Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Blossom Cookies
A twist on Hershey’s kiss cookies, these pretty chocolate peppermint crinkle blossom cookies make the perfect Christmas cookie!
Well, if you aren’t Christmas cookied out, you’re going to want to make room for these chocolate peppermint crinkle blossom cookies.
I know the name is a little bit of a mouthful, but I can’t very well leave out any part of the deliciousness, can I?
These decadent, tasty cookies are chocolatey.
Pepperminty.
Crinkly.
And blossomy.
Referencing, of course, the cute blossom pattern from artfully placing that Hershey’s kiss into the warm, soft, baked cookie.
I kind of love blossom cookies (classic peanut butter blossom cookies here and this insane s’mores blossom variation here).
And this chocolate crinkle version is so, so yummy (not to mention pretty and festive!).
I first shared this recipe exactly one year ago in a newsletter I sent out to my faithful subscribers (if you aren’t subscribed to get the newsletters, you can do that here!).
In the last 12 months, the newsletter list has more than doubled in subscribers, so I thought it was time to get this perfect Christmas cookie out to everyone!
I couldn’t live with myself if I knew so many of my favorite people were going through life without this cookie.
While the candy cane-striped Hershey’s kisses make this chocolate peppermint crinkle blossom cookie ultra-festive, you can use just about any flavor of Hershey’s Kiss.
I suppose that means we can add “well-rounded” to the list of this cookie’s characteristics!
Omit the peppermint extract from the cookie dough and throw on a dark chocolate Hershey Kiss, and you can go ahead and serve this cookie to me all year long.
Also, if you are adamantly opposed to Hershey’s Kisses (or you just don’t have them laying around and the thought of mustering up the energy to put on pants and go the store is too much to even consider), the crinkly, fudgy, powder sugary-coated cookies are fantastic on their own.
Just had to get that out there.
Hope you love these awesome cookies! They really do live up to all the hype.
One Year Ago: Russian Potato and Mushroom Leek Soup
Two Years Ago: Sparkling Cranberry Apple Cider Punch
Three Years Ago: Chocolate Pudding Pretzel Pie
Four Years Ago: Toffee Crumble Caramel Apple Pie
Five Years Ago: 18 Favorite Christmas Cookies and Bars
Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Blossom Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, softened
- ½ cup (106 g) packed light brown sugar
- ⅔ cup (141 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 ⅔ cups (237 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (43 g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (85 g) mini chocolate chips
- ½ cup (57 g) powdered sugar, for rolling
- 24 Hershey Kisses, unwrapped and frozen – see note
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two, large baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl with an electric handheld mixer (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract. Mix until the batter has lightened in color, 2-3 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Toss in the mini chocolate chips.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Place the powdered sugar in a bowl or shallow dish.
- Scoop the dough into heaping tablespoon-sized balls (I use my #40 cookie scoop) and roll into a smooth ball shape (if the dough is too sticky, let it rest for 10-15 minutes or refrigerate for just a few minutes…I usually just scoop and roll right away because I’m too impatient).
- Roll each ball in the powdered sugar, shaking off the excess, and place several inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 9 minutes, until puffed and crackled (don’t overbake!). Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Immediately press an unwrapped Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each cookie. Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe; first shared in my Dec 2017 newsletter
These are amazing!! The peppermint extract takes this cookie to the next level! I could eat these all winter long!
Could I substitute fresh ginger? (Or the paste?)
I haven’t tried that, but you could experiment and see how it goes!
They were delicious and I took them to a Christmas party. My candy cane Hershey’s brand kisses melted over the course of 20 minutes, while cooling, into flat pools into the cookies, though. Not sure what my fail was — maybe I should’ve waited until the cookies cooled more?
Hi Sarah, you can try popping the unwrapped Hershey Kisses in the freezer prior to popping them on the cookies.
my 6 year old requested these again this Christmas. thank you for the new tradition!
How to make sure the kisses don’t fall off when i store the cookies in freezer..seems thevkisses fall off
Mel…I may be late in the game but I have leftover kisses I need to use. Sorry if someone has already asked this, but can I use mint extract instead of peppermint? Just wondered if it’ll mess with the flavor? Have you or
anyone else tried this with success?
