half cup to roll the cookie dough balls in.
When the butter and sugar mixture is fluffy and light, add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat until combined, then slowly add the flour mixture. Mix just until blended together.
Form balls of dough, about one inch in diameter, and roll the balls in the remaining sugar. The sugar will give the cookies a happy little sparkle. Bake the cookies until they look set but not moist, about eight minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and immediately press a candy kiss lightly into the center of each cookie. Don’t press too hard! There should be a cookie base under the candy.
Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet before transferring them to an airtight container.
Make It Your Own
Hershey’s Kisses come in lots of different flavors and all of them are great on this chocolate cookie base.
Storage Tips
Cookies will keep at room temperature as long as it is fairly cool for up to one week. They’ll keep in the freezer for at least one month.
Note about these Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies
After some feedback that these did not turn out well, I re-tested the recipe a couple of different ways. They turn out perfectly for me the way they are written. They are not mushy and they don’t spread too much (they barely spread at all until you put the kiss in). They are a soft, brownie-like cookie.
The dough should be thick but easy to handle and not overly sticky. Make sure you note that the sugar is divided. One cup goes into the dough, and the remaining half cup is used for rolling.
I’m happy to answer any questions or troubleshoot if you contact me.
I did make one change in the recipe. In the original recipe, I added the kisses 5 minutes into the baking time and returned to the oven for another 3 minutes. Although this does work, the top of the kiss turns a light brown color. I like the appearance of the cookies better when the kisses are added at the end.
Make sure that you have the kisses unwrapped and ready to go so you can put them on top of the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven. Once the cookies have cooled and firmed up, it is difficult to add the candy kiss.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 pkg. (10 oz.) package Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses (with foil wrapping removed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper or silicone sheets.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and salt.
- Using an electric mixer and a large bowl (or a stand mixer), beat butter and 1 cup of sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Turn mixer to low and gradually add flour mixture until combined.
- Put the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a small bowl. Form dough into approximately 1-inch balls and then roll in sugar to coat. Place one inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 8 minutes or until cookies are set but still look moist. Remove from the oven and lightly press in candy cane kisses into the center of each cookie.
- Cool completely on the cookie sheets on wire racks before removing to an airtight container to store.
Notes
- Make sure that you have the kisses unwrapped and ready to go so you can put them on top of the cookies immediately after they come out of the oven.
- Yield depends on size of cookies.
- If desired, substitute a different type of Hershey’s Kisses.
- Each 10 oz. bag of candy kisses contains 70-75 kisses (so you’ll have extra to eat!).
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Fiona Gwozdz says
Hi! I think you’re missing 2 little ingredients- here’s how things went for me: Made R1 as described. They were a melty mess. (But I plan to blend them and use them for pie crust so not all is lost!). I did figure it out though! I saved the rest of the dough that had failed R1 by mixing half a teaspoon of baking soda and another half a teaspoon of baking powder with about a quarter cup of milk in a little ramekin and blended in to the full dough mixture with a little (maybe 2 tablespoons) of flour and a teaspoon of cocoa. Blended til uniform again and NOW they’re perfect. Baking is a science!
Rachel Gurk says
Hi Fiona,
I appreciate your feedback! I did test this recipe again this year (I do every year, at least once!), with a number of variations (rolled in sugar, not rolled in sugar, chilled dough, not chilled dough), and all turned out beautifully. I am fully aware that baking is a science, but I have tested this recipe extensively and it works every time for me. I’m glad you found something that works for you, though!
Marilyn says
Made these tonight, they kept shape nicely however the candy cane kisses melted flat and it ran off some of the cookies. Still taste great but instead of a kiss there is a puddle…
Any suggestions
Rachel Gurk says
Sometimes I swirl them with a toothpick, they look really pretty! But you could also just wait 1-2 minutes to add them to let the cookies cool slightly before adding the kiss.
Susan says
I’m wondering if people skipped the rolling the dough in sugar part of the recipe. Does that keep the dough from spreading? I’ve made other recipes where it calls for rolling the dough in sugar or nuts, and when I haven’t done it, the dough spreads.
Rachel Gurk says
Hi Susan,
I’m not sure if that would make a difference or not, but that’s a great though! I’m testing the recipe again this week and I’ll try some both ways.
Sharon says
Just made these, they didn’t flatten too much. I thought batter slightly on the dry side but my butter was super soft. Still tasted delicious, didn’t spread, stayed pretty formed. Saving the recipe.
