Candy Cane Hershey Kiss Cookies

A deliciously decadent peppermint cookie, coated in sugar, and topped with a Hershey’s white chocolate kiss, Candy Cane Hershey Kiss Cookies are a perfect holiday treat that everyone will love! These are quick and easy – no need to chill the cookie dough before baking either! Don’t they look absolutely adorable!?

Christmastime is synonymous with thumbprint cookies, so I have a really great one for you to try today! You will need to get your hands on some of those cute little candy cane-flavoured Hershey chocolates to make these Candy Cane Hershey Kiss Cookies, however, if you can’t you can just use a regular Hershey’s Kiss. In fact, I know already that some of you will do just that because not everyone cares for white chocolate.

If you find a sale on Hershey’s Kisses and if you like them, buy a whole bunch though, because I have all of your baking covered with those things! To start, how about these deliciously simple Hershey’s Kiss Cookies? Or, if you’re feeling more like a shortbread base, I have these Blossom Cookies. They also use the hugs and kisses flavour. In the instance that you’re looking for something really impressive, I can’t think of a better option than these adorably cute Hershey Acorn Cookies! They take a little bit of time, but those bite-sized cookies are 100% worth the effort. They’re just gorgeous!

I’m going to tell you all about this cookie recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the cookie recipes! Before I get into this brand-new series, let me make mention of the three previous holiday confection countdowns that I just finished up this year.

Back in October, I kicked off the holiday season with a holiday recipe series called Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Donuts and followed that up with a second series called Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Appetizers. And now, I’m starting out on this new series, which is the sixth annual instalment! I cannot believe that this is the sixth year in a row that I’ve shared Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas! But, before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more!

LORD BYRON’S 24 COOKIES OF CHRISTMAS SERIES

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to the fourth of my annual holiday recipe series for this season! This one is called Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 6! I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy, just like in previous years. Even if a recipe looks complex, I promise you that it is not! My goal, as always, is to share recipes with you that are not too complex to whip up as a holiday treat for your family. 

Like every other holiday series I’ve shared over the years, this series will share a new recipe every day for the next 24 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series! Even though this is the fourth series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – Make sure your butter is softened and at room temperature.
• Sugar – Sugar will caramelize when baked, which will help to brown cookies and cakes.  In cookies, the sugar will help the dough to spread, and will create a crispness to the bottom of the cookie.
• Eggs – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Peppermint Extract 
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Hershey’s Hugs and Kisses
• Sanding Sugar
• Red Food Colouring

HOW TO MAKE CANDY CANE HERSHEY KISS COOKIES

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until well incorporated. Next, beat in the egg yolks and peppermint extract. Lastly, mix in the flour.

Next, add a couple of drops of red food colouring and beat into the cookie dough until well incorporated. You may want to add a few drops more until you get the reddish-pink colour you would like. Portion out two teaspoons of cookie dough and roll it into balls. Roll the balls into the sanding sugar. Place the balls onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between each one. Using your index finger, push a hole into the center of each cookie but don’t go all the way through. Push your finger just halfway deep into each ball to form a well.

Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press an unwrapped Hershey’s Candy Cane Kiss into the center of each cookie. Allow cookies to cool for 3-5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

CHOCOLATE SUBSTITUTES

I went ahead and used Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses in this cookie recipe, despite them not being my favourite. They are extremely easy to find and very inexpensive. Also, they work very well in this cookie recipe and 99% of the population tends to like them. It was an easy decision.

A few years back, I posted a similar recipe – Christmas Peanut Butter Rosettes. In that recipe, I used chocolate with a rosette shape. If you prefer, you can use those instead of the kisses.

My favourite brand of rosettes was Neilson’s. Do you remember Neilson’s brand?  They are extremely hard to find, in fact, I’m not sure they’re even made anymore.  I have not seen them in years!  They used to make really good rosettes.  Neilson’s brand of rosettes was called Golden Buds.  I’ve seen other brands called Rose Buds as well.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for long periods of time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Candy Cane Hershey Kiss Cookies, you certainly can! Once the chocolate has hardened, pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer-friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out on a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. If packaging, wait until the condensation has evaporated. Whenever I work with anything covered in chocolate, I like to use a glove to prevent getting fingerprints on it as much as possible! Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!