Here’s a cute yummy little Christmas cookie–little rounds of chocolate sugar cookies with a Hershey’s Candy Cane Kiss tucked in the middle! As you can see above, you can also decorate these other ways, but I really love that peppermint-and-chocolate flavor combination for Christmas! These are easy to make, but you need to use these tips to get the best results:

1. Unwrap the Candy Cane Kisses and keep them refrigerated until ready to use (these kisses get more melty faster than the regular chocolate kisses when you’re placing them on hot cookies (as you can see from the top photo–refrigerating them helps!)
   

   Beware of Cookie Fail!

2.  You need to work fast–after the cookies come out of the oven, press the Candy Cane Kisses into all of them quickly, then remove them from the pan onto a wire rack to cool. If the cookies stay on the hot pan over a minute, the kisses start to get too melty and you will have Cookie Fail! (see small photo)

Those are really the most important things you need to know–and even if you work fast, these Candy Cane Kisses will still get a little melty on you. But they taste so good on top of the little chocolate cookies, I’m okay with that! If these Candy Cane Kisses turn out to be a problem for you, you can use milk or dark chocolate kisses, or butterscotch, peanut butter, vanilla, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate chips (it’s a great way to use up those extra small amounts of baking chips you have left over from other recipes!).

CHOCOLATE CANDY CANE KISS SUGAR COOKIES by NancyCreative

Makes 36 to 38 cookies

• 4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 36 to 38 Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses (refrigerate them until ready to use) Or, use milk or dark chocolate kisses; or butterscotch, peanut butter, vanilla, milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In medium bowl, cream softened butter and sugar until well-blended. Beat in egg, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Add flour and cocoa powder, and mix until a dough forms (this will be a thick, stiff dough).

Chill dough for 10 to 15 minutes to make it easier to form into balls. Then scoop out slightly rounded teaspoons of dough and roll into balls. Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350˚F for 10 to 11 minutes, until edges are firm and cookies are dry to the touch.

Remove from oven; working quickly (because the candy cane kisses get soft and melty quickly), gently press a candy cane kiss into the center of each cookie (surface of cookies may crack slightly). As soon as you’re done, remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Do you like making chocolate and peppermint-flavored treats for the holidays?

Sharing at Cookie Plan Monday, Christmas Cookie Swap.