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so glad you liked them, Sharon! Thanks for taking the time to leave a commment!
Karen says
I made these for the first time and they came out DELICIOUS!! I unfortunately could not get my hands on any peppermint kisses because they were sold out over the holiday. So I did have to substitute with some hot cocoa kisses which I highly recommend. The cookies themselves were perfect. Anything less and I’d say it’s human error because I myself found no issues with this recipe at all. Matter of fact, I found it to be one of my favorites actually!
Rachel Gurk says
Oooh hot cocoa kisses? Yum! Thanks for the comment, so happy to hear these worked out well for you!
PRIYA says
Excellent recipe…i made each cookie 16 grams …baked for 8 minutes ..
The kisses did get runny though…will be serving it at Xmas today
Rachel Gurk says
Glad you liked them!
Anna says
This was a disappointment. Made these today and also did not turn out. Definitely does not make 2-3 dozens. I think I have 18 at most and I used a 1.5T ice cream scoop. The cookie took a long time to bake and I tried one batch as is and it was crumbly. Bc the dough was melts and sticky I put it in the fridge to firm up. Same outcome, way too crumbly. Will not make again.
Rachel Gurk says
I just retested this recipe and they turn out great with no difficulties. I’m sorry you had a bad experience.
Kristen H says
I think the dough needs to be refrigerated. Such a high butter content and no leavening means that the dough will puddle if you’re not careful. Refrigerating the dough delays the puddling action slightly (I’m trying that with the second tray full as the first tray is definitely spreading and browning a bit fast on the bottom (again, the high butter content). Another strategy would be, as in similar recipes, to use part shortening. Other recipes also use melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder, and so there are many variants that can affect the spread as it bakes. Also it’s important to keep the size of each dough ball small, so there’s less initial surface content with the hot pan. Good news, chill the dough only for 15 minutes or so (more will make the dough hard to work). Also I used Crisco on the pan rather than parchment paper and that was pretty useful too. A good cookie once you pay attention to the spreading issue. I like to put the kiss on out of the oven, let it soften, and then fold the point in and make a swirl. It takes me about half a batch to get any swirls that look like a mint candy but it’s fun to do.
Rachel Gurk says
Hi Kristen, I recently re-tested this recipe and it turns out perfectly as written, but thank you for your additional tips and thoughts!
Susie says
These cookies did not turn out. They were flat, and were not baked in the 8 minutes you suggested. I let them bake another 2 minutes longer and still flat. They don’t look anything like your photo. Been baking a long time and these were a flop.
I would not make again.
May I ask why there isn’t baking soda in them?
Rachel Gurk says
Hi Susie,
Your comment spurred me to test this recipe again (doing it right now!) and they are coming out perfectly and look just like the photos. Are you sure you didn’t miss an ingredient or a step? Mistakes happen sometimes!
Renée says
Has anyone ever used mint extract instead of vanilla? I’m about to make these and I was wondering if I could substitute….only because I love everything mint chocolate.
Rachel Gurk says
I bet that would be great! But you’ll want to use less as it is very potent.
Heathe says
Approximately how many cookies does this recipe make?
Rachel Gurk says
Depending on the size of the cookie, 2-3 dozen.
Gladys says
Are there any high altitude adjustments. I made a different recipe last night and it spread all over my baking pan. Now i’m hesitant to try another.
Rachel Gurk says
Sorry to hear that! I don’t have experience cooking at high altitude, but maybe someone else will weigh in!
Vivian says
Wonderful recipe. These were delicious! Perfect for holiday snacking.
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so glad you enjoyed these! Happy Holidays!
John Hoskins says
Made these exactly per recipe and was a total mess. Should try making this yourself and you will see what I mean. Total disaster.
Rachel Gurk says
I’ve made these many times and they turn out! I’m sorry to hear you had a bad experience. I’d be happy to help you troubleshoot if you’d like to try them again.
ally e says
Terrible to make! Dough was mushy and stuck to your hands. Other recipes I’ve tried are much better.wont do this again.
A disaster like the other commenter. Wish I had read the comments before I started.
Rachel Gurk says
Sorry to hear that, we love this recipe!
Kristen says
Is margarine or country crock butter okay?
Rachel Gurk says
I wouldn’t recommend it – I’d use butter.