Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies

These chocolate peppermint kiss cookies are a fun and festive treat. They’re quick and easy to make, and bursting with rich chocolate and spicy peppermint flavor.

I’m a huge fan of Christmas cookies. Nothing gets me in the mood for the holidays like throwing on some carols and baking some Christmas cookies. And these chocolate peppermint kiss cookies are one of my favorites to make when the holidays roll around. 

These cookies are super simple, and only take half an hour to make. But they have everything you would want in a Christmas cookie: they’re soft and moist, full of flavor, and look amazing! Make these for your holiday party and I guarantee that everyone will love them. 

Why You’ll Love These Easy Peppermint Kiss Cookies

There’s a whole lot to love about these decadent cookies. Here are a few of my favorite things.

• The flavors are intense. These cookies don’t just have the traditional pairing of chocolate and peppermint. No, they have three different chocolate ingredients, and three different peppermint ingredients, too. In other words, they’re absolutely bursting with both chocolate and peppermint flavors. 
• They’re festive. Usually when we think of cute Christmas cookies, we think of sugar cookies, cookie cutters, and green and red sprinkles. With chocolate peppermint kiss cookies, you don’t decorate the cookie, but they’re still incredibly festive. With a red and white-striped peppermint kiss sticking out of each cookie, these will stand out at any holiday party or Christmas feast. 
• They’re super easy. This is one of the quickest and easiest cookie recipes that I know. You can throw them together in just 30 minutes, and they don’t require much effort. But you wouldn’t know that by the taste!

Recipe Ingredients

Here are all the ingredients needed to make these chocolate peppermint kiss cookies. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the page to see the specific amounts needed for each ingredient.

• Semisweet chocolate
• Butter – You want to use unsalted butter.
• Granulated sugar
• Light brown sugar – Light brown sugar has a milder flavor than dark brown sugar.
• Egg
• Vanilla extract – Make sure to use 100% pure vanilla extract.
• Peppermint extract – Don’t buy a peppermint extract that uses artificial flavors.
• All-purpose flour
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Hershey’s candy cane kisses
• Crushed candy canes – This ingredient is optional. 

How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies

Here’s how to make these quick, fun, and highly festive cookies. 

• Prep. Preheat your oven to 350F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Melt the chocolate. Place the chocolate in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, then repeat until the chocolate is fully melted.

• Cream the butter. Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer, then add the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Using the paddle attachment, cream the mixture on medium speed until it is fluffy. This should take about 2 minutes.
• Add the egg and extracts. Put the egg in the mixing bowl, and add the vanilla extract and peppermint extract. Mix to combine.

• Prep the dry ingredients. Place the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, and stir to mix.

• Add the chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of creamed butter and stir until combined. 
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Add a third of the dry mixture to the wet mixture, and stir until combined. Repeat until all of the dry mixture is worked in.

• Add the candy canes. If you’re using candy canes, fold them into the cookie dough. 

• Prep the sugar coating. Place some sugar in a shallow bowl. 
• Shape the cookies. Use a cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough. Roll each cookie into a ball, then roll the ball in the bowl of sugar. Place the cookies on the baking sheet.

• Bake. Put the cookies in the oven for 8-10 minutes. When they’re done baking, remove the cookies from the oven.
• Add the peppermint kiss. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, softly press a Hershey’s peppermint kiss into the center of each cookie. Let them cool, and you’re ready to eat. 

Tips and Tricks 

Here are some tips for making these chocolate peppermint kiss cookies perfect.

• Use softened butter. It’s important to use softened butter for this recipe. When butter is softened, it mixes with other ingredients better, creating a smoother and fluffier cookie dough. Make sure the butter is not melting though, as that will make the dough wet and loose. 
• Crush the candy canes in a bag. The easiest way to make crushed candy canes is by placing them in a ziplock bag. Then use the flat side of a meat tenderizer, or a rolling pin to smash the candy canes into small pieces. 
• Don’t over mix the ingredients. When adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the chocolate peppermint kiss cookie dough, don’t over mix. As soon as the ingredients are incorporated, stop mixing. If you over mix, you will break down the gluten in the flour, and the cookies will become very dense.

Common Questions

Here are the answers to some common questions about this recipe.

Can you use other kisses?
Absolutely! I love using the peppermint kisses for this recipe, because they look and taste so festive. But you can replace them with any variety of Hershey’s kisses. 

Can you adjust the peppermint flavor?
You sure can! This cookie has three different types of peppermint flavor, with the Hershey’s kiss, the peppermint extract, and the candy canes. If you’re not a big fan of peppermint, just remove the extract or the candy canes from the recipe. You can also add more of both of those ingredients if you want to amp up the peppermint flavor. 

Can these cookies be made gluten-free?
They absolutely can. To make gluten-free peppermint kiss cookies, just replace the all-purpose flour with your favorite gluten-free flour blend. 

How to Store Chocolate Peppermint Kiss Cookies

These moist and cute cookies will last for up to 4 days at room temperature if stored in an airtight container. They’ll also last for 1 week in the fridge, or for 3 months in the freezer, as long as they’re in an airtight container. If you freeze these peppermint kiss cookies, let them thaw overnight in the fridge before eating.

More Cookie Recipes

After you’ve made these super fun holiday cookies, check out some of my other favorite cookie recipes, including other “kiss” recipes.

• Christmas tree cookies
• Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
• Sugar Cookie Candy Cane Blossoms
• White chocolate chip raspberry oatmeal cookies
• Cinnamon brown sugar cookies
• Classic linzer cookies