Hidden Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

One of my favourite holiday cookie recipes that I discovered last year was Recipe Girl’s Candy Cane Kiss Cookies – they look so cute with the red and white swirled Kiss in the middle, and the chopped up Kisses throughout the cookie give it an amazing peppermint flavour. This year, I decided to switch them up a little by hiding the Kiss inside the cookie. Though it hides the pretty swirls, it adds an element of surprise when you bite into the cookies and discover a delicious Candy Cane Kiss inside! 

These are the perfect holiday cookie because they’re nice and small, taste like a festive candy cane, and have a pretty sparkle from rolling them in sugar. I think I might like this version better than the original, mostly because they’re easier to make (because you don’t have to worry about the middle of the cookie baking all the way through, which I tend to have problems with) and they’re easier to store (without having to worry about the Kisses on top melting or breaking), but also because they’re just so different from the average cookie, and much more fun to eat!

I’ve already made these twice this season – once for Ryan’s coworkers and once for a cookie swap at school, which was today (though sadly, I overbaked them a little this time) – and I’ll probably make them again closer to Christmas!

Hidden Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

Adapted from Recipe Girl

Makes about 30 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 a large egg (whisk one egg in a small bowl, then divide equally in half and only use one half)

3/4 cup icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup finely chopped Candy Cane Hershey's Kisses (about 10 Kisses)

~2 tablespoons granulated sugar

About 30 additional, unwrapped Candy Cane Kisses

*Note that you should only need to buy one 200g bag of Candy Cane Kisses for this recipe, as a bag contains about 45 Kisses and you need about 40 for this recipe.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine icing sugar, butter, vanilla, and egg. Beat at medium speed, scraping the bowl often, until creamy (about 2-3 minutes).

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the electric mixture in two additions, mixing well after each addition, until well blended. Stir in chopped Kisses.

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough and press a Candy Cane Kiss into the middle of the ball of dough, molding the dough around the Kiss so that it’s completely covered by the dough. Try to smooth out any lumps; if the cookie looks lumpy before baking, it will look lumpy after being baked! Repeat with remaining dough; you should end up with about 30 cookies.

Pour granulated sugar into a shallow bowl and gently roll each cookie in the sugar to coat. Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes, then cool on a wire rack. To make things go quicker, I form 15 cookies first, put them in the oven, and while they’re baking I form the other 15 cookies.

I'm submitting these cookies to the Holiday Recipe Exchange. Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by OXO.

Mini Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I recently realized that I hadn’t posted a dessert recipe in an awfully long time, and it just so happened that a wonderful colleague was celebrating her birthday last week, creating the perfect opportunity to bake something sweet (with the help of my sister Genevieve)!

Gen and I wanted to make cupcakes because they seemed most appropriate for a birthday, but because everything is cuter in mini form, we decided to make mini cupcakes! We chose a fail-proof Martha Stewart recipe for banana cupcakes, which seemed like a crowd-pleasing flavour, but threw in some mini chocolate chips for the chocolate lovers (which Gen and I are not). And because in our view, cream cheese frostings are the only way to go, we made two kinds of cream cheese frostings: peanut butter and chocolate. 

The cupcakes were so easy to make and they were the perfect two-bite treat to bring to a crowd, all of whom loved them! The cupcakes themselves had a strong banana flavour with just the right hint of chocolate from the mini chocolate chips, but the frosting was definitely the best part! Both frostings were so good that Gen and I couldn’t decide which one we liked better, although the chocolate ones did seem to disappear faster than the peanut butter (much to my dismay, as I was the one in charge of the peanut butter frosting – ha!)

These are the perfect little treat to celebrate a birthday, or just to have around to brighten up any other day. I’m loving making mini things lately and can’t wait to find another use for my mini muffin pan, so if you have any ideas, send them my way!

Mini Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Makes 3 dozen mini cupcakes

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Adapted from C&C Cakery, who adapted from Martha Stewart

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3-4 large bananas)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

6 tablespoons mini semisweet chocolate chips

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Chocolate cream cheese frosting & Peanut butter cream cheese frosting (recipes below)

About 18 banana chips and a handful of mini chocolate chips for topping

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Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, two sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (melted butter, mashed bananas, eggs, vanilla).

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until almost incorporated. Add chocolate chips and stir until just incorporated. Do not overmix. Spoon mixture into a mini muffin pan that has been lined with mini muffin liners. Fill each cup almost to the top of the liner. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool before frosting.

Frost half the cupcakes with the peanut butter cream cheese frosting, and half with the chocolate cream cheese frosting. Top with banana chips or mini chocolate chips if desired.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from Cupcake Project

4 oz (half a block) cream cheese, softened (we used reduced fat)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 to 1 ½ cups icing sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add icing sugar (start with less and add more if needed, depending how sweet you want it) and cocoa powder and beat until smooth.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz (half a block) cream cheese, softened (we used reduced fat)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 to 3/4 cup icing sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon milk (optional)

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Mix in the peanut butter, followed by the icing sugar (start with less and add more if needed) and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Add milk if you need to thin out the frosting a little.

Buffalo Wing Hummus

You may have noticed that I have a slight obsession with making hummus (see here, here, and here), but considering that the top two most popular recipes on my blog are hummus recipes, I’m thinking you guys won’t mind if I post another one!

I’d been dreaming about this buffalo wing hummus ever since I first saw it in September’s Food Network magazine, and once I tried it I couldn’t believe I didn’t make it sooner! This is easily my new favourite hummus recipe; it tastes exactly like buffalo wings but in a healthy dip form. It’s also the creamiest hummus I’ve made, even though it doesn’t contain any oil like most recipes. This dip makes a healthy snack served with celery or carrot sticks, but is also delicious served with pita chips or even off your finger ;)

If you love buffalo wings but are looking for a healthier way to enjoy their flavour, try this hummus out, you won’t regret it!

Buffalo Wing Hummus

Adapted from Food Network

Makes about 2 cups of hummus

Ingredients:

1 (19oz) can chickpeas (about 2 cups)

1/3 cup liquid from the chickpea can

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 tablespoons barbeque sauce

2 tablespoons hot buffalo sauce

1/2 tablespoon distilled white vinegar (optional, you may want to taste before adding this as some brands of buffalo sauce can already taste quite vinegary)

1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper for seasoning, optional

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Taste and add more hot sauce if it’s not spicy enough.

Serve with celery sticks, carrots, or pita chips. Store in the refrigerator.

*Note: If you're watching your sodium, you may  not want to use the liquid from the chickpea can.  I have tried this without using it, and I replaced the liquid with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and 3 tablespoons water and it was still delicious! 

P.S. I want to wish all my American readers a very happy Thanksgiving!! And if you missed it earlier, be sure to check out my Thanksgiving recipe roundup if you need some last minute ideas!