Hershey Kisses are great bite-sized treats. But you want to know what is even better? Holiday Hershey Kisses!
Holiday Candy
I guess I knew Hershey Kisses made seasonal flavors, but I've never really bought and consumed them like I did this year. First of all, I went a little overboard on the holiday candy this year. My trips to the supermarket and Target have been limited so I didn't want to miss the seasonal products as I did with Thanksgiving. Turns out going to Homegoods at the beginning of November will just result in Christmas decorations and nothing for Thanksgiving. Guess you had to catch that over the summer? Who knew!? So come the beginning of December I was prepared, or overprepared as it was.
I bought up a bunch of seasonal M&M's, some Andes mint chocolate chips, and seasonal Hershey Kisses. It was still up in the air as to what to do with the Andes mints and M&Ms (taking suggestions!), but I knew I wanted to make Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms cookies with the Hershey Kisses.
Peppermint Chocolate Blossoms
I know blossoms are typical holiday cookies made using peanut butter and classic chocolate Hershey Kisses. I wanted to give that a holiday spin by using the Candy Cane Mint Hershey Kisses and chocolate cookies. The kisses have such a holiday look with their red stripes and bright white chocolate. They look even more seasonal somehow paired with a chocolate sugar cookie.
For the base of the cookies, I used a chocolate sugar cookie recipe from Sarah Keiffer's 100 Cookies cookbook. Her basic cookies are the perfect vehicle for something like this. They have a simple flavor and pair well with mix-ins. To add a little sweetness and texture, I rolled some of the cookies in powdered sugar and some in granulated sugar.Â
Once I had the flavors and texture down, it was all about the bake time. The time in the oven will make or break the cookies. They have to be soft but baked. Then you have to let them cool so they don't melt the chocolate kisses, but not cool enough that they harden. It's a tricky game to master.
Holiday Treats
These cookies require more attention than a typical batch of holiday cookies but are totally worth it. The chocolate and peppermint flavors really compliment each other and create the perfect bite. Even though I have a ton of holiday candy, I want to stock up on more kisses so I can make these cookies year-round!
Check out the recipe below and have a great holiday!
Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 and ¾ cups granulated sugar, plus ½ cup for rolling
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 package Holiday HERSHEY’S KISSES Candy Cane Mint Candies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Add in the sugar and beat until combined and it looks light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix to combine and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture on low speed. Mix together until fully combined and scraping down the sides when needed.
- Roll the cookie into small round balls, about 1 teaspoon each. Roll the balls in the powdered sugar or the granulated sugar. You want them to be fully covered in the sugar. Once covered in the sugar, bake the cookies for about 8 minutes. While the cookies are baking, unwrap the kisses.
- The cookies should flatten out completely, but they might look a little underdone. That is okay. Let them cool for about 5 minutes before placing them in the Hershey Kisses. When you place the kisses in the cookies, the cookies should bubble out a little bit to form the blossom. Quickly place the cookies in the freezer for a few minutes so the kisses can settle without melting.
- The cookies will last for a week in an air-tight container and in the freezer for about 3 months.
Did you make this recipe?! Let me know and share it on Instagram. Tag @crispcrumble and use the hashtag #crispandcrumble.Â
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