Irresistible Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms: Your Easiest Holiday Cookie Recipe!

Welcome to the enchanting world of holiday baking, where tradition meets simplicity! These Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms are more than just a cookie; they’re a festive sensation, effortlessly crafted from a humble cake mix, a couple of eggs, rich butter, and the delightful surprise of Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses. This incredibly easy cake mix cookie recipe promises a batch of soft, wonderfully chewy chocolate cookies, each infused with just the right amount of invigorating peppermint flavor. Perfect for sharing, gifting, or simply indulging, these blossom cookies bring cheer with minimal fuss, making them a staple for busy bakers and cookie enthusiasts alike.

Why Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms Are Your New Favorite Holiday Cookie

There’s a reason these Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms have become a cherished holiday tradition in many homes. Their undeniable charm lies in their simplicity and stunning presentation. With only four basic ingredients, these cookies are a testament to how effortless delicious baking can be. Imagine trays laden with these beautiful, festive cookies at your next cookie exchange or holiday gathering – their vibrant red and white centers popping against the dark chocolate, no one will ever suspect how quick and easy they were to whip up!

The magic starts with a simple box of cake mix. This ingenious shortcut streamlines the baking process significantly, eliminating the need to measure multiple dry ingredients like flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. All those foundational elements are already perfectly proportioned within the cake mix. All you need to add are a few pantry staples – eggs and butter – to transform it into a wonderfully pliable cookie dough. The pièce de résistance is the iconic Hershey’s Candy Cane Kiss, nestled in the center of each warm cookie. This special touch delivers an instant burst of cool, refreshing peppermint, creating that quintessential holiday flavor profile with virtually no extra effort.

The Versatility of Cake Mix Cookies

Cake mix cookies are truly a baker’s secret weapon. They are cookies that use a boxed cake mix as their primary dry ingredient base. Since many of the dry components required for traditional cookies – such as sugar, flour, and leavening agents – are already perfectly combined in a cake mix, you only need to introduce a few additional wet ingredients to create a soft, moist, and delightfully chewy cookie dough. This method saves considerable time and ensures consistent, delicious results every single time.

One of the most exciting aspects of baking with cake mix is the incredible flexibility it offers. Want to experiment with different flavor combinations? Simply swap out the cake mix! While chocolate is a classic choice for these peppermint blossoms, you could easily opt for a white cake mix for a more subtle backdrop, or a red velvet mix for an even more dramatic and festive hue. The possibilities don’t stop there. Feel free to customize the “blossom” center as well. If peppermint isn’t your preference, any flavor of Hershey’s Kisses will work beautifully – perhaps milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or even caramel Kisses for a different twist. This adaptability makes cake mix cookies a fantastic canvas for your culinary creativity.

Expert Tips for Making Perfect Cake Mix Cookies Every Time

Achieving bakery-quality cake mix cookies is easier than you might think, especially with a few tried-and-true tips. Follow these guidelines to ensure your Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms, and any other cake mix cookie, come out perfectly irresistible:

Preheat Your Oven Properly: This is a crucial first step for consistent baking. A properly preheated oven ensures that your cookies begin to bake immediately and evenly, preventing them from spreading too much before they set. Always give your oven at least 15-20 minutes to reach the desired temperature after it signals it’s ready.
Invest in a Cookie Scoop: For professional-looking, uniformly sized cookies, a cookie scoop is invaluable. Not only does it make the scooping process much faster and less messy, but it also guarantees that all your cookies bake at the same rate, resulting in a consistent texture and appearance across the entire batch.
Utilize Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mats: Say goodbye to sticky situations! Lining your baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat is a game-changer. These non-stick surfaces allow your cookies to release effortlessly from the pan, preserving their perfect round shape and making cleanup a breeze.
Avoid Overbaking Your Cookies: This is perhaps the most important tip for soft, chewy cookies. When you remove your cookies from the oven, they should still look slightly underbaked in the center, perhaps with just the edges lightly set. The residual heat from the baking sheet will continue to cook them for a few more minutes, a process known as “carry-over baking.” This ensures they remain tender and moist rather than becoming hard and crumbly.
Chill Your Cookie Dough: For this specific Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms recipe, melting the butter is part of the initial steps. To prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking and to ensure the Hershey’s Kisses sit nicely in the center, chilling the dough for at least an hour is highly recommended. If you’re short on time, you can soften the butter instead of melting it, and then chill the dough for a shorter period (around 30 minutes). Chilling helps solidify the butter, which in turn helps the cookies maintain their shape and thickness as they bake.
Mind Your Ingredients’ Temperature: While melted butter is specified here (followed by chilling), generally for many cookie recipes, room temperature eggs and softened butter incorporate more evenly into the dough, leading to a smoother mixture and better cookie texture. For this specific recipe, ensure your butter is melted as instructed for the best dough consistency before chilling.
Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment (with caution): Once you master the basic cake mix cookie, feel free to try different cake mix flavors, add-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, sprinkles, or varying Hershey’s Kisses. Just remember to start with small adjustments.

