Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies

These delicious chocolate peppermint kiss cookies are a perfect addition to your holiday cookie tray. They are easy to make and festive!

If you love the taste of peppermint and chocolate combined, then you’re going to love this recipe for Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies.

These cookies are perfect for Christmas, but they can be enjoyed all year round. They’re soft and fluffy, with a delicious chocolate flavour and a subtle peppermint flavour. Plus, they’re really easy to make, so they’re great for beginners or for little helpers to get involved.

A welcomed addition to any cookie exchange, they are a fun twist on the classic peanut butter blossoms as well as chocolate thumbprint cookies.

If you’re looking for a new cookie recipe to try out this holiday season, give these Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies a go! You won’t be disappointed.

Why you Will LOVE these Christmas Cookies

• Easy recipe, perfect for making with little helpers!
• Simple ingredients, except for the kisses, we are using basic pantry staples.
• Rich chocolate flavour with a punch of peppermint.
• Versatile recipe, easy to adapt to your own tastes.
• Festive cookies, the peppermint kisses give these cookies a touch of the holidays!
• Freeze well, perfect for making ahead of time.

Hershey Kiss Cookie Variations

• For a less peppermint-y cookie, leave out the peppermint extract and/or crushed candy canes.
• Make white chocolate peppermint kiss cookies by substituting the semi sweet chocolate with white chocolate and omitting the cocoa powder. Omit the peppermint extract as well.
• Use junior mints instead for kisses.
• Use red and white sanding sugars instead of the granulated sugar to roll the cookies in.
• For mocha peppermint cookies add in a little espresso or instant coffee to the dough.

How to Make the BEST Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies

• To easily crush candy canes, place unwrapped candy canes in a resealable bag and gently smash with a rolling pin or the flat side of a meat tenderizer.
• Use room temperature ingredients to make sure the dough combines well.
• Make sure you sift the flour if it is lumpy.
• Carefully spoon and level your flour – don’t pack it!
• Only just combine the batter, do not over-mix.
• Scoop the batter using a cookie scoop or a measuring spoon – or better yet a kitchen scale – to ensure even baking.
• Bake the cookies until the edges of the cookies are firm when touched.
• Don’t forget to rotate the pan halfway through baking so that your cookies bake evenly!
• Bake on the middle rack in your oven.
• Bake one sheet pan at a time for even cooking.
• If you have time, always do a test run with one or two cookies when you first use a new recipe. Oven temperatures can vary, and doing a test run really helps to establish the best baking time for your oven.
• This cookie dough does not need to be refrigerated, and it will not spread much in the oven.
• Make sure to press the Hershey’s peppermint kisses firmly into the baked cookie so it sticks as it cools.

How to Store Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies

Chocolate peppermint blossoms are a favourite with most folks. While you can store them for up to two weeks in an airtight container at room temperature, we recommend eating these holiday goodies within three to five days of baking for ideal flavor and texture.

If you’re serving or gifting cookies that fall outside of that window, you may want to freeze them.

To freeze the cookies, place your cookies on a baking sheet in the freezer until they’re firm, then place them in a labelled, zip-top bag. They’ll keep for up to three months in the freezer. When you’re ready to enjoy them, let your chocolate peppermint cookies thaw at room temperature for an hour or two.

Equipment Needed to Make Cookies

You don’t need anything more than a bowl and a whisk to make these cookies, and parchment paper on a cookie sheet to bake them.

To make life easier you can use an electric stand mixer or electric hand mixer, but I find it is more effort to get my electric mixer out than it is to mix the dough by hand.

You may also want to prevent waste by using a silicone liner instead of parchment paper.

About the Ingredients for Chocolate Peppermint Blossom Cookies

Chocolate – You can use either bakers chocolate or chocolate chips here. You can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate instead of the semi sweet, depending on how sweet you want the cookies.

Butter – I recommend unsalted butter. If all you have is salted, omit half of the added salt.

Sugar – We are using a mixture of brown sugar and granulated sugar here. Brown sugar brings a bit of depth to the sweetness along with a bit of moisture. If preferred, you can skip the sugar coating.

Vanilla extract – Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavour, but since these cookies aren’t very vanilla forward, artificial extract will work just as well.

Peppermint extract – Gives the cookies their peppermint flavour.

Flour – Spoon and level the flour when measuring it, otherwise your cookies may end up too dense.

Cocoa Powder – Make sure you use unsweetened cocoa powder and not hot chocolate mix.

Baking Powder – To leaven your cookies, so they are nice and fluffy. Make sure it is still active for best results!

Salt – Omit half the salt if using salted butter.

Kisses – You will need 24 Hershey’s candy cane kisses, one for each cookie. Feel free to use any Hershey kiss flavor – this recipe is also great with regular Hershey kisses or other holiday varieties. About 2 hours before baking, place your unwrapped kisses in the freezer. This way they only just melt enough to stick to the cookies.

Looking for More Christmas Cookie Recipes?

Check out more of my favourite recipes for Christmas cookies!

Looking for the perfect recipe for snickerdoodles? These delicious, soft & chewy cinnamon cookies are perfect for holiday celebrations!

These gingerbread Christmas tree cookies are fun to make with your family. They’re festive, delicious, and perfect for any holiday party!

You’ll love this easy recipe for Christmas Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies! Only a few ingredients are needed to make soft festive cookies.

How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies

Yields: 24 cookies | Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 oz semi sweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar + more for rolling
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• ⅓ cup crushed candy canes (optional)
• 24 Hershey’s candy cane kisses, cold

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.

Melt chocolate in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring well between each interval, until fully melted. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium speed.

Add in the egg, vanilla and peppermint extracts and continue mixing until incorporated.

Add in the melted chocolate and mix until just combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Add to the wet mixture in 3 batches, mixing just until incorporated.

If using, fold in the crushed candy canes.

Add about ¼ cup sugar to a small bowl (for rolling).

Using a small cookie scoop, portion cookie dough into balls, and use your hands to roll into a smooth ball.

Roll the ball in sugar until well coated, then transfer to baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes. While cookies are baking, unwrap all of the Hershey kisses. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, gently press a Hershey kiss into the centre of each cookie.

Let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.