Santa Kiss Cookies: Buttery shortbread Christmas Cookies with Hershey's Kisses and Red and Green White Chocolate drizzle. Sounds Yum! Right?
Well, it is! These Christmas Cookies stay for weeks when properly stored. And, You can make the dough in advance and bake the cookie when people demand it.
It took me just 10-minutes to make these Buttery Santa Kiss Cookies but the taste was something to die for. There is a beautiful balance of chewy and crispy.
Finally, it is the Christmas Season and there cannot be anything cuter than a red and green white chocolate frosting. On top of that, you have Red and Green Christmas confetti.
These Santa Kiss Cookies are so rich, buttery, decadent and the best part - so soft!
In fact, there is absolutely NOTHING that you won't love about these Shortbread Christmas Cookies!
Starting from the buttery shortbread cookie in the bottom to a creamy white chocolate base in the middle, followed by a chocolaty Hershey's Kiss. And, that's NOT IT!
Finally, the festive and holiday-themed Red and Green White Chocolate drizzle along with cute Red and Green Christmas Confetti gives it that typical holiday look, taste, and feel!
I am a huge fan of Shortbread cookies. The high butter content brings in that crumbly, melt-in-mouth sort of texture. The best part about these shortbread thumbprint Santa Kiss Cookies is that they are not too sweet! Just the perfect amount of butter so that they qualify as a classic Shortbread cookie with a smooth buttery taste.
How to Make Santa Kiss Cookies?
Making a Santa Kiss Cookie is surely the easiest thing on Earth. It is so easy that you can actually nail it on your first try! Seriously you gotta give this recipe a try.
- Make a Buttery Cookie Dough: Start off with Flour, Sugar, Salt, Vanilla, and Of Course - Softened Butter Cubes! Mix with your hands to make a crumbly, soft, and buttery Shortbread cookie dough. Take scoops of cookies from the dough and form it into a small ball. Flatten it with your palm. Make dents with your thumb and place them on a prepared baking sheet.
- Chill: Before you pop it in the oven, Make sure you refrigerate these covered with a plastic wrap for 30-minutes in the refrigerator or 15-minutes in the freezer. Give your Santa Kiss Cookies this standing time will make sure that the butter firms up and your cookie tastes all the more buttery.
- Bake: Take it out of the fridge, remove the plastic wrap, and pop it into a preheated oven at 350F. This immediate transfer from a cold environment to a hot environment makes sure your shortbread cookie is crumbly and flaky. It ensures proper texture. I bake them for 10-minutes. In the midway, make sure you take them out and dent the center with your thumb. They will be quite hot so, you can use the back of the spoon to make the dent.
- Melt White Chocolate: Once it is done, melt white chocolate in the oven at a 30-second increment. Divide it into three parts. Add Red and green food color in two-part and leave the third part white. Spoon white chocolate in the dent and then add your Hershey's Kisses.
- Frosting: Now use a red and green white chocolate mixture and drizzle it on the cookies. Serve with some red and green Christmas confetti on top.
How to Store Santa Kiss Cookies?
Since this is a Shortbread cookie, so this is dry. Meaning this has very little moisture content in it. So you can easily store them for a longer duration.
- Cooldown your Santa Kiss Cookies completely before storing them.
- You can store them at room temperature in an air-tight container such as a Tupperware.
- To Freeze your Cookies you can Put them in a freezer-safe bag and squeeze as much air as possible.
- Place these bagged cookies in another Tupperware container or an air-tight container.
- Put a label and date on the bag. You can freeze them for up to 3-months.
How to make these Santa Kiss Cookies Ahead of time?
These Santa Kiss Cookies can surely be made ahead of time.
- You can make the dough weeks in advance and store it in a freezer-friendly bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and put it in a Tupperware or an air-tight container. You can keep it in the freezer for up to 2-weeks.
- When you want to bake the cookies, thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight. Keep on the counter for at least 2-hours or until it is warm enough to cut.
Substitutions for Santa Kiss Cookies:
- You can add some chopped nuts if you wish to add a crunchy and nutty texture to your shortbread cookies.
- You can also add some dark unsweetened cocoa powder in the dough to make it a chocolate shortbread Santa kiss cookie.
If you loved this recipe, then make sure you leave a rating below. Also, share your Santa Kiss cookie image on Instagram and tag me @recipemagik with #recipemagik.
Santa Kiss Cookies
INGREDIENTS
Shortbread Cookie
- 2½ Stick Unsalted Butter 1¼ Cup or 282g (softened at room temperature)
- ½ Cup Granulated Sugar
- ½ Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1½ Cup All-Purpose Flour use Gluten-Free Flour for GF alternative
- ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 2 Tablespoon Almond Milk
Frosting
- 4 Oz White Chocolate Bar
- 2 Drops Red Gel Food color
- 2 Drops Green Gel Food Color
- 1 Pack Hershey's Kisses Chocolate Candy 18Oz
- Holiday Sprinklers Red and Green (OPTIONAL)
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large mixing bowl combine butter and sugar. Whisk until creamy using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a handheld mixer. Add Flour, Sugar, Vanilla, and Salt. Mix well. Add Almond Milk (1 teaspoon at a time) and mix well. If your dough feels too wet then add some flour and adjust accordingly. If your dough feels too dry then add some almond milk and adjust accordingly. Your dough should be soft yet thick. See the images for a visual. Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-minutes. Refrigerating the dough is a MUST. If you can chill overnight then it's best. Chilling the dough prevents the cookies from spreading. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, and let it sit at room temperature for another 10-minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350F or 180C and grease two large baking sheets with cooking spray or brush vegetable oil. Line with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside. Roll the dough into small balls. Take about 3 tablespoons for each ball. Tap it with your palm and place it on the prepared baking dish. Leave some gap between each cookie. Make a dent with your thumb and pop it in the oven for 10 minutes. Don't overcook. After 10-minutes they will look soft and underbaked. And, that is how they should be. Allow them to stay on the baking sheet for 10 more minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Make sure the dent is al-right. Once they have cooled, use your thumb to make it look perfect.
- In the meantime melt white chocolate in the oven at a 30-second increment. Keep stirring after every 30-second. Once it is soft, open the door of the freezer, place the bowl containing melted white chocolate in your freezer. Let the door be open and continue stirring until its temperature comes down to 28C or 82F. Divide it into three parts.Let one part remain white. In one bowl containing melted white chocolate add 2 drops of red gel food color and stir well.In another bowl containing melted white chocolate add 2 drops of green gel food color and stir well.
- In the dent spoon melted white chocolate and place one Hershey's Kiss Chocolate Candy. Use a fork to drizzle melted red and green colored white chocolate on the cookies. Sprinkle some red and green holiday confetti. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Cooldown your Santa Kiss Cookies completely before storing them.
- You can store them at room temperature in an air-tight container such as a Tupperware.
- To Freeze your Cookies you can Put them in a freezer-safe bag and squeeze as much air as possible.
- Place these bagged cookies in another Tupperware container or an air-tight container.
- Put a label and date on the bag. You can freeze them for up to 3-months.
- You can make the dough weeks in advance and store it in a freezer-friendly bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and put it in a Tupperware or an air-tight container. You can keep it in the freezer for up to 2-weeks.
- When you want to bake the cookies, thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight. Keep on the counter for at least 2-hours or until it is warm enough to cut.
Michelle Sharpe says
Looks delicious! Need to try these cookies!!! Looks so yummy and festive
Anjali says
Do try it. Let me know how it was.