These Candy Cane Kiss Cookies pack all the fun of the holidays into one bite! Soft, chocolatey, and topped with a peppermint candy that melts just slightly into the warm cookie. Bright, festive, soft, and chewy, they add a perfect pop of color and flavor. They’re simple to make, great for gifting, and disappear fast from any cookie plate.
I started with Sara’s Cadbury Egg Cookie Dough, which is really just a great recipe for chocolate cookies. A little peppermint extract, a sprinkle of chocolate chips, and a peppermint kiss finish these off and make them irresistible!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Butter flavored shortening – I sometimes like the combo of shortening and butter because you get flavor and tenderness from the butter, and some structure and softness from the shortening. If you’d rather not use shortening, or don’t have it on hand, you can definitely make this recipe will all butter as well.
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Peppermint extract
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Chocolate chips – This recipe calls for dark chocolate chips, but you can use whatever you have on hand!
- Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses – These are kind of the star of the show here! But if you’d like to experiment, go ahead and try these cookies with other flavors of kisses, just leave out the peppermint extract or replace it with another extract or flavoring oil of your choice.
Instructions
- Start by placing some brown and white sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl. Add some softened butter and butter-flavored shortening and cream together for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add some vanilla, peppermint extract, and eggs and mix until thoroughly combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.
- To prevent cookies from flattening out, refrigerate dough for 30-60 minutes. Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet (or parchment paper-lined baking sheets). Bake until just set, but centers are still soft, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to cooling rack. Top each cookie with an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss. Allow them to stand for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- Allow to cool completely, long enough for the Kiss to harden.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished cookies in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within days for best results.
- These puppies need a few hours for the kiss to become solid again, but if you need to hurry things along, wait until the cookies themselves have cooled and then transfer them to your refrigerator or freezer and they’ll be set up in no time.
- These are perfect for holiday gift-giving because they’re easy, festive, a little different, and hold up well to packaging.
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely! I understand not everyone likes to bake with shortening. I sometimes think of it as a cheat-code because a little bit helps the cookies have a really great shape and a little more lift. They also stay softer, longer! But you certainly can use all butter as well. Just make sure you do the chilling step and know that you might get just a little more spread (ie flatter cookies).
Make these cookies a day ahead of time if needed. Store on the counter in an airtight container until ready to serve. While I have not personally tried freezing these, most cookies freeze pretty well as long as they are sealed well.
Yes. Make the dough and store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours before baking. For best results, let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before scooping and baking.
You don’t have to, just expect a flatter cookie. Refrigerating the dough helps it hold it’s shape when baked.
Candy Cane Kiss Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter-flavored shortening
- ½ cup real butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cup flour lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
- 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 12 ounces dark chocolate chips (1 bag)
- 48 Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses unwrapped (one 10 ounce bag)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Cream together softened butter, shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar for 1-2 minutes on medium-high speed or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, combine the baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.
- To prevent cookies from flattening out, refrigerate dough for 30-60 minutes. Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until just set, but centers are still soft, about 8 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. Use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to cooling rack. Top each cookie with an unwrapped Candy Cane Kiss.
- Allow to cool completely, long enough for the Kiss to harden. If necessary, after the cookies have cooled, they can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer to re-solidify the Kiss.
Notes
- Store finished cookies in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within days for best results.
- These cookies need a few hours for the kiss to become solid again, but if you need to hurry things along, wait until the cookies themselves have cooled and then transfer them to your refrigerator or freezer and they’ll be set up in no time.
- These are perfect for holiday gift-giving because they’re easy, festive, a little different, and hold up well to packaging.
Questions & Reviews
Yup- any chocolate will work!
I do not like dark chocolate- would milk chocolate work in these cookies? They look YUMMY!
ooops. Guess I should have read all the comments. Saw up above that they freeze well! I'll report back how they came out with the Andes peppermint crunch pieces
How do these freeze? They sound scrumptious and I was going to use the Andes Peppermint baking pieces instead of the kiss. But I am wondering if you've frozen them and then thawed for cookie trays.
Thanks! 🙂
Michelle- we generally us salted butter unless we specifically call for unsalted. But either will work just fine 🙂
Would you recommend using unsalted sweet cream butter or salted butter?
Can't wait to make these!
This recipe is amazing! Its perfect for my fiance in the military. I want to send some holiday cheer his way while he is away from the ones he loves. Thanks! =]
these were a humungous hit at my office christmas party! I made them with my own choc. chip recipe, fudged to make them double chocolate, then I put the tray outside on the porch (-7C) to set up. 10 minutes later I had perfect cookies for gifting!
These are sooooo good. And pretty! Everyone that I made them for, loved them!!! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Angela, I totally hear you on selling it in smaller containers, haha! Try adding about 1 tsp. of baking powder to a cup of warm water. If it fizzes, it's still good; if it doesn't, you need a new can. Try adding 1 tsp. baking soda to some vinegar and same thing–if it reacts, it's still good.
Try those things and if your stuff is still good, send me a pic to general (at) ourbestbites (dot) com and we'll figure this out… 🙂