Yes, that will work just fine!
The kids made these for santa, and Santa didn’t mind one bit! So delicious. I left out the peppermint extract because I didn’t have it, and they were plenty minty with the kisses. Thank you, Mel and Merry Christmas!
Make them!!!
I did half with the candy cane kisses and the other half with Dove Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark chocolates! The ones with the Dove are a whole different level of awesome if you longer dark chocolate!
I. Love. These. Cookies. I’ve had to remake these so many times because I keep eating the ones I plan to give away. Whoops 😉
I think I’m going to try subbing almond for peppermint extract and use cherry cordial kisses for a Black Forest cookie. Thanks for all your great recipes!
I just made a quadruple batch of these to give out as neighbor gifts today….. and then logged on and saw them as the main picture for your newest post! They are delicious and beautiful! After so many batches, I must say that freezing the Kisses for at least 30 minutes before putting them on the cookies is critical to maintaining their shape. This recipe is a keeper!
Made these cookies and they are cooling in the rack right in front of me… My god they are out of this world!!! Looks like I’m gonna finish most of them in the first batch. But kisses started melting though it didn’t make any difference in the taste. The melting kisses with the slight crunchy cookie was divine!!! Any suggestions to retain the kisses its shape?? P.S Mel you are amazing. Not one of your recipes have ever failed me!!! Merry Christmas!!
Hey Maria – try waiting just 30 seconds to a minute when the cookies come out to place the kiss on…that might help!
I pop the unwrapped kisses in the freezer for the 9 minutes it bakes and that solves the melting problem for me!
GREAT idea!
Yum! Can’t wait to try these! Thank you Mel! Merry Christmas!
I wasn’t sure how these would freeze (because of the Kiss), so I tested a couple. I have to say these are still amazing after nearly four weeks in the freezer!
That’s awesome, Beth – thanks for sharing!
Good to know!
These were SO good! I looked at 3 different stores to get another bag of candy cane Kisses to make more and they were all OUT. So you better stock up at the beginning of Dec if you want more than one batch. I did find some mint truffle Kisses and am going to give them a try. Thanks for a great Christmas cookie recipe!
Oh and I left out the mint extract in the cookies because I didn’t have any (increased the vanilla by 1/2 t) and I would make them the same way again!
I’m wondering how well these store. I have a party tomorrow night but need to make my cookies today. Are these good the next day or do you recommend another of your cookie recipes that would keep better?
I think one day in advance these cookies would do just fine!
I made these cookies several times last year and they were always a big hit! I’m making them today to take to a Christmas party since I have been craving them since last Christmas. The candy cane kisses make a big difference in my opinion!
Does the cookie on these come out soft? I’m going to try these! I’m a terrible cookie maker and the last ones I tried were so awful I lied at a church function and got caught! Lol!! I swear this time if they don’t turn out I won’t lie! My families most requested dishes come from Mel. I WILL become a cookie baker before I get grandchildren!!
Yes the cookie part is definitely more soft than it is crisp (but a lot depends on how long you bake the cookies).
This time when I made these, I refrigerated the dough a bit and then rolled them into balls and instead of rolling them in the powdered sugar, I put the powdered sugar in a gallon ziplock bag, threw all 24 cookie dough balls in there, and shook it to coat them. It worked perfectly! It was a lot easier and cleaner than rolling them all in a bowl of powdered sugar.
I made these as written except I omitted the peppermint extract. They were so fantastic I kept craving more and wanted to try some variations with the topping. I did the candy cane kisses, then dark chocolate kisses, then toasted marshmallows (used the same method as the S’mores cookies on your site). All were super delicious and even trumped brownies for me which is saying a lot. Then I was wondering how these crinkle cookies would be as homemade Oreos so I made the whipped frosting from your “My Favorite Sugar Cookies” post. The fluffiness of the whipped cream with the cream cheese flavor created were the dreamiest combination and probably my new favorite dessert. I want to try it next with a cookie topped with the whipped cream cheese frosting topping with a half a strawberry or raspberries on top! Thanks again for all your work and the love you share through your blog that lets me share my love with my family and friends through cooking delicious food!
