Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies- A super soft sugar cookie with a candy cane kiss right in the middle! Super easy Christmas cookie to make!

 

Ok so it’s a countdown to Christmas. And I have bought ZERO presents yet. Tell me I’m not alone?  I mean I have ideas, don’t get me wrong. But seriously, braving the malls this time of year? Um, no thank you. Is it wrong to buy all your Christmas presents on Amazon? Please tell me I can. Pretty please.

This time of year I would much rather be dirtying up every cookie sheet in the house. I would much rather be baking up some cookies. I love making up the classic Christmas cookies like Russian Tea cakes, cut out shortbread cookies, sugar cookies, and gingerbread cookies. But sometimes I like putting a twist on things.

And during the holidays I love baking cookies with Hershey kisses. Like my peanut butter kiss cookies. And these candy cane kiss cookies. These easy sugar cookies are made with cream cheese. It makes for a soft cake-like cookie. Perfect for squishing a peppermint kiss right in the middle.

These cookies are great because they do not need to be chilled before scooping. Simply scoop into balls, roll into sprinkles. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand and bake. When they come out of your oven, press a kiss right in the middle.

These cookies are super simple to throw together. And the best part? They don’t require any chilling of the dough before baking them. And when they are hot out of the oven, you press a candy cane kiss right in the middle.  Now they might melt a little bit, but trust me they will taste fabulous! Seriously just try and not take a bite.

See Also:

• Pucker up and enjoy one of these homemade lemon cookies with easy lemon glaze drizzled over them!
• Coconut macaroons are an easy gluten free chewy coconut cookie. Dip in chocolate for an easy chocolate treat!
• Grab a jar of peanut butter and make these wonderfully easy old fashioned peanut butter cookies with criss cross pattern on top!
• Make these brown sugar chocolate chips cookies made with 100% brown sugar making them wonderfully chewy!

Easy Christmas Cookies

• Quick sugar cookie dough to make – These are easy sugar cookies to mix up and add to your holiday cookie tray or use for a Christmas cookie exchange!
• Can make ahead – You can mix up the dough the day before hand. Or even freeze the cookies before baking!

Ingredients Needed

• 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour – Be sure to measure your flour correctly so your cookies do not end up crumbly and dry. Spoon the flour into your cup and level it off. 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks, 227 g) unsalted butter – I recommend unsalted butter because the cookies will spread less. Salted butter contains more water and cause your cookies to spread more. Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature so it can be easily creamed with the sugar.
• 1 1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces, 57 g) cream cheese – You want the cream cheese softened to room temperature. You can substitute the cream cheese with more butter, but your cookies will come out a bit crispier.
• 1 large egg – Use one room temperature egg. If your egg is cold it will seize up the butter and cause the creamed mixture to lose some of the air you beat in.
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract – This recipe calls for vanilla extract, but you could definitely add some peppermint extract to go with those candy cane kisses. Peppermint extract is strong so go sparingly. Start with a 1/4 teaspoon.
• 24 Hershey’s candy cane kisses
• 3/4 cup sprinkles – You can use sprinkles, nonpareils, or sparkling red and green sugar.

How To Make These Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

You want to first prepare your cookie sheets and pre-heat your oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set the bowl aside.

In a second large bowl with an electric mixer cream butter, cream cheese, and white sugar. You want these at room temperature so that they can be properly creamed.

I cream for about 2-3 minutes on medium-high speed until light and fluffy in my stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment but you can also use a hand mixer. You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

Now add in your room temperature egg and vanilla extract. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Pro Tip: Bring your eggs to room temperature quickly by placing in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.

​Once those have been properly mixed in, add in the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.

You want to stop mixing when the last streak of flour is mixed in so you don’t activate the gluten in the flour which can result in a tough cookie.

With a small cookie scoop, or two spoons, scoop cookie dough into about 1 tablespoon portions (about 1-inch balls). Roll each cookie dough ball in your hands, then roll in sprinkles.

Place on the prepared baking sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Gently flatten each cookie with the palm of your hand to about 1/4″ thickness.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are set, and barely beginning to brown.

Remove from the oven and immediately press a kiss in the center of each cookie. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, before transferring to a rack to finish cooling completely.

Recipe Tips:

• Make sure to not overmeasure your flour. You want to scoop the flour with a spoon and level off with a flat edge. For a complete tutorial, read this post.
• Use room temperature ingredients. You want to make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature so they incorporate into a nice smooth dough. For your eggs, I place mine in a small bowl of warm water for 10 minutes prior to baking. To soften your butter, I like to cube mine and leave at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. For 3 more ways to soften your butter, you can read this post. 
• Use a cookie scoop. Make sure to use a cookie scoop so you get cookies that are all the same size. This way they will bake evenly.
• Rotate the cookies halfway through baking so they bake evenly. Your oven will hot spots so by rotating the cookie sheet will ensure even baking.
• Use cool baking sheets. If using one cookie sheet, then make sure to allow the cookie sheet to cool before baking your second batch.

Recipe Variations

• Add peppermint extract – You can add 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract to the cookie dough for even more peppermint flavor!
• Make a chocolate peppermint kiss cookies – You can bake chocolate cookies with cocoa powder instead!
• Add candy canes – You can decorate with crushed candy canes or stir some right into the cookie dough!

 Recipe FAQs

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