Holiday Kiss Cookies – A Festive Treat for Christmas

These holiday kiss cookies are an adaptation of a peanut butter version that my sister used to make for Christmas dessert but these are for those who don’t care for peanut butter. (WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY??)

Many holiday gatherings include a party dessert table and these would be a hit for sure. The are the perfect choice to make on Baked Cookies Day – December 18.

During the normal part of the year, I really keep my intake of sugar to a minimum.

But during the holidays, the cookie fairy seems to sit soundly on both shoulders tempting me and prodding me to make one cookie recipe after another.

These holiday kiss cookies are perfect for your annual cookie swap.

The cookies start out with my basic sugar cookie recipe.  It is one that I use all during the holidays.  I make a huge batch and freeze it in long logs until I need it for cookies.

Whenever I have a yen to make some cookies, I just take a roll of the freezer and either slice it and bake, roll it and cut with cookie cutters, or roll it into balls as I do in this recipe.  

For these cookies, I use half of my normal recipe proportions, or two logs.

Once the cookie dough is ready, I gather up the rest of my ingredients.  Today I used both Peppermint Kisses and plain Milk Chocolate Kisses.

Next, I just rolled the dough into 1 1/4 inch balls and placed them on a silicone mat on a large cookie sheet.  

Now comes the creative part. Some of the balls I leave just as plain Janes.  Some get rolled in a bowl of sprinkles and others get a coating of red or green sugar crystals.

The possibilities are endless really.  All cook up well and keep the coating intact in the oven.

The cookies need to cook for 10-12 minutes.  Don’t let them get too crispy, or they will be hard to shape for the kisses later.  

Mine were just cooked and just a tiny bit solid on the outside.  

I used a small bottle top to make an indentation in the middle of each cookie while they were still warm and then let them cool for 5 minutes before adding the kiss.  

If you add them too soon they will just melt, so be patient.

If you time the candy kiss just right, it will get slightly soft on the bottom and will stick to the cookie. If you are not lucky, you can use a frosting tip that will hold them in place.

Just use a tube of Betty Crocker chocolate icing and add a dab of it under each kiss and then place them in the indentation and they will all come out beautifully.

What I love about this recipe is that it is so versatile.  You can decorate them for Christmas as I did and use any kind of festive sprinkles and the peppermint kisses too.

Or, when the holidays are done, you can make them year round without the sprinkles and they will be a favorite in your house, as they are in mine.

Yield: 36

Holiday Kiss Cookies

Print

These deliciously festive holiday sugar cookies are rolled in sprinkles and topped with a sweet candy kiss.

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cups of granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 36 Candy Kisses, unwrapped
• Betty Crocker Chocolate Cookie Icing tube
• Festive sugar crystals and sprinkles

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and set it aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla extract. Mix well until a stiff dough forms.
5. Place the dough on a sheet of saran wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
6. Take the dough out, and divide into even sized portions if you won't be using the dough all at once.
7. Roll into logs, wrap in saran wrap and zip block baggies and freeze what you don't need. It freezes very well
8. Take spoonfuls of the dough and form it into balls about 1 1/4 inch in size. You can either leave the balls plain, or roll them in festive sprinkles or sugar crystal.
9. Bake 10-12 minutes in a 350 º F oven .
10. Move to a wired rack and make an indention in the middle of each cookie to flatten it slightly.
11. Let cool for at least 5 minutes.
12. Add a dab of chocolate frosting to the bottom of each candy kiss and place in the center of the cookie.
13. Enjoy!
14. Store in an air tight container.

Notes

Each cookie has 6 WW Freestyle points

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases but the price is the same for you.

• 
  HERSHEY'S KISSES Assortment - Milk and Dark Chocolate, Strawberry, Milklicious, Vanilla Frosting, Meltaway, 3-Pound Bulk Bag (About 300 Pieces)
• 
  Wilton Holiday Sprinkles 4-Pack
• 
  BETTY CROCKER ICING DCRTNG CKIE MLK CHOC, 7 OZ

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

36

Serving Size:

1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 138Total Fat: 6.8gSaturated Fat: 3.4gUnsaturated Fat: 1.4gCholesterol: 21.2mgSodium: 62.3mgCarbohydrates: 18.3gFiber: 0.3gSugar: 11gProtein: 1.7g

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