Oh my goodness, Brittany! Look at you! I LOVE all the experimenting, and transitioning these cookies to a homemade Oreo was brilliant!!
I made these over Christmas and they were fantastic! My kisses melted a little too quickly too. If possible, could you add the tip to refrigerate the kisses and/or let them cool a minute or two before adding the kiss?
I made these over Christmas weekend without the peppermint or kisses (our commissary didn’t have them) and they are the perfect chocolate crinkle cookie!! Chewy edges and soft centers with full chocolate flavor. Love the addition of mini chips! Will definitely make again and again, hopefully with the peppermint someday. 🙂
PERFECT! Loved these. Didn’t change a thing.
Made these with regular kisses (instead of peppermint) and crushed candy canes (instead of extract) and left out the mini chocolate chips. They turned out wonderful. Thank you! The only thing that could have made them better would have been to use dark chocolate kisses instead–do they make those???
Yes! Dark chocolate kisses take these over the top. 🙂
Mel! I’ve been looking all season long for a chocolate cookie recipe that incorporated chopped hazelnuts in it somehow (pregnancy craving) and I never really found one that looked good. UNTIL! I saw this recipe and decided to try it with some tweaks to accommodate my hazelnut idea, and it turned out SO delicious that it’s going to be a repeat in our house and I made it for all of our Christmas neighbor gifts. I omitted the peppermint extract, rolled the cookies in crushed hazelnuts instead of powdered sugar, and topped with a dark chocolate hershey kiss. TO. DIE. FOR. I had to let you know so you can try it sometime. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
We absolutely loved these! I don’t really like peppermint, and I still ate three of them as soon as they were barely cool enough they were delicious! Next time I will probably leave the peppermint extract out and just do the candy cane kisses. But totally just a personal taste thing.
Just got done making these. I combined a few of the comments to make these cookies work for me. I crushed some candy canes and mixed it with regular sugar and used that to roll the cookies in. They turned out beautiful! Thanks for the recipe! I do have a question though. My dough was super tough. I had to kneed it looked bread because my mixer sounded like I was killing it. The dough seemed dry but the cookies still tasted fantastic. Any ideas what I did wrong?
Hi Stephanie – sounds like the dough may have been overfloured a bit?
Totally possible… I doubled the recipe so I might have made some wrong calculations
These turned out really well! I did make them on a rainy day in Georgia, so they were a little flatter than the ones in the photo, but still delicious. Everyone who has tried them has given them a two thumbs up! I will definitely try again on a less humid day. Thanks for another fun recipe to add to my holiday collection!
SO delicious!! I just made them to give away and will be lucky if I have any left to gift!! Love the combination of chocolate and peppermint. Mine went a little flat, but I just see it as more cookie to eat. I probably should’ve refrigerated the dough for longer then 60 seconds… I was just impatient… 🙂
I made these and they were so delicious, chewy, minty and so pretty. My 5 yo and 3yo helped and it was a perfect recipe for them to do so. We had a great time, and they loved these cookies too! Thank you Mel, for all you do, the delicious recipes you put into the world, and for being you! I honestly feel like we would be friends in real life. Merry Christmas. PS. I love every recipe I’ve ever made of yours and when I have to bring a dish to a party to go to , your website is the first place I go!
Thanks so much, Lindsay!!
I made these without the peppermint extract because I have a peppermint hater in the house. (I added a little extra vanilla as well). I used half candy cane kisses and half chocolate kisses. The ones with the chocolate kisses were loved by the peppermint hater/marginal peppermint fans. The candy cane kisses provided plenty of peppermint taste for the rest of us, and I think I would make it this way even without the peppermint hater in the house. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
These were darling AND delicious!
Glad you liked them, Jeanelle!
Have you ever made these without the mini chocolate chips? I really don’t want to go back to the store and totally forgot to get them
Yeah, you can definitely leave them out.
Hubby made two batches this weekend for friends at church. They were tasty!!
Your husband is awesome!
