Guess what? Friday Trivia is back tomorrow with four chances to win a great prize.
I have a soft spot for holiday-flavored candies, which is saying a lot because I’m a bit of a chocolate snob.
Okay — a big chocolate snob.
An expensive chocolate snob.
Years ago my aunt always bought chocolate mint M&M’s. They disappeared for a while and I couldn’t find them for years, so I was thrilled to see them back on the shelves.
Even better: these mint M&M’s are larger than the regular ones. Like peanut butter M&M’s, they’re plump and extra satisfying — minty chocolate right up my alley.
Last week at Target I also picked up candy cane Hershey’s Kisses.
I wasn’t a fan of the candy corn Kisses at Halloween, but these more than made up for it. See those little red sugar crystals? These Kisses are delightfully crunchy.
Plump chocolate and crunchy chocolate — it felt like heaven.
I decided to make double chocolate cookies because I just can’t get enough chocolate. Sometimes I even eat it for breakfast. True story.
I found a recipe in Mother Lovett’s book of secrets and whipped it up quickly. I chopped the crunchy Kisses — I love chopping things — and divided the cookie dough into three portions.
One portion got the plump mint M&M’s.
Another portion got the chopped crunchy Kisses.
The third portion I left plain and rolled into balls to make festive blossom cookies.
All of the cookies turned out delicious — richly chocolatey with bright hints of peppermint. They tasted like Christmas in a cookie, and I’ll definitely make them again closer to the holidays.
We ended up with double chocolate mint M&M cookies:
And double chocolate peppermint chunk cookies:
The chocolate cookie base was fantastic: moist, soft, and tender. I sometimes like a crisp cookie (my dad’s preference), but I usually go for soft and chewy, and these delivered.
Double Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
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Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; mix until combined.
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Fold in any chips, M&M’s, or nuts if desired. Leave plain for blossom cookies.
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Spoon dough onto a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 8–10 minutes.
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For blossom cookies, roll dough into balls and bake 8 minutes. Remove from oven, press a Kiss into the center of each cookie, then bake 1 more minute.
Did you make this recipe?
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The blossom cookies behaved a bit unpredictably: the peppermint Kisses are heat-sensitive and tended to melt down when baked. Even with shorter oven time, many of them softened and spread more than expected.
At second glance, though, I loved how merry these cookies looked and tasted.
Not to mention incredibly delicious. Using the same dough but leaving the Kiss on top left the cookies extra soft and tender.
Have you seen the Irish Creme Kisses?
Irish Creme Kisses — hello. That’s basically a Bailey’s cookie, with a side of Bailey’s if you’re so inclined.
Those Irish Creme Kisses were my favorite — they truly tasted like Bailey’s in a kiss. Which is fitting, since Bailey’s tends to lead to plenty of kisses.