Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's cookie recipe!  I mentioned that when we were out shopping for ingredients for the peanut butter kiss cookies, my husband dropped some not-so-subtle hints that he might like some chocolate kiss cookies also.  I've never made them before, but I consulted my handy Pinterest app at lunch and found a great recipe to try.

In the original post, the baker used a variety of different Hershey's Kisses in her cookies which would be really fun.  We kept it simple and went with just the candy cane kisses.  The cookies looked festive and had a subtle chocolate peppermint flavor.  These cookies are chewy and dense-- almost brownie-like.  And the cookie contains 0 dairy (not including the kisses, of course) so I was finally able to share some baked goods with one of my lactose intolerant friends! A very Merry Christmas, indeed.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar 
• 48 Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt until combined.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir flour mixture into creamed mixture, until just combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours.  The consistency of the dough is almost more like a brownie batter, so I'd recommend chilling for several hours, if not overnight until it firms up.

Meanwhile unwrap Kisses into a small bowl and freeze until ready to use.

Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper and set aside. 

Pour powdered sugar in a shallow bowl. Scoop dough into small balls, roll in powdered sugar, and place on baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until cookies begin to crackle.

Remove from oven. Immediately press a frozen Kiss into the center of each cookie. Let the cookies rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then remove with a spatula and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.  You may also want to refrigerate to allow the candy to harden before storing.


Original recipe courtesy of Bakergirl