Hey Mel – I love your blog & all your recipes/ideas. Thank you for all you do and share! A little tip for these, (from America’s Test Kitchen Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, I can take ZERO credit)…try rolling these first in regular granulated sugar, then in powdered sugar before you bake. Can’t go wrong with either method, but give it a whirl once & see which you prefer!
Yum! I’ll have to try that!
I wasn’t a huge fan of these. I think it was from the peppermint in the cookie dough. If I make them again I’ll leave it out. I prefer your double peppermint cookies.
Wow amazement – so good. Made a double batch last night for an extended Christmas party tonight. Blowing my mind good!
Thanks, Rachel – that makes me happy!
Awesome! I needed to make cookies for our Sunday School program tomorrow, and I just so happened to have all ingredients except for peppermint extract on hand (even had the candy cane kisses!). Instead of the extract, I just crushed some mini candycanes in a ziplock bag and added to batter. It worked like a charm!! I probably used 2 tablespoons of crushed candy cane. I used my Pampered Chef scoops, and I found that the perfect size to my liking was a heaping small scoop. The medium scoop, which is equal to a #40, was just a little too big for me. Not that I don’t like a big cookie, but I prefer my Christmas cookies to be smaller so I can try several different kinds. These are definitely one of my favorite Christmas cookies now; they rank right up there with spritz and Lukken cookies. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Melanie! Appreciate all your feedback!
These are amazing! Another winner Mel. Just finished a batch of the almond joy cookies which are always a huge hit. I have frozen those with great success. Will these freeze just as well? Thanks!
Hey Julie! You know, I actually haven’t tried freezing these, but I think they should freeze pretty well!
how much is a #40 scoop ? equal to 1 1/2 teaspoons ? 1 T ? or …?
It is 1.5 Tablespoons. I refer to this page on Mel’s site, you may find it helpful as well: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/lets-talk-all-about-cookie-scoops/
Thanks, Melanie for helping out! 🙂
I want to make these stat! Although I don’t have peppermint extract. But I do have Doterra peppermint oil. Is there a way to use that? I just took around my Christmas plates yesterday. However, would love to try these anyway.
Hey Bri – I think so. I’ve used another brand of peppermint essential oil in baking and a little goes a long way – I’d start with just a drop or two.
Probably too late a reply, but doterra essential oil is all I had as well. I did 4 drops in my first batch and felt it was a bit too strong (many hours later I was still tasting minty freshness, which wasn’t a bad thing, just not great for a cookie.) The next batch I used 4 drops for a double batch, and it was perfect!
I made these so many times from your newsletter last year…they are the best!!! I will say though that the peppermint kisses melt faster than the regular chocolate ones so it works best to let the cookies cool slightly before putting them on if you want to keep the kiss shape or else they’ll turn into a blobs.
Glad you love them, Annie! One way to get around the melting issue is to keep the kiss candy in the fridge before putting on the hot cookies.
Thanks for that tip! I made these multiple times last year and ended up with a lot of blobby chocolate tops. Still delicious (and I will eat chocolate in any shape), but I’d like to see if I can get them to look like yours.
Mel, You should add the tip to keep the kiss from melting to the recipe instructions.
I’m so glad you posted these so now I can pin them! I made them for my giant Christmas party last year and they were a hit.
Thanks, Tara – glad you like these cookies! They are such a favorite of ours.
I made these a year ago and served them at my birthday party… a year later, my friends still comment on them. I don’t think I can get Candy Cane Kisses where I live, but even without, they are delicious!
This is my kind of birthday cookie! I’m not surprised people loved them so much! 🙂
These cookies are the best!!! Have been making since you gave it in your newsletter, everyone who eats them loves them!!
Thanks, Esther!
I had this recipe from the newsletter, and have been baking them up by the mounds this year to give to friends (and we took some to the soup kitchen where we served dinner to the homeless) and everyone has raved about them! A sweet 95 year old neighbor called me the next day to tell me they were the best cookies she had ever tasted! In 95 years, I’m thinking that’s a lot of cookies! 🙂
I love that so much, Mollie! And I giggled at your 95-year old friend’s comment. That’s pretty high praise!