Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies

These chocolate peppermint Christmas cookies are delicious, soft and topped off with a festive red and white peppermint kiss. These chocolate thumbprint cookies are baked to perfection and will be a beautiful addition to your holiday dessert table!

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When it’s the holiday season, we are all about the candy canes and cookies, and there’s no better way to combine those two things than in these chocolate peppermint cookies!

This is the best cookie recipe for all the cookie exchanges and dessert platters! With the red and white peppermint kisses, they just look like Christmas! They’re like a cross between a chocolate thumbprint and a blossom cookie recipe with a peppermint twist and so easy to make.

Why This Recipe Works

• These cookies are soft with a rich chocolate flavor! You can enjoy them warm from the oven, or you can make them ahead – they keep for a week at room temperature. This makes them perfect for gifting.
• I love the festive peppermint kisses, but you can easily change the chocolate candy with any flavor of kisses you like. 
• If you want to get a head start, you can make the dough and freeze the dough balls to bake later. We all know how busy the holidays can be, so having a batch of cookies ready to bake is excellent for all the last-minute parties and gifts.

The combo of chocolate and peppermint flavor is so good in these cookies – you’ll be in the Christmas spirit after just one bite!

Ingredients

• Softened salted butter – you can use unsalted butter, but you will need to add 1/4 teaspoon salt.
• Brown sugar – pack it in the measuring cup!
• Granulated sugar – you will need some for the cookie dough plus extra for coating the dough balls.
• Eggs – Room temperature eggs mix into the dough the easiest.
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour – when you measure it, use the spoon and level method!
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Hersey Peppermint Kisses – or try your favorite kisses!

How to Make Them

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together on medium speed the softened butter and both types of sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and mix for another minute until thoroughly blended.

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

Mix in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix at low speed for about three minutes or until the flour mixture is absorbed and the dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, baking mats, or you can coat the cookie sheet with cooking spray. 

Scoop the dough to form 1″ cookie dough balls. Roll each of them in granulated sugar and place them two inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Gently flatten them just a little.

Bake the cookies for eight to ten minutes or until the edges are set, and the middle is soft. At this point, they will not look done, but they will continue to bake and set once you take them out of the oven.

Cool them on the pan for three to five minutes, and then press one Hershey Kiss in the center of each cookie. Leave them on the pan for three more minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.

Enjoy the chocolate peppermint cookies warm or cool them completely and store them in an airtight container. They will keep well for up to a week at room temperature.

Share warm or store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week, if they last that long!

If you only make one holiday cookie recipe this year, it needs to be these chocolate peppermint kiss cookies! The flavor is so good, and they look amazing on a platter or wrapped up for a gift with their pretty candy cane kisses. Make a batch, and everyone will love them!

More Chocolate Christmas Cookies

• Fudgy and rich Chocolate Crinkle Cookies are always a classic!
• Almond Joy Cookies taste just like the candy bar with chocolate, almonds, and coconut. Plus, they’re super easy to make with brownie mix.
• Chocolate Mint Thumbprints are another minty cookie we love to make!
• With only four ingredients these Chocolate Turtles couldn’t be easier to make!
• Or try my Chocolate Cherry Thumbprint Cookies – they are great for cookie exchanges!

Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy treat!

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5 from 3 votes

Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies

Soft chocolate thumbprint cookies with a Peppermint Kiss on top!

Prep:15 minutes mins

Cook:10 minutes mins

Chill Time:30 minutes mins

Total:55 minutes mins

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24

cookies

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup salted butter softened
• ▢ ¾ cup brown sugar packed
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
• ▢ 3 teaspoons vanilla
• ▢ 2 cups all purpose flour scooped and leveled
• ▢ ½ cup cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ⅓ cup sugar for rolling and sugar coating
• ▢ 24 Hersey Peppermint Kisses

Instructions

• In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together on medium speed the softened butter and both sugars until blended and white and fluffy. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and blend for another minute until fully blended.
• In a medium bowl mix together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until well mixed.
• Mix the flour mixture into the mixture with butter and sugar and mix on low speed until full combined, about 3 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
• While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray your pan with non stick spray.
• With a medium cookie scoop, roll cookies into 1 inch cookie balls then roll them in sugar till fully covered and place them on the baking sheet with parchment paper spacing them 2 inches apart, then flatten with your fingers to even them out a little, but don’t flatten them too much!
• Bake for 8-10 minutes until the edges are set and the middle is soft, they will not look done but they will set once out, don’t over bake!
• Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 3-5 minutes, then press Hersey Kiss into the middle of the cookie, gently pressing them down. Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for another 3 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool for another 5 minutes.
• Share warm or store them in an air tight container at room temperature for up to a week, if they last that long!

Tips

Can I eat these warm or cold?

These cookies are so yummy, both warm and cold! We love them warm when the Hersey kiss is gooey and soft, but if you like your cookies cold, they are equally soft and delicious!

How should I store the chocolate peppermint kiss cookies?

You can store these cookies in an airtight container or a ziplock bag on the counter for up to a week, but they’ll probably disappear before that!

What is another variation I can make?

The easiest way to change up this recipe is to use different Hershey Kisses. There are so many options to try! We’ve made these with regular kisses, caramel ones, and cherry cordial kisses.

Can I make this cookie recipe ahead of time and freeze it?

Yes! You can freeze baked cookies in a ziplock bag once they are thoroughly cooled; they will stay fresh for up to two months.

You can also freeze uncooked cookie balls before you bake them. Just scoop and then freeze on the pan until solid, then put them in a ziplock bag and keep frozen for up to three months. When you’re ready to use, just put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, bake them as instructed, and then add the Hersey Kiss after baking! Keep in mind frozen cookies will need to cook in the oven for another minute or two, depending on how frozen they are.

Do I have to chill the cookies before I bake them?

Yes! Chilling is very important. If you skip this step, the batter will spread out and become flat and crispy when you bake the cookies. Chilling the dough will keep them from spreading too much, so they are thick and soft.

What if I don’t have parchment paper?

You can use a Silpat mat or spray your pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 192kcal (10%), Carbohydrates: 26g (9%), Protein: 2g (4%), Fat: 10g (15%), Saturated Fat: 6g (38%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 35mg (12%), Sodium: 128mg (6%), Potassium: 81mg (2%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 16g (18%), Vitamin A: 256IU (5%), Calcium: 34mg (3%), Iron: 1mg (6%)

© Julie's Eats & Treats ®

We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box is calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.