Essential Ingredients for Your Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms

Gathering your ingredients is the first step to creating these delightful holiday treats. The beauty of this recipe lies in its simplicity, requiring just four core items:

1 box chocolate cake mix (any kind, about 15-16 ounces): This forms the foundational dry ingredients for your cookies, providing both structure and that rich chocolate flavor.
2 large eggs: Eggs act as a binder, helping to hold the cookie dough together and contribute to a chewy texture.
1/2 cup butter, melted: Melted butter adds richness and moisture to the cookies, creating a tender crumb. Melting it makes for easy mixing with the cake mix.
About 30 Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped: These iconic candies are the star of the “blossom” effect, adding a creamy, minty burst and a festive look to each cookie. Make sure to unwrap them ahead of time for easy placement.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Make Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms

Making these festive cookies is a straightforward process, even for beginner bakers. Just follow these simple steps:

Prepare Your Workspace and Preheat: Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats to prevent sticking and ensure easy cleanup. Unwrapping the Hershey’s Kisses beforehand will make the final step much smoother.
Combine Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, gently combine the chocolate cake mix, two large eggs, and the ½ cup of melted butter. Mix these ingredients together until just combined. Since the butter is melted, a sturdy spoon or spatula is usually sufficient – avoid overmixing, as this can lead to tougher cookies. The goal is to create a cohesive dough.
Chill the Dough: Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cookie dough for approximately one hour. This chilling period is crucial for preventing the cookies from spreading too much during baking, ensuring they retain a lovely shape and provide a stable base for the Hershey’s Kisses.
Form the Cookie Balls: Once chilled, use a cookie scoop (about 1 tablespoon in size) to portion out the dough. Roll each scoop between your palms to form perfectly round balls. If desired, you can gently roll these dough balls in granulated sugar for a subtle sparkle and a slight textural contrast. While this step adds a nice aesthetic touch, it doesn’t significantly alter the flavor, so it’s entirely optional.
Bake to Perfection: Arrange the cookie dough balls on your prepared baking sheets, leaving a little space between each. Bake for 8-9 minutes, or until the edges are just set and the tops of the cookies show slight cracks. Remember, they might still look a little underbaked in the center, which is exactly what you want for that soft, chewy texture.
Add the Peppermint Kiss: Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, gently press a Hershey’s Candy Cane Kiss into the center of each warm cookie. The warmth of the cookie will slightly melt the base of the Kiss, helping it adhere and create that signature blossom look.
Cool and Store: Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets or transfer them to a wire rack. This allows the Kisses to set and the cookies to finish firming up. Once cooled, store your delightful Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. For longer storage, they can be frozen for up to a month. Simply thaw at room temperature before serving.

Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms

These Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms are incredibly simple to make, using a convenient cake mix, eggs, butter, and festive Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses. This easy cake mix cookie recipe consistently delivers soft, delightfully chewy chocolate cookies with the perfect hint of invigorating peppermint – a true holiday favorite!

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Course: Cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate peppermint blossoms, cake mix cookies, holiday cookies

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Chill time: 1 hour

Servings: 30 cookies

Calories: 116 kcal

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

1 box chocolate cake mix (any kind, about 15-16 ounces)
2 large eggs
½ cup butter (melted)
30 Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses (unwrapped)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, eggs, and melted butter until just combined. Since the butter is melted, you can easily use a large spoon or spatula for mixing, but be careful not to overmix.
Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for about an hour. This step is important for preventing the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
Use a cookie scoop to portion out 1-tablespoon sized balls of dough, then roll them completely round with your hands. Optionally, you can coat them in granulated sugar for a subtle sparkle, but it’s not essential for taste.
Place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8-9 minutes, or until the tops just begin to crack slightly and the edges are set. They should still look slightly soft in the center.
As soon as you pull the cookies out of the oven, gently press a Hershey’s Candy Cane Kiss into the middle of each warm cookie. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet to allow the Kisses to set.
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days, or freeze for up to a month.

Nutrition

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Discover More Delightful Cake Mix Cookie Recipes!

If you’ve fallen in love with the simplicity and deliciousness of these Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms, you’re in for a treat! The world of cake mix cookies is vast and full of exciting possibilities. Here are some more fantastic cake mix cookie recipes that you are sure to enjoy, perfect for expanding your baking repertoire with minimal effort:

Caramel Apple Cake Mix Cookies: A perfect autumnal delight, combining the comforting flavors of caramel and crisp apples.
Chocolate Caramel Cake Mix Cookies: Indulge in the rich pairing of chocolate and gooey caramel in these decadent cookies.
Caramel Thumbprint Cookies: Classic thumbprint cookies with a sweet, buttery base and a luscious caramel filling.
Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies: Elevate your everyday chocolate chip cookie with delightful pockets of caramel.
Caramel Apple Snickerdoodles: A beloved snickerdoodle recipe infused with the warm flavors of caramel and apple.
Caramel Spice Cake Mix Cookies: Embrace the cozy spices of fall and winter with these wonderfully aromatic and flavorful cookies.

Whether you’re looking for quick holiday treats, easy desserts for a potluck, or just a simple way to satisfy a sweet craving, cake mix cookies offer an unbeatable solution. These Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms are just the beginning of your journey into incredibly easy and delicious baking!