Are you looking for a shortbread cookie recipe that combines a perfect crunch with melt-in-your-mouth flavor? These Candy Cane Cookies are the best! Perfect size for enjoying a sweet dessert this holiday season.
If you're a fan of Christmas cookies, make sure to check out my Snow Globe Cookies as well. Be sure to find all my easy Cookie Recipes on the blog here.
Now that holiday season is officially here, the time is now to start baking. These Sugar Cookie Truffles are divine, and you don't want to miss out on my Favorite Christmas Cookies, either. There's a very high possibility that I'll be eating my way through desserts daily from here on out.
Taste and Texture of these Kiss Cookies:
- Sweet and crunchy from sprinkles
- Minty and refreshing from kisses
- Soft and Buttery cookie crumb
RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
- Salted butter - Make sure that it's softened to room temperature. This is key to make a perfect shortbread cookie dough.
- Sugar - Adds just the right amount of sweetness to these cookies.
- Vanilla extract - A staple in any dessert recipe. Don't skip it, it adds a lot of flavor to these cookies.
- All-purpose flour - The binding agent for all ingredients.
- Nonpareil sprinkles - I use holiday colored sprinkles but any are fine.
- Hershey's Holiday Candy Cane Kisses - These are only available during the holiday months and are so good. (I always get an extra bag or two and put them in the freezer in case I want to make this recipe later, too!)
HOW TO MAKE CANDY CANE COOKIES
Preheat the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the kisses in the freezer to chill. Now get the sprinkles poured and ready in a bowl.
Mix the ingredients. Mix together sugar, butter, and ½ teaspoon of the vanilla. Use a hand/stand mixer to get it nice and creamy.
Add flour. While mixing at a low speed, slowly add in the flour.
Make the cookie balls. Roll the cookie dough into 1-inch shape balls.
Roll in sprinkles. Roll the cookie dough balls in sprinkles and make sure that they are covered entirely.
Place the sprinkled cookie dough balls on a lined cookie sheet. Pop the sheet in freezer while the oven preheats.
Bake. Put the cookie sheet in oven and bake for 14-18 minutes. Take out of oven and rest them for a minute or two. Then press down one of the candy cane kisses in the middle. Don't press too deeply, just enough so it sticks.
Let the cookies cool. Make sure to let the cookies stand for 5 minutes on the baking sheet to cool. Then cool them further down on a wire rack.
How do you keep Hershey's kisses from melting?
To keep these sprinkled holiday cookies fresh, you're going to want to keep them stored in an airtight container for later. They don't have to be kept in the fridge, either. 
CAN I CHANGE THE KISS FLAVOR USED IN THESE CHRISTMAS SPRINKLE COOKIES?
Absolutely! This is a simple way to use this cookie recipe all year long. There are so many fun flavors of Hershey's kisses that you can literally make a different tasting cookie anytime that you want.
Why are my kiss cookies flat?
- Make sure you haven't added too little flour in the dough.
- Cookie dough must be chilled enough to prevent spreading and flattening.
- After you have rolled your cookie in sprinkles, arrange cookies on baking tray and pop them in freezer till oven preheats. This will help cookies keep their shape and bake thick.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE COOKIES ARE DONE BAKING?
Once the edges are starting to turn a golden-brown, this is your cue that the cookie are done and ready to be taken out of the oven. I also notice that once you can start to smell the cookies, this is an indicator that they're very close to being done as well.
QUICK TIPS FOR MAKING THIS CANDY CANE COOKIE RECIPE
- Make sure that you roll the dough into balls using your hands. You can scoop out the amount of dough with an ice cream scoop but then use your hands and roll them into a ball.
- Be patient and let these cookies cool down. Since they're hot, the adding the kisses to the center will melt them but they'll still hold their shape. You need to let them cool down all the way before moving them or the kisses will melt down and become messy.
MORE EASY DESSERT RECIPES
Black Forest Cake Sugar Cookie Truffles Recipe
Orange Cranberry CakeGingerbread Man Cookies
If you liked this Holiday cookie recipe, give it a star review. Also, tell me in the comments below, how did this turn out for you! And don’t forget to share your creations with me on Instagram at #greedyeatsblog And lets be friends on Pinterest and Facebook too! 🙂
Recipe
Candy Cane Cookies
Equipment
- Hand/stand Mixer
- Cookie Sheets
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter (softened to room temp)
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cups sugar
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup non pareil sprinkles
- 1 bag Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses
Instructions
- Prepare kisses and sprinkles. Place kisses in the freezer to firm up and get super chilled. Now get the sprinkles poured and ready in a bowl.
- Mix the ingredients. Mix together sugar, butter, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. Use a mixer to get it nice and creamy. This should take about 2-3 minutes.
- Add flour. While mixing at a low speed, slowly incorporate in the flour.
- Make the cookie balls. Roll the cookie dough into 1-inch shape balls.
- Cover in sprinkles. Roll the cookie dough balls in sprinkles and make sure that they are covered entirely.
- Place the sprinkled cookie dough balls on the cookie sheet. Make sure to line the sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat. Quickly chill the cookie tray in the freezer as oven preheats. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake in the oven. Put cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 14-18 minutes. Take out of the oven and press down one of the candy cane kisses in the middle after a minute or two. Don't press too deeply, just enough so it sticks.
- Let the cookies cool. Make sure to let the cookies stand for 5 minutes on the baking sheet to cool. Once that time has passed, you can move them to a cooling rack. Let them cool down all the way.
Notes
Storing Information:
To keep these sprinkled holiday cookies fresh, you're going to want to keep them stored in an airtight container for later. They don't have to be kept in the fridge, either.How do you keep Hershey's kisses from melting?
You have two options here-- Freeze your Hershey's kisses in the freezer unwrapped for about half an hour and then press them on slightly cooled cookies. It will prevent kisses from melting.
- After you put kisses on baked cookies, stick the cookies in freezer for a few minutes to prevent kisses from melting.
Thena Franssen
Wow! These are awesome. These are the best to make for the holiday season and I can't wait to try your recipe!
Abida
Amazing recipe associated with candy. I loved it. The recipe is really worthy of getting 5 stars
Kelly Bolen
OMG! These look and sound amazing! Pinning for later!
Blair Villanueva
OMG, these candy cane cookies look adorable! If these are now on my table, I would just stare at them until it melts! They are so beautiful just to eat. You did a good job.
Manali Oza
This is such a cute looking cookie, Perfect for Christmas. Loved this recipe. Keep on sharing more.
Dani Torr
I made these and added a teaspoon of baking powder since I was afraid that they would come out flat (I'm not much of a baker so I took preventative measures:) They turned out fantastic and yummy!!