Peppermint Mocha Blossoms

It's Christmas! My celebration, if you call that 'celebration', was pretty simple yet blissful. Spent the afternoon baking, then had dinner with boyfriend at Sizzler's then some shopping at Phoon Huat and Popular and home sweet home. Both of us are not keen in crowd squeezing with the mass in town.

Boyfriend helped me out with the afternoon baking, he had the all-important role of unwrapping the peppermint kisses and QC if they were intact. And for those which were not, he also assisted in the elimination of them, i.e. eat them :D

I know I've swore off cookies baking but these cookies are too cute to miss, especially during this festive season. It's simple yet the results are rewarding. First the cookies are so adorable, great for gift giving and parties. Secondly, the recipe is versatile, you can swop the Hersheys kisses on top for different flavors and adjust your cookie recipe accordingly. Lastly (my favorite reason), pressing down the kisses onto the puffy cookies were so fun! +100 stats to the fun element. You have to watch out for the mashy kisses after cooling the cookies to room temperature though. I put them into the fridge to harden them up again before serving.

These cookies are awesome!!! These are like the cookie form of Starbucks' Peppermint Mocha. Blend of rich chocolate, stimulating coffee and refreshing peppermint. The creamy and smooth peppermint kiss in the middle is like a surprise when you hit the middle of the puffy cookie. My mom was so fond of them that she instructed me to reserve more for her instead of giving them all away at a Xmas BBQ I'm going to later. I'm already looking forward to making them one more time before the year ends.

Am submitting this entry to Aspiring Bakers #2: Christmas! (Dec 2010). And not forgetting, Merry Christmas to everyone and your family! :D

Peppermint Mocha Blossoms (adapted from My Kitchen Addiction)
(makes approximately 24 cookies)

Ingredients:
113g unsalted butter, softened
150g granulated sugar
1 tbsp instant espresso powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
210g all purpose flour
15g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
25g granulated sugar to coat cookies
24 Hersheys Peppermint Kisses

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Lightly grease your baking sheets, or line with parchment and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and espresso powder until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and then add the vanilla and peppermint extracts.
4. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
5. Gradually add the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until the dough comes together.
6. Roll tablespoons of the dough into balls (23g for me) and coat with granulated sugar. Place onto baking sheet and bake for 9-10 mins.
7. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 to 3 mins before pressing a Hersheys Kiss into the centre of each cookie. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.