Chocolate Peppermint Blossom Cookies

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A holiday take on the classic blossom cookie made with a simple chocolate cookie base speckled with chopped candy cane Hershey’s Kisses and topped with a swirly whole one.

Are you tired of peppermint yet? ME EITHER.

That’s why when I was at Target the other day (I tried so hard to put my blinders on, I really really did) I bought a family size bag of Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses. I couldn’t help it people… They might be my favorite Kiss, which is saying a lot since I don’t loveeee white chocolate (even if I like it in my peanut butter sometimes).

Instead of sitting in my apartment eating all of them, I thought it would be a good idea to bake them into something. That way, I would be able to eat them and whatever it was I baked them into have less of them around because, sharesies! <– my favorite part about baking!

I’ll be honest… I have never made peanut butter blossoms. *GASP* I know. [[edit: I have since made classic peanut butter blossoms!!]]

They seem like such a staple cookie, like every baker should know exactly how to make them and be able to whip them up on the spot (much like a basic chocolate cake or vanilla buttercream frosting or a pie crust or even just an oatmeal raisin cookie <–make those, all of them).

Guess what? I still haven’t made peanut butter blossoms, so instead I bring you what I did make… A seasonal twist on the classic with my chocolate peppermint blossoms.

I know, the holiday season involves lots of spending money. Gifts, parties, baked goods, more gifts, homemade candy, more baked goods… It can get to be super expensive.

Especially when you have kitchen fail after kitchen fail and have to keep buying butter and then more wine.

Oh wait, that’s just me. Back to you.

Lucky for you, this recipe has a list of ingredients I’m sure you have in your pantry right now. And if you have a family size bag of Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses lying around, you’re even better off.

You actually don’t need the family size bag, unless you have no self control when it comes to these things. In that case, splurge for the big guy.

The base for these cookies is a simple, soft chocolate cookie. It doesn’t have any weird ingredients, but I cannot stress to you enough the fact that you need to let this cooke dough chill before rolling it into balls.

It’s seriously sticky… As in, you might think you’re making brownies. I promise, after you chill it, you’ll have no problem rolling it into balls.

The cookies only get baked for 10 minutes, and when the 10 minutes is up, your cookies will need to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before you pop a Kiss on top. If you try to put the Kiss on immediately, you’ll have a huge melty mess.

PRESS IN A KISS THEN POP COOKIES IN THE FREEZER

Which brings me to the next critical step: once your Kiss is pressed into the top of your cookie, you need to move quickly and get that baking sheet into the freezer. Freezing everything will ensure your Kiss stays nice and non-melty (technical term).

If you’re somehow unable to find Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses, you may certainly use a regular Kiss and just add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract to the dough.

With Candy Cane Kiss pieces inside the cookies themselves and one sitting so nicely on top, there is so much peppermint in these cookies (no worries, not so much that they taste like toothpaste!) that they are just the perfect Christmas treat.

The cookies are soft and chewy, and the bits of candy that are already in the Kisses add the tiniest little crunch in every bite.

These cookies are really hard to pass up, but if you can wrangle a little self control, I suggest packaging some up and giving them with your homemade vanilla extract as gifts this year.

Or add them as a new staple to your traditional family cookie baking repertoire!

Either way, if you love peppermint and chocolate, you’re going to l-o-v-e these adorable cookies (and I think Santa will too)!

Do you love peppermint and chocolate as much as I do? Check out these EASY must-try recipes next: homemade peppermint bark, peppermint brownies, and Peppermint Pattie brownies.

5 from 4 votes

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Chocolate Peppermint Blossom Cookies

A holiday take on the classic blossom cookie made with a simple chocolate cookie base speckled with chopped candy cane Hershey's Kisses and topped with a swirly whole one.

Prep Time2 hrs 15 mins

Bake Time10 mins

Total Time2 hrs 25 mins

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• ▢ 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/4 cup brown sugar light or dark, firmly packed
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons milk any
• ▢ 1/2 cup finely chopped Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses approximately 18
• ▢ 24 whole Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses unwrapped

Instructions

• In a large bowl with an electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed until blended.
• Add the sugars and cream everything together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add to the wet ingredients while mixing on low speed. Add the milk and beat on medium speed until combined. Fold in chopped Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses. Dough will be thick and very sticky. Chill for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350ºF degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
• Using a cookie scoop (I use this #50 cookie scoop for all of my standard size cookies), remove dough from bowl and form into balls with your hand. Dough will become sticky again with the warmth of your hand, so try to be gentle and work quickly. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will look underdone. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes.
• Press a Candy Cane Hershey’s Kiss into the center and immediately put the baking sheet into the freezer for 10 minutes to prevent the Kiss from melting. Once completely cooled, you can allow cookies to come to room temperature on the baking sheet. Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week. Cookies may be frozen– use within 2 months. Raw cookie dough balls may be frozen up to 3 months. Do not thaw before baking and bake for 12-13 minutes.

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Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.