Hershey Kiss Cookies: Holiday Red Velvet Peppermint

Hershey Kiss cookies and all of their wonderful variations have come to be a holiday tradition. I’ve tweaked my recipe to make these family favorites even more festive with a beautiful red velvet color and flavor. Peppermint kisses make these cookies beautiful as well as delicious.

For this recipe you’ll need: Hershey’s Peppermint Kisses, all purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, butter, sugar, egg, buttermilk, vanilla, red sugar crystals

If you are in a hurry click here to go straight to the Red Velvet Hershey Kiss cookies recipe.

Yes, I do love red velvet. The flavor is unique but my favorite thing about it is the color. Anything that claims to be red velvet better have a gorgeous crimson color, as far as I’m concerned. None of those brown red velvet recipes for me!

What’s up with that, anyway?

Hershey Kiss cookies are a traditional Christmas cookie here. We bake them every year and over the years I’ve come up with some pretty good variations. Of all of them I think these red velvet peppermint Kiss cookies are the prettiest. I mean, you can’t go wrong with red and white at Christmas, right?

This year I am trying very hard to find the Christmas magic. It’s usually not a problem for me but for some reason this year I feel like all of that North Pole magic dust was blown off course and landed in the middle of Joe Pool Lake instead of at my house. Everything is in place, the tree is up, the presents are tucked away, and baking has commenced but it feels more like a chore this year.

Maybe it’s letdown from having ALL the kids home last year and not this year,too. Perhaps it’s all of the unusual family drama this year. Or it’s the fact that my youngest is now 13.

Likely it’s all of it.

Luckily Christmas coming doesn’t hinge on whether or not I’m in the mood. It has a way of showing up and you can either kick your angst and Blue Meanies out of the way or sit on the sidelines. It’s your choice, it’s my choice, and Christmas will happen either way. It’s our choice to embrace the celebration or  just let it be another, albeit more chaotic, day.

When I was a kid magic happened all around me all the time but I’ve found as I’ve grown older I’ve had to be a participant in the magic rather than just an observer of it. The wide eyed wonder of the child is replaced with the deep satisfaction of the adult as we create that magic for our kids and grandkids. Most of the time for me going through the motions turns into the real thing. Usually I find that spark of elusive magic, that joy of Christmas, when and where I least expect it.

Give yourself the gift of joy this year. Do one thing a day that brings you happiness. If it’s making red velvet cookies then make red velvet cookies! I guarantee these will brighten up any cookie tray!

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Silicone mats are indispensable in the kitchen. They do everything from keeping cookies and cakes from sticking to assisting in the creation of delicate icing or chocolate decor. Mine have lasted forever!

Red Velvet Hershey Peppermint Kiss Cookies

Here’s the easy red velvet, Hershey Kiss cookies recipe!

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Hershey Kiss Cookies: Holiday Red Velvet Peppermint

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

8 mins

Total Time

13 mins

 

Chocolate crinkle cookies with a white chocolate peppermint kiss in the center are given a holiday twist with red velvet flavor and color. Red sugar crystals make them sparkly! These freeze well and ship well.

Servings: 3 dozen

Author: Marye

Ingredients

• 36 Hersheys Peppermint Kisses
• 1 1/2 cups and 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon buttermilk may substitute vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Red Sugar Crystals

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
3. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend together butter and sugar until mixture is well blended -- about 3 minutes.
5. Mix in egg.
6. Add in food coloring, buttermilk, and vanilla extract.
7. Mix on low until well blended.
8. Leave mixer on low speed and slowly add in the flour mixture.
9. Mix until combined.
10. Chill for 30 minutes or more.
11. While the dough is chilling unwrap the kisses and set them nearby.
12. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon of the dough into a ball.
13. Roll the ball in the red sugar crystals and place on a baking sheet lined with Silpat.
14. Bake in about 8 to 10 minutes.
15. Remove from the oven.
16. Allow the cookies to firm up for a few seconds.
17. Lightly press 1 peppermint kiss into the center of each cookie.
18. Allow Kisses to set or put in the fridge for the chocolate to firm up before storing or serving.
19. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

* I melted some white chocolate to drizzle over the cooled cookies but you can leave them plain if you like.

If you liked this Red Velvet Hershey Kiss cookies recipe you may also like these Restless Chipotle favorites…

From left to right: Red Velvet Sugar Cookies, Peanut Butter Rolo Cookies, Peppermint Blossoms