These cookies are special. I mean, all cookies are special, but these are special (like Rory Gilmore). We originally posted these 4 years ago and it was kind of funny to read through what was going on in my life at the time–it was our first Christmas in our new house…I was turning 30. It’s now our 5th Christmas in this house and I am no longer about turn 30, but I still remember making these cookies for the first time, going back and forth between baking and texting my friend Laura about why I was skipping our church Christmas party (who needs Christmas potlucks when you have chocolate and peppermint cookies? That’s why.)
These have become a staple in our family, a favorite treat we deliver to teachers, friends, and neighbors, something my kids request for class treats. This is one of those recipes that has kind of become part of our family story, which makes me love them even more.
We’re participating in a cookie swap with some of our favorite blogger friends, so I thought  I’d give one of my favorite recipes a makeover (as fun as it was to read through my memories, it was not fun to see my old pictures. I know, I know, we should appreciate the growth process, see all the things I’ve learned along the way. One of the things I’ve learned is that some pictures are best remained unseen, like the old pictures of this recipe and my 6th grade yearbook photo.)
I started with Sara’s Cadbury Egg Cookie Dough, which is really just a great recipe for chocolate cookies.
Ingredient Notes
- Butter and Shortening: This recipe calls for a mix of butter and shortening. I sometimes like that combo 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. They might spread just a bit more.
- 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 place 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 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. Allow them to stand for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire cooling rack. 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:
(Click here for these ADORABLE and customizable gift tags.)
Need a unique gift? Make your friends do the baking! Details here.
Related Recipes
Can’t get enough of that chocolate peppermint combo? Check out these other chocolate peppermint combos from Our Best Bites!
- Chocolate Peppermint Chex Mix
- Giant Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookie
- Peppermint Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cookies
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make these ahead of time? 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.
Did You Make This?
I’d love to hear from you! Snap a picture and tag me on Instagram, then come back and give this recipe a rating!
Print
Candy Cane Kiss Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes
- Yield: 4 dozen
Description
These peppermint chocolate cookies are easy to whip up and hold up well for gifting!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
- 1/2 cup real butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cup flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 12 ounce bag dark chocolate chips
- 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.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Refrigerator Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
Questions & Reviews
I think I need to move into your ward…
Oooh, I’m a peppermint chocolate freak too! These look amazing and are so cute. Unfortunately my husband isn’t a big fan of peppermint and I just made candy cane cookies the other day, but perhaps I could make half the batch with the peppermint extract and peppermint kisses, and the other half with vanilla and hugs. Then everyone would be happy 😀
Turned out perfectly and are absolutely delicious! The added peppermint extract just made it divine. Thank you!
Just found red, green, and white Cadbury eggs at the store! So excited to try these.
I wish you could buy the Hersheys Cand Cane Kisses all year. I know a lot of people who would buy them. I think they are losing money by only having them around the holidays.
Ang–your butter should be soft enough that you can press into it, but there should be some resistance. Also, when you're creaming your butter and sugar, you may notice that the sugar is starting to dissolve into the butter. That is when it's been creamed too long–you want to have distinct sugar granules in the butter.
These cookies are AMAZING! I finally tried them out for a Christmas party and we just couldn't get enough. This will definitely be a staple cookie recipe in our house.
Mine were incredibly delicious but also flat. How can you tell if your butter is too soft or has been creamed too long (I didn't know that was a possible issue…)?
I made 8 dz of these today and they were unbelievable. I didn't have peppermint extract so I left it out and I used semi sweet chocolate chips. Not only were the cookies delicious but they came out beautifully – love the cute candy cane kiss on the top! They were a big hit with my family and with those we shared them with.
I made these the other day for a party and they were a huge hit! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe! 🙂
We are making these RIGHT NOW! I can't wait!
ChrisKatieKelly–Oh, what a bummer! I'm inclined to think it's probably *not* the altitude because I think people have had a lot of success at very high altitudes with these cookies. My guess is either your butter was too soft (or creamed for too long, thus becoming too soft) or your baking soda/powder is expired. To test them, dissolve some baking powder in water; if it reacts, it's still good. With baking soda, same thing, only use vinegar instead of water.
Of course, you can always try adding about 2 tablespoons of flour and see if that helps, too! 🙂
Hope that helps!
Whoa- made these today, and while they are yummy, they were very FLAT. I live in Colorado, could it have been the altitude that I didn't adjust for? Sad day!
You bet Jenn! Any chocolate is good chocolate 🙂
in candy cane kiss cookies…. can I use semi-sweet in place of dark chocolate chips in the recipe? I totally missed that part! Making those cookies tomorrow, thanks!
I just made these and they turn out so great, beating off my kids until our Christmas party tomorrow. I mounded them onto a cake server with dome, looks great. I will recommend putting the kisses on the cookies on a flat surface. I did it first on my cooling rack and the cookies pressed through the grid a little. Next time I did it on my counter. I also noticed if you DON'T touch them or do jumping jacks in the kitchen they will firm up in the same shape they go on. You just have to be gentle and patient. I left mine to cool for a few hours. Thanks for doing the hard part, just found your blog a few weeks ago and I'm loving all your goodies. Can't wait to do the cupcakes in a jar.
familia florian- 3-4 dozen.
I can not wait to make these!! How many cookies does this recepie serve? ? ?
I made these to add to my goodie plates this year and of course I had to try one. They are delicious. I don't love dark chocolate so I used semi-sweet chips and it was not too chocolately at all. Thanks for all the great recipes!
I just finished making these for tonight's staff Christmas party. It may have been a mistake for me to sample one, because Wow! and Yummmm! I just hope I can show enough self-control to get more to the party than I put in my mouth.
i just made these, but i made half with caramel hersheys kisses (that i froze for a bit before putting them on so they didn't explode caramel everywhere).
i've been told they're pretty much amazing. thanks for the recipe, you guys are awesome!!
These are the cutest cookies ever! I just made them and I can't wait to share them with my friends! Thanks!
I made these for my Latin students to munch on during their final exam today, and they were delicious! I will definitely be making more of these to give as gifts to friends!
These cookies are SO cute and I'm so excited that I found these candy cane kisses! I also found Nestle mint and dark chocolate chips which are AWESOME! I used these for the chocolate mint cupcake jars, and they worked really well!
Just wanted to say that I made these last night (excepting the peppermint extract, because I couldn't find any), and they're wonderful.
I have a zillion other things I should be doing today…so instead I made these cookies. OMG they are so freaking good! Just perfect! And they're cute to boot. 🙂
We made these for a cookie exchange with some friends. Super big hit. Everyone loved them! This recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks.
I just made these…they taste divine and have a beautiful presentation to match! I froze the kisses for 15 minutes before and they definitely kept their shape better; still a little melty though. Thank you for another winner recipe!
Kate and Sara, you have both helped me create so many wonderful things in my kitchen. I love what you do and hope you are not calling it quits anytime soon 🙂
oh my word – these cookies are amazing! I used Hershey's Special Dark cocoa and instead of chocolate chips I used Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips. not only do they LOOK beautiful with the chocolate and the little red and white chips, but they taste DELICIOUS!
So glad I discovered this blog!!
Yup- any chocolate will work!