Candy Cane Blossom Cookies

In case you're in the cookie-making mood this weekend, let me recommend to you these candy cane blossom cookies. I just made a bunch for Quinn's preschool Christmas party this afternoon, and they are YUMMY. 

I noticed the recipe on the back of the candy cane kisses I bought earlier in the week. WARNING: Candy cane kisses are addictive. I'm not saying I ate an entire bag in one sitting...well, wait. Yeah, that is pretty much what I'm saying. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Here's the recipe, with my notes (in red), and a link to the original by Hershey's.

Candy Cane Blossoms by Hershey's

Ingredients

• 48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Candy Cane Mint Candies
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons milk I actually needed about 50% more milk than this, so 3 tablespoons
• Red or green sugar crystals, granulated sugar or powdered sugar

Directions

 Heat oven to 350°F. Remove wrappers from candies. (I actually did this while the cookies were in the oven so I wasn't tempted to eat them while I was making the cookies.)
 
 Beat butter, granulated sugar, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended. (Like I mentioned above, I had to add about 50% more milk than this to get the dough to come together. I also had to add an additional splash to the dough that was sitting around while the first batch was in the over because it got drier and tougher as it sat.)

 Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in red sugar, granulated sugar, powdered sugar or a combination of any of the sugars. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. I found it easiest to press the cookie flat into the sugar, and then roll the sides to coat them. The bottoms of my cookies do not have sugar on them, and I like it that way.

 

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cookie is set. (Mine never browned, FYI.) Remove from oven; cool 2 to 3 minutes. Press a candy piece into center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

And there you have it! They are just about the most festive cookies I've ever made. I highly recommend them if you're doing any baking over the weekend!