Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

Candy Cane Kiss cookies is what Christmas cookie dreams are made of! Soft and perfectly pepperminty with a melty kiss right in the middle! These will be a big hit throughout the holidays!

It isn’t Christmas time without all the baking and Christmas cookies right?! And OMG are you going to love these sweet little Candy Cane Kiss cookies!

I was walking down the candy aisle in November to get a bag of candy to replace our Halloween candy bowl and I saw this bag of candy cane Hersey kisses and they were screaming my name! I am a sucker for white chocolate and I think peppermint is totally an underrated flavor this time of year!

ALSO PS – does anyone else keep out a candy bowl during the holidays?! I am not a candy fan but from Halloween through Easter I have a dish out with some candy in it for everyone else, because it’s what my mom did and it just feels right. 🙂

Anyways, once I got home and ate one I totally was inspired to make these into a cookie! And what better way than like the traditional peanut butter cookie with a Hershey kiss in the middle – but with a holiday twist?!

These are soft and delicately sweet with hints of white chocolate and peppermint and the melty Cane Cane Kiss on top is honestly the best party!

What are Candy Cane Kisses Made Of?

You just need a couple of ingredients for these cookies:

• Butter – at room temperature so that it is easy to cream with the sugar
• Sugar – just white sugar for this recipe
• Egg – your egg needs to be at room temp too like the butter
• Vanilla – Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Pure Vanilla Bean Paste is by far THE BEST vanilla ever created and the only kind I use! (affiliate link*)
• Peppermint Extract – for an extra hint of pepperminity flavor in the dough!
• Flour – King Arthur flour is the brand that I use
• Baking Powder – make sure it’s fresh!
• Salt – for help bring out the sweetness
• Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses – 1 bag will be enough for this recipe

How to Make Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a stand mixer, beat butter and butter together until light and fluff (3-5 minutes).
3. Add in egg and extracts and mix just until combined.
4. Add in your flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until the dough just comes together. 
5. Add in the chopped-up Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses. Mix one more time until everything is mixed well within the dough.
6. Scoop out onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Roll each cookie in your hands to make them smooth and round.
7. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 9-10 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven. Leave on the sheet for 1-2 minutes then add 1 Hershey’s Candy Cane Kiss to the tops of each cookie and gently press in. Leave to finish cooling then enjoy!

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How Do You Keep Hershey’s Kisses from Melting?

The key to these cookies is the BAKING TIME and WHEN YOU PLACE IN THE KISSES.

Personally, I love these cookies best when they are still warm and the kiss is a little melty on the bottom.

1. To achieve that you want to bake your cookies for 9-10 minutes – DO NOT OVER BAKE! They will look like they still need more time but they do not. If anything air on the side of underbaking.
2. Then leave on the baking sheet to cool for 1-2 minutes, then place the kisses in. This will give the cookies enough I’m to “set” and cool slightly, but they are still warmer enough to where it is easy to place the kiss on top. If you wait too long and the cookie is cool, then the cookie will crack as you push the kiss down.

How to Make Cookies Ahead of Time

To make these Candy Cane Kiss cookies ahead of time, you have 2 options.

ONE: Mke the dough and scoop it out onto a baking sheet. Place all the dough balls on a baking sheet and place them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Once the dough is solid, place it in a freezer-safe bag (or vacuum seal) and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, remove and continue with the directions – baking for 10-12 minutes.

TWO: Make the cookies completely and store them in an airtight container. They can be made up to 2 days ahead of time for the freshest tasting cookies. Leftover cookies can be kept the same way for up to 5 days.

PRO TIP with these leftover cookies – place in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to get warm and the kiss a little melty again!

So from our kitchen to yours, we hope you enjoy these cookies this Christmas season! May they bring a little extra smile to everyone’s faces!

More Christmas Cookie Recipes

• Shortbread Linzer Cookies
• Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookies
• White Chocolate Peppermint & Pretzel Cookies
• Soft Butter Cookies
• No Bake Cookies 
• Peanut Butter & White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

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Disclosure. Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that if you click on a product link, I may receive compensation. This compensation comes at no additional cost to you, and as always I only recommend products I trust!  Heather Bilyeu is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.