Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms
You guys. These chocolate peppermint kiss cookies are incredible!! Otherwise known as chocolate peppermint blossoms, soft, richly chocolate cookies with just a hint of peppermint extract are topped with melty peppermint Hershey’s Kisses for a cookie that’s both pretty AND delicious. Normally when I bake, I give away a lot of what I make to friends and neighbors. But my family and I DEVOURED these. They are a must-make for the holiday season!
Peppermint is such a wintery, Christmassy flavor. If you’re looking for more peppermint sweet treats, I’ve got you covered! Christmas Ice Cream Cake features peppermint ice cream smoothed over an Oreo crust. Peppermint Bark Brownies uses boxed brownie mix so you can have brownies in a snap, while Candy Cane Popcorn is another quick and easy treat perfect for Christmas movie viewing. Now, let’s get to these peppermint kiss cookies!
Why This Recipe Works
- The best chocolate peppermint cookies. My biggest complaint when I see other chocolate peppermint cookie recipes is that there’s no peppermint extract, just peppermint candy pieces. So, naturally, I had to make these cookies TRUE peppermint chocolate cookies. However, I didn’t go overboard with the peppermint extract since we’re putting a peppermint kiss on top. There’s just the right amount.
- Easy peppermint blossom recipe. The dough for these cookies comes together in a snap, and pressing a peppermint kiss on the top makes it look so pretty with hardly any effort.
- Unique holiday cookie. Winter holidays are peak cookie baking season, and having variety in both the look and taste of different cookies I think is critical. A chocolate peppermint kiss cookie is a standout cookie in both flavor and presentation.
Ingredient Notes
- Brown sugar: To help create a chewy texture.
- Granulated sugar: Adding white sugar in addition to brown sugar helps create cookies with crisp edges. We’ll also roll the balls of dough in extra granulated sugar before baking to give them a lovely sparkle, perfect for the holidays.
- One egg: Eggs are key for helping to bind ingredients together. Bringing the egg up to room temperature will help it mix more evenly with the other ingredients.
- Milk: To help these cookies stay soft and moist.
- Peppermint extract: Just a hint of peppermint in the cookie dough makes these true chocolate peppermint holiday cookies.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract complements and enhances the flavors of both chocolate and peppermint.
- Dutch process cocoa powder: My favorite cocoa powder to bake with, Dutch process cocoa powder has a richer chocolatey flavor, perfect for these cookies. You can certainly use regular unsweetened baking cocoa if that is all you have.
- Cornstarch: A bit of cornstarch also helps keep these cookies soft after they’ve been baked.
- Peppermint Hershey’s kisses. Otherwise known as candy cane kisses, these special seasonal Hershey’s kisses are the key to these delicious candy cane kiss cookies!
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep oven and pan. Preheat your oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Unwrap peppermint kisses. Unwrap your peppermint Hershey’s kisses now. Trust me. I made 32 cookies so I needed 32 kisses.
- Cream butter and sugar. Add ½ cup of room temperature unsalted butter, a ½ cup of brown sugar and ⅓ cup of granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. You can also do this in a large bowl with a hand mixer.
- Add liquid ingredients. To the butter-sugar mixture, add 1 large room temperature egg, 1 tablespoon of milk, a ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract and a ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
- Add dry ingredients. Add 1¼ cups of all purpose flour, ½ cup of Dutch process cocoa, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, ½ teaspoon of baking soda and a ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix until the dough comes together with no flour streaks remaining. This is a very soft dough.
- Make cookie dough balls. Roll cookie dough into 1 inch sized balls. I used a 2 teaspoon sized cookie scoop and got 32 cookies out of it.
- Roll cookie dough balls in sugar. Roll each cookie dough ball in granulated sugar before placing on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake. Bake cookies for 6-7 minutes in the preheated oven.
- Add peppermint kisses. Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, press a Hershey’s peppermint kiss on top of each cookie. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
I like to make these cookies small for a better cookie-to-kiss ratio, but you can make them a larger size if you prefer.
Putting the peppermint kisses on the chocolate peppermint blossom cookies right out of the oven means that they get melty, which I like. If you want the kisses to keep their shape better, however, you can freeze them beforehand to make them more solid. Make sure to press them gently on top.
If you don’t have or can’t find Dutch process cocoa, you can use natural unsweetened baking cocoa. The cookies just won’t be quite as chocolatey. FYI, you can sometimes find Dutch process cocoa in grocery stores labeled as “dark” baking cocoa—just check to see if it’s alkalized.
There are a few different holiday Hershey’s kiss flavors, like hot chocolate, sugar cookie, and mint chocolate (not peppermint). I think any of them could be really tasty on this cookie. I just love the peppermint, though, and it looks so pretty!
For an extra chocolatey variation, leave out the peppermint extract and use regular Hershey’s kisses on the top. Rolos would also be delicious if you like a caramel!
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
Make Ahead: You can make the dough and keep it covered in the fridge for a couple of days before baking. Either let the dough come to room temperature before baking, or add a couple of minutes to the bake time. You can also roll the cookie dough in the granulated sugar and freeze it to use at a later time.
Storing: Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days.
Freezing: Freeze unbaked cookie dough or baked cookies for 2-3 months. For freezing cookie dough, check out my How to Freeze Cookie Dough Guide. To freeze baked cookies, first, freeze baked cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Once the cookies are frozen solid, transfer them to a zip top bag or airtight container and store for up to 2 months.
Recipe FAQs
The original blossom cookies are peanut butter blossoms, which were invented by Ohio resident Freda Strasel Smith. She entered the cookie, which she originally called Black-Eyed Susans into a Pillsbury bake-off contest where she won third place. Pillsbury shared her recipe but changed the name to peanut butter blossoms. Now, it’s come to mean any cookie with a Hershey’s kiss pressed on the top, like with these chocolate peppermint blossoms.
Absolutely! Flash freeze the cookies first by lining them up on a parchment lined baking sheet and putting them in the freezer. Once hard, transfer them to a zip top bag or airtight container and store them for up to 2 months.
Mint and peppermint are two very different and distinct flavors, so I do not recommend swapping out the peppermint for mint. If mint extract is all you can find, however, we work with what we have!
More Must-Make Holiday Cookies
- No Fail Sugar Cookies
- Soft Gingersnap Cookies
- White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
- Turtle Cookies
- Snickerdoodles
Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar - packed
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg - at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Garnishes
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar - for rolling the cookie dough balls into
- 32 Hershey's Peppermint Candy Cane Kisses - unwrapped (may need more depending on how many cookie dough balls you roll)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream the butter, brown sugar, and 1/3 cup granulated sugar on medium speed for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the egg, milk, peppermint extract, vanilla extract and mix to combine.
- Add the all-purpose flour, Dutch process cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt and mix until the dough comes together and no flour streaks remain.
- Place 3 T granulated sugar in small bowl. Using a 2 tsp sized cookie scoop portion the cookie dough into 1 inch sized balls. Roll each cookie dough ball into the sugar and place on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 6-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately press a peppermint chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
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