We’re coming to a close here this holiday cookie season, and I’ve saved the best for last. This cookie recipe is by far my favorite Christmas cookie discovery this year: Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies. This delightful treat comes from the December 2009 issue of Bon Appetit, and I’ve changed it up a little bit using these fabulous Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses.
Have you had the opportunity to try these yet? A white chocolate confection with minty stripes and the very slight crunch of candy canes, these kisses are amazing. They’re so amazing that I ended up buying a second bag that I have sitting in my pantry, which I’m afraid to open for fear that I won’t be able to stop nibbling on them.
Here’s a brief How-To (an easy recipe!):
The shortbread base of the cookie is baked into a 9×13-inch pan lined with parchment. Chocolate is crumbled onto the warm, baked shortbread. It melts and then just gets spread around with a spatula. The original BA recipe calls for crumbled candy canes to be sprinkled on top. I’ve never been a very big fan of the crunch of candy canes in cookies, so I subbed the chopped up oh-so-fabulous candy cane kisses instead. They melt a little on top of the chocolate, but that’s okay.
A small amount of white chocolate is melted and swirled on top. The whole thing is chilled and then lifted out of the pan and onto a flat surface for cutting. Using a large, sharp knife, you can cut the cookie bark into whatever shapes you’d like.
I have absolutely no idea how these taste made with crunched up candy canes, but with the Candy Cane Kisses, these shards of cookie bark are absolutely the best holiday treat I’ve had this year! It could be the Kisses that put them over the top, but they’ve definitely been added to my list of Christmas cookie favorites.
This recipe can be found HERE.
*The Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses are a specialty flavor that you’ll only find during the holidays. I’ve seen them both at Target and in the holiday candy section of my grocery store. (And, NO… this post is not being sponsored by Hershey’s, though it should be with all of the gushing I’ve done over their holiday-themed Kisses lately.)
37 Comments
Thanks for sharing, Lori! These would be a hit around here! I love the twist on classic shortbread.
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These look great!! I am addicted to those candy cane kisses too – they have the crunchy things in them!!
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I have a bag of these sitting on my counter waiting for inspiration. It just hit…hard! Thanks so much!!
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Oh Lori those look fabulous! You are such a creative baker
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Wow! Those look great! I love that it’s a new twist on an old favorite that I make every year.
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what a great idea to mix the two together!
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These are gorgeous Lori! Love the colors and swirls, plus they sound delicious and easy. Perfect!
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Okay, do not gasp: I love white choc but not peppermint at all (except lip balm). I know, that’s mean, I make bark with it but do not consume any. Guess it is great for the hips
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I bookmarked this one from BA too and I loved the idea of cutting them into triangles and irregular shapes like real “bark” candy. Clever idea to use the kisses!!! I never liked the crunch of the candy canes on top either so I generally use a big red/white decorating sugar. I like your idea even better.
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These look fabulous! I just printed them out… will be making them this weekend for our family cookie exchange! You’ve single handedly rekindled my relationship with peppermint!
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I’ve never tried those kisses. They are pretty!
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I had just come across this recipe earlier today. I love the idea of the kisses vs. the crunchy candy! They look so good!
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Oooh, these are so purty!
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Now those look awesome. I could definitely eat the whole pan!
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Omg we LOVE those peppermint kissed too! We discovered them this year and are obssesed with them!
We actually just posted a recipe using them today! Funny!
http://theartoftwotarts.blogspot.com/2009/12/day-8-holiday-pretzel-rings.html
We will definitely add these to our Christmas Baking list!
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It looks like so much fun… I’ve never tasted those kisses before.. I wonder if Japan will stock them.. might have to use my expat import to get them… well done you..
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These look both festive and delicious!! I think I would be tempted to use both the candy cane kisses and crushed candy canes!!
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I always make our traditional favorites, and try one new cookie recipe…I think this will be the new addition for us this year. So pretty!
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I made the version in BA with candy canes, but what a great idea to substitute Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses! Brilliant! And your shortbread looks fabulous!
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I love those kisses!
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THE best, for sure!
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Wow, those do look absolutely divine, thanks for sharing!
I was going to make plain ol shortbread for our Christmas party, but I think this is a much better idea, thank you for sharing!
xo
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These are so pretty. I made several versions of chocolate bark for holiday gifts this year and if I’d had those kisses I would have used those. YUM!
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Those look fabulous! I haven’t seen those peppermint kisses before. Hope my grocery store has them. If not, a Target is nearby!
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Oooh, I think I’ve seen those kisses! Will have to look again! The cookies are gorgeous, as always, Lori!
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Those are gorgeous! I wish I had seen them before my last trip to the store. I still have goodies to make for neighbors!
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I love these! I am not a huge fan of peppermint bark because it is too crunchy for me, however, on top of cookie…I can get down with that! LOVE IT!
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This looks like a must make!!
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I would name them Jackson Pollock cookies!
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These look so festive. I actually bought a couple of boxes of candy canes this year. I have never seen them for sale here. Candy canes are an American thing.I’m glad some made their way across the pond. I am going to make these for Christmas day. Thank you for such a stunning but simple bake
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Gosh, these look just perfect. I experimented with some peppermint barkish candy/cookies yesterday and, though they tasted good, they didn’t look nearly as nice (thus they did not merit a post on my blog–too bad!). Love your blog, as always!
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Yum! This looks delicious.
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Thanks for the review! They look phenomenal. I just picked up a copy of December’s BA so I am definitely going to try these – probably w/the candy canes so we’ll see how it goes!
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Thanks so much for the recipe! They were a gorgeous and delicious addition to my cookie platter. Definitely a keeper!!
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Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I have been racking my brain on how to use the candy cane kisses. I made these last night, the kisses were almost impossible to find
But what I did instead of drizzling white chocolate on top, I swirled the slightly melting kisses in with the chocolate and that worked out perfect. These were great! They are replacing my peppermint bark from now on.
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these cookies are fantastic – both delicious and a gorgeous addition on any dessert tray. the best part: using store-bought sugar cookie dough gave me that much more time for last-minute christmas shopping/wrapping! thanks so much for the recipe – they were a huge family hit, and i’ll definitely be making them again and again!
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I made these this weekend and was surprised when I checked them at 24 minutes and found them to be already overdone (sadness.) I know my oven is right-on temperature wise so next time, will check between 18-20 minutes. I was just wondering if anyone else found that they cooked faster than the recipe suggests? I’m not giving up though and will be making them again for sure. Thanks for sharing – love your website!
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Lori Lange Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 5:20 PM
Jeanelle- Hmmm- that’s interesting that it baked up faster than expected. Just double checked the Bon Appetit recipe that I adapted from & it definitely says 30 minutes. I find that ovens can be very different in terms of the temperature that they “actually” are. Yours might run a little hotter perhaps?
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