These peppermint kiss cookies are one of my go-to Christmas cookies! Adapted from my favorite chewy sugar cookies, these have a peppermint cookie base topped with a little candy cane kiss! They're a kid-friendly, holiday twist on peanut butter blossom cookies!
You might also like these chocolate peppermint cookies or these peppermint macarons!
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What are Peppermint Blossoms?
You're probably familiar with the classic peanut butter blossoms which are soft peanut butter cookies topped with a Hershey's Kiss! So these peppermint blossoms are a fun twist on the classic! They have a soft, chewy peppermint sugar cookie topped with a Hershey's Candy Cane Kiss!
Ingredient Notes
You just need a few ingredients to make these peppermint kiss cookies!
Peppermint Extract - You can find peppermint extract next to the vanilla at the grocery store or online! Just note that peppermint extract is very strong, so you only need a little bit for great peppermint flavor!
Peppermint Kisses - You can't have peppermint blossoms without the classic Hersey's Candy Cane Kisses!!
Sparkling Sugar - This is optional but I just love rolling the cookies in sparkling sugar for extra sparkle!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
Variations
Cocoa powder - Reduce the flour by ¼ cup and add in ½ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder for chocolate peppermint cookies!
Gel food coloring - Add in a few drops of red or green gel food coloring to the cookie dough for a fun, festive twist!
Christmas sprinkles - Instead of rolling the cookies in sparkling sugar, you can roll it in festive Christmas sprinkles or red and green sparkling sugar!
How to Make Peppermint Blossoms
Before you get started, unwrap the peppermint kisses and place in a large bowl. Then place them in the fridge or freezer until right at the end. This helps the kisses keep their shape once being placed on the warm peppermint cookies!
Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or hand mixer, cream the room temperature butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and creamy.
Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract and beat until light, fluffy, and pale in color. This should take 2-4 minutes which seems like a long time, but you'll see a huge difference in the texture afterwards.
Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until thoroughly combined. The dough will be soft.
Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough, roll into small balls. If desired, then roll gently in sparkling sugar!
Cover the dough balls and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place about 3 inches apart on the baking sheet (I can fit 9-10 cookies on a half sheet pan).
Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are fully set but the centers are still soft.
Let the peppermint sugar cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then gently press a chilled peppermint kiss into the top of each cookie.
Transfer to a cooling rack to let the cookies cool completely to room temperature.
Why Do I Have to Chill the Dough?
Chilling the dough is super important for a few reasons!
First, letting the dough rest gives the flour time to hydrate. Eggs are the only liquid in these peppermint kiss cookies and it takes flour a long time to absorb that moisture. When the flour is hydrated it helps contain the spread of the cookie so that you get a nice set edge and soft, chewy center.
Similarly, the butter needs to be as cold as possible before baking so that the cookies don't spread too much. But don't we want the cookies to spread? Yes, we do and they will. We just don't want them to spread too much because then you get a flat, dry cookie instead of one with a soft, chewy center.
Tips for Perfect Cookies
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, crumbly cookies that don't spread.
Make sure your oven is the proper temperature! Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven is exactly 350°F. If the oven is too cold, the cookies will spread too much and if it's too hot they centers won't bake all the way through. For example, my oven is about 20 degrees off. So I have to set the oven to 370°F in order to get it to bake at 350°F.
Use a lightweight, light colored baking sheet for best results! Believe it or not, a lighter pan makes the cookies bake more slowly than a dark pan, which helps keep them from spreading too much. My favorite pans for baking cookies are:
You also want to use either parchment paper or silicone mats on your cookie sheet to help keep the cookies from spreading.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time, on the center rack. This will ensure all your cookies cook evenly and the bottoms don't burn. Then let the cookie sheet cool completely between batches. This ensures the cookies cook evenly and don't spread too much by being put on a hot pan.
Always under-bake the cookies! If you slightly under-bake the cookies (so the centers are still soft when you remove them from the oven), they'll stay soft and chewy for days!
Do the cookie scoot! In order to get perfectly round cookies, use a large cookie cutter to gently scoot them around as soon as they come out of the oven!
Recipe FAQ's
Store the baked peppermint blossoms in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also store the dough in the fridge for up to a week and bake a few cookies at a time, as desired.
Yes! After forming the dough balls, freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months. When you're ready to bake, let them thaw for about 30 minutes then roll in the sparkling sugar and bake as normal. You may need to add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
You can adapt these cookies however you want! You can use regular Hershey's kisses or any of their other fun flavors!
If you place the peppermint kisses on the cookies while they're still too hot, they will start to melt. So I recommend chilling the unwrapped kisses so that they're as cold as possible before placing them on the cookies. Also let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes before adding the kisses on top, and then immediately move them to a cooling rack. You can also let the cookies chill in the fridge after adding the peppermint kisses!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Cookie Recipes You Might Like!
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Recipe Card
Peppermint Kiss Cookies
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Topping
Instructions
- Before you get started, unwrap the peppermint kisses and place in a large bowl. Then place them in the fridge or freezer until right at the end. This helps the kisses keep their shape once being placed on the warm peppermint cookies!
- Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or hand mixer, cream the room temperature butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract and beat until light, fluffy, and pale in color. This should take 2-4 minutes which seems like a long time, but you'll see a huge difference in the texture afterwards.
- Add in the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until thoroughly combined. The dough will be soft.
- Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough, roll into small balls. If desired, then roll gently in sparkling sugar!
- Cover the dough balls and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.
- While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place about 3 inches apart on the baking sheet (I can fit 9-10 cookies on a half sheet pan).
- Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are fully set but the centers are still soft.
- Let the peppermint sugar cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then gently press a chilled peppermint kiss into the top of each cookie.
- Transfer to a cooling rack to let the cookies cool completely to room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Julie says
I made these to give out as gifts and everyone loves them. They were so soft and chewy. I will definitely be making them again!
Nicole M says
A new holiday staple in our Household!