These candy cane kiss blossom cookies are easy holiday cookies. They're the perfect size for your special occasion. Make them with a red and white striped Hershey's kiss and this delicious chocolate cookie recipe.
Ingredients
1 ¾cupsall-purpose flourspooned and leveled
⅔cupunsweetened cocoa powder
1tablespooncornstarch
½teaspoonbaking powder
¼teaspoonsalt
½cupunsalted butterroom temperature
1cupgranulated sugar
2largeeggsroom temperature
1teaspoonvanilla extract
22peppermint kisses
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°. Lay out 2 pieces of parchment paper on 2 large cookie sheets. Set aside.
Combine the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk.
In a separate large bowl, use an electric hand mixer to mix the butter and sugar until they are fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla extract, and continue mixing.
Pour in the dry ingredients, and mix at low speed until the dough is crumbly and pliable.
Use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out balls of dough and roll them with your hands until they are smooth, tight balls. Set them on the cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. (I fit 12 cookies on 1 cookie sheet.)
Press down the center of each cookie slightly with a measuring teaspoon. It’s okay if the dough cracks a little bit.
Bake the cookies, 1 cookie sheet at a time, for 15 minutes or until they have risen slightly. Press the centers of the cookies down again if they have risen too much while baking.
Rest the cookies on a cooling rack for about 5 minutes (or until they are still warm but not hot to the touch), then press a peppermint kiss into the center of each cookie.
Let the cookies cool completely, then serve.
Notes
Storage Instructions
Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 6 days. Please be mindful that if the cookies are in a warm room or left out in a warm area, the kisses may melt.
Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Bring the cookies to room temperature before serving. The cookies may get a little harder at cooler temperatures.
Freezer: Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before serving as the cookies will be too hard to eat at cold temperatures.
Tips
Try not to over-mix the egg. Over-mixing may affect how much the cookies rise in the oven.
If you put the kisses on the cookies too soon after they are out of the oven, they will melt, but if you wait too long, they won’t stick to the cookies. That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on the temperature of the cookies while they are resting. I found that waiting 5-10 minutes is a good amount of time before adding the kisses. They stick to the cookies without melting too much.
It’s important to use baking powder and not baking soda. Baking powder will help the cookies rise slightly, but baking soda will cause the cookies to spread and lose their shape.