"Learn from the cookie..."

"Oh look Elaine, the black and white cookie. I love the black and white. Two races of flavor living side by side. It's a wonderful thing isn't it?" Words of wisdom from an old Seinfeld...

I should never go down the candy aisle, I have no willpower! The bags practically jump in the cart especially when they are HERSHEY'S new Holiday Kisses. Flavors like Mint Truffle Kisses or Cherry Cordial Crème Kisses. Who could say no to Candy Cane Kisses? Not me, I came home with all three then started seaching for cookie recipes to give away ASAP to neighbors before I ate them all!

Let's start with the Chocolate Crinkles with Mint Truffle Kisses!

Gather up the ingredients and make them look presentable for a photo op...

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt then set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, and eggs until well mixed. Whisk in extracts.

Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients just until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.Whisk together the confectioners sugar and the green colored sugar.

Sample a mint truffle Kiss, just to make sure it's a good batch. It was!

By now the dough is nice and chilled and you can preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpats, then roll dough into 1/2 Tablespoon balls. Roll balls in the powdered sugar/green sugar. Place on cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until cookies crackle and dough doesn't look raw. While cookies are baking, unwrap the kisses and make some room in your refrigerator or freezer for the cookie sheets. 

When the cookies come out of the oven, immediately place a kiss in the center of each cookie and press lightly.    

    The kisses will start to get melty, so it's best if you are able to place the cookie sheet (with the kiss) directly into the freezer or refrigerator until the kisses can set up. I put mine in the fridge for just a little while, otherwise I'd have to eat all the "mistakes."

Chocolate Crinkles with Mint Truffle Kisses- makes about 60 cookies
From RecipeGirl.com
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoon green colored sugar (optional)
bag of mint truffle flavored Hershey's Kisses

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, and eggs until well mixed. Whisk in extracts.
3. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients just until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into 1/2 Tablespoon balls. Roll balls into mixture of powdered sugar/green sugar. Place on cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until cookies crackle and dough doesn't look raw. While cookies are baking, unwrap the kisses and make some room in your refrigerator or freezer for the cookie sheets. When the cookies come out of the oven, immediately place a kiss in the center of each cookie and press lightly. The kisses will start to get melty, so it's best if you are able to place the cookie sheet (with the kiss) directly into the freezer or refrigerator until the kisses can cool off and set up.

Cherry Cordial Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies-Makes about 2 dozen cookies
From Hershey's.com
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg, separated
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped nuts (I used hazelnuts)
Vanilla Filling (recipe follows)
26 Hershey’s Kisses Brand Milk Chocolates filled with Cherry Cordial Crème
DIRECTIONS:
Beat butter, sugar, egg yolk, milk and vanilla in medium bowl until fluffy. Stir together flour, cocoa and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.
Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. With fork, beat egg white slightly. Drip each ball into egg white; roll in nuts. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Press thumb gently in center of each cookie.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Meanwhile prepare Vanilla Filling. Remove wrappers from chocolate pieces.
Remove cookies from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool 5 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon filling into each thumbprint. Gently press chocolate piece in center of each cookie. Cool completely.
Vanilla Filling: Combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon softened butter or margarine, 2 teaspoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract in small bowl; beat until smooth.

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies
From RecipeGirl.com
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/4 cups butter, at room temperature
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup finely chopped Candy Cane flavored Hershey’s Kisses
granulated sugar
additional, unwrapped Candy Cane Kisses- about 30
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In large mixer bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter, extracts and egg. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until creamy (2-3 minutes). In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to wet mixture and beat, scraping bowl often until well blended (1-2 minutes). The mixture will be a bit crumbly. Stir in chopped Kisses.
3. Shape dough into ¾-inch to 1-inch balls; roll in granulated sugar. Place 1-inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set. As soon as they come out of the oven, press a Candy Cane Kiss in the center of each cookie. They’ll crack a little around the edges, so just use your fingers to kind of hold the cookie together while you set the kiss inside.
*It's a good idea to set these in the fridge too, just for a little while to set the kisses.
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