Chocolate Blossoms

The Christmas baking was full speed ahead this weekend with four different cookies made and safely away in the freezer awaiting my Christmas basket assembly. I'll blog each one eventually. This is going to be fun!

These Chocolate Blossoms are a twist on the traditional Peanut Blossoms made with peanut butter. Instead, these use cocoa which makes for an intense chocolate dough. It is important to shove (not a technical cooking term) the chocolate kiss quickly into the cookies as they come out of the oven before they cool too much to get them to adhere. I engaged the husband's help to do one tray while I did the other. Now I can tell you all he helped with the goodies this year.

Chocolate Blossoms

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

extra sugar for rolling the cookie balls

48 milk chocolate candy kisses, unwrapped

In large bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, shortening and butter; beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg, blend well. Add flour baking soda and salt and blend. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour for easier handling. (I omitted this step and they were fine.)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Shape dough into 1 inch balls; roll each ball in sugar and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set. Immediately top each cookie with a candy kiss, pressing down firmly so cookie cracks around the edges. Remove from cookie sheets to cool. Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.