During the holidays two of my favorite candies come out and I become a hoarder. The first one is new to me – as in I just discovered it this year – but don’t think I won’t fight you for it if it comes down to you, me, and the last box in the Target aisle. Say hello…
The second is a classic, Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses.
I love that both candies add tiny bits of peppermints to give them some texture and crunch. I could literally survive on these and some salted caramel pretzel bark during the month of December.
Anyway, I’ve been itching to put one of these in a cookie. These came to me one night and I was counting down the days until the Candy Cane Kisses appeared on shelves so I could give them a try. I loved them immediately. First batch. (You’d be surprised how rarely that happens!)
The chocolate and peppermint are the perfect complement here, but the best part about these is their bite-size and adorable red stripes. They’re truly a pretty cookie and mouthwateringly delicious to boot!
p.s. Don’t push the kisses too far down when you insert them. I did this on the batch pictured and they start to appear sunken. Push them down about halfway. You can put them back in the warm oven (leave the door open) to help them melt. After they’ve softened, try to push each one down just once to avoid messing up the stripes. OR try inserting the kisses upside down? This didn’t occur to me until after I made them, but it would save you from having to touch them because the flat surface would be up. Duh.
Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
48 candy cane kiss candies, unwrapped
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Lightly grease two 24-cup mini muffin pans and set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda; set aside.
Combine butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Add flour mixture and beat on low just until combined. Shape dough into 48 1-inch balls. Place dough balls into prepared muffin pan cups. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until puffed and set. Don’t over bake.
Remove pan from oven and place on cooking rack. Immediately press 1 candy into each cookie. (See my note above about this.) Wait about 2 minutes and push candy around just enough so chocolate is melted on top. (Again, see above. I think if you put the kisses in upside down you won't have to touch them at all.) Cool in pan, on rack for about 10 minutes. Carefully, run a small sharp knife around the edge of cups to remove cookies. Remove to wire rack and completely.
Makes 48 cookies.
https://sugarmamacooks.com/holiday-cookie-countdown-candy-cane-kiss-brownies/
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