Christmas Cookies: Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

My friend Jenny from New York was so kind to send me some Hershey Kisses as they are not available here in The Netherlands. Amongst the bags she sent me was a bag of Candy Cane Kisses, which made me search the Internet for a cookie recipe to use them in. Over at RecipeGirl I found this recipe. My mom and dad test-tasted these and absolutely loved them. After baking the cookies the kitchen smelled minty-fresh!

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies
(adapted from RecipeGirl)

Yield: About 2 1/2 dozen

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1¼ cups butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1/2 cup finely chopped Candy Cane flavored Hershey’s Kisses
granulated sugar
additional, unwrapped Candy Cane Kisses- about 30

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make room in either refrigerator or freezer for your cookie sheet.

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. 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.

Put cookie sheet (with cookies) immediately into the freezer (preferred) or refrigerator so that the Kisses will set quickly. As soon as you press them into the cookie, they will begin to soften… so if you can get them into the freezer then they will keep their Kiss shape.

Store in a covered container- at room temperature for up to a week.

In the freezer they should be okay for a couple of weeks.

Tips:
You can add an addition teaspoon of peppermint extract: the cookie gets plenty of peppermint flavor from the addition of the chopped kisses, but if you’d like it really minty then go ahead and add the peppermint extract.

RecipeGirl says she spotted these Kisses at Target and CVS Pharmacy.

Still looking for Christmas gifts???

Christmas is coming up and this means several things: delicious food, time spent with family & friends and of course shopping for Christmas gifts. We all know shopping for gifts can be a nightmare: running from store to store, only to find out they don't have what you're looking for.

I have found the perfect solution: shop online!!! Check out CSN: they have over 200 sites with more that sell almost anything: counter height stools, cookware, toys, clothing and many other things! I am sure you'll be able to find the perfect gift for everyone special in your life!

Christmas Cookies: Lime Meltaways

Here's another cookie that will go into this years cookie gift-bags for coworkers. This is a partial success... I liked these, but thought the lime-flavor was a bit understated: a bit more lime-flavor would have been nice. My dad really liked these, unfortunately my mom did not.... She absolutely hated them!! She took one bite of the cookie I offered her (she's my preferred taste-tester as she always tells me exactly what she thinks of everything I make) and almost spit it out, she then gave me back the other half of the cookie and told me she hated the flavor and didn't care for the texture of the cookie. I was somewhat stumped since this was the first time my mom really didn't like the end result of something I made.... :S

Lime Meltaways

Recipe by Martha Stewart

3 dozen cookies

3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Grated zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt


Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment (I used my regular paddle attachment), cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.

3. Divide dough in half. Place each half on a separate 8 by 12 inch piece of parchment paper, roll dough into 1 1/4-inch diameter logs. Chill at least one hour.

4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. (I placed in bowl) Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/8-inch thick rounds. (I sliced them more like a 1/4 inch) Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.

5. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat. (I put powdered sugar in a bowl and added baked cookies to coat) Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.