Chocolate Mint Kiss Crinkles

Things that I loved in 1990:

-My crimping iron
-Sweatshirts with puffy painted koala bears
-Saved By The Bell
-My bedroom: a shrine to Joey McIntyre
-That Hershey's Kisses came out in Almond flavor, thus embarking the Kiss evolution to the best kisses ever: Holiday Flavors.

I mean, don't you agree? Christmas candy isn't just red and green anymore. There are special flavors you can only get during certain times. Flavors you crave all year long until finally, finally they show up in the stores. I wait all year long for the Candy Cane Kisses and these Mint Truffle ones. I snatch up several packs as soon as I see them just in case they run out. Then I "save" them for baking, slowly eating one or two or ten a day until I have to buy more so I can actually make something out of them.

I searched long and hard for what to pair with these Mint Truffle Kisses. While perusing Pinterest I, of course, came across an awesome looking chocolate cookie with loads of chocolate but no flour or butter, ensuring a rich, deep chocolate flavor. I thought they'd pair awesome with these Kisses, and they certainly did!



I made these cookies for the Food Blogger Cookie Swap. I love cookie swaps, but can you believe I've never hosted one and I've only been to a few in my lifetime? As soon as I heard about this swap, I knew I wanted to participate. It was easy; I baked three dozen cookies and mailed a dozen to three different bloggers. In return, I got three dozen cookies in the mail. I was never more excited to see my mailman!

A big thanks to Rachel at The Fromagette, Michelle at Red Pepper, Green Pepper, and Tiffini at The House of Belonging for the awesome treats! Rachel sent me some awesome cranberry white-chocolate dipped biscotti and granola that was to die for. I ate Michelle's rugelach in only a few days and didn't want to share with my daughter. And Tiffini's Oatmeal white chocolate butterscotch pretzel cookies? Amazing!

I tripled the original recipe for these cookies because the yield was 18. I ended up with a TON of cookies, which is a good thing because then I got to eat some! If you like rich chocolate and mint, these are the cookies for you. They are easy to make and great for a cookie swap. A perfect use for seasonal Kisses.

Now, is it Easter yet? I'm dying for some Coconut Kisses.

Chocolate Mint Kiss Crinkles

Recipe adapted from Divine Baking

Ingredients

4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

9 large egg whites, room temperature

4 ½ cups powdered sugar, plus more for rolling

1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons cornstarch

½ teaspoon salt

About 60 Mint Truffle Hershey’s Kisses

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350°. Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper and unwrap your Kisses. Melt 3 cups of the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Cool slightly.

2.       Whisk 3 cups powdered sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

3.       Beat egg whites in an electric mixer until they form soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 ½ cups powdered sugar. Continue beating until fluffy and thicker (a little thinner than marshmallow crème). Beat dry ingredients into the meringue on low speed. Stir in lukewarm chocolate and remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips. *The dough will seem too liquid to scoop. Give it a few minutes and it will stiffen a lot!*

4.       Place about a cup of powdered sugar in a bowl. Roll balls of cookie dough (about a tablespoon) in powdered sugar and place on prepared cookie sheets. Bake about 8-10 minutes. Immediately place one Mint Kiss on each cookie. Do not move cookies until they are completely cooled or the Kiss will collapse.

Note: This makes about 5-6 dozen cookies. I originally tripled the recipe because the yield was 18 but I ended up with way more. You could cut the recipe in half if needed.

This recipe may be linked with:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts. Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology), Mushki Loves My Stuff (Mushki Loves), Totally Tasty Tuesdays (Mandy's Recipe Box), Talent Show Tuesday (Chef in Training). Wednesday: Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party (Mrs. Fox's Sweets) Made It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart), This Chick Cooks.  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy), Tastetastic Thursday (A little nosh), Sweet Temptations (Talking Dollars and Cents). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate). Saturday: Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies), Seasonal Inspiration (Crumbs and Chaos). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters), Strut your Stuff Saturday (Six Sisters' Stuff), Moms Crazy Cooking