Christmas Candy Cane Blossoms

What with my holiday baking beginning this week, I thought I'd share a new recipe I stumbled across on Pinterest.  I made these for Jessie's class Christmas party & they were a huge hit, they are pretty enough that I'd include them in our gift tins (I always give Michael's colleagues a cookie tin filled with homemade goodies for Christmas).  Here's the recipe & some pics of the ones I baked with Jessie girl :)

Candy Cane Blossoms

recipe from Hershey's

1 bag Hershey;s Kisses brand Candy Cane Kisses

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons milk

Red and Green colored sugar

Preheat over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove wrappers from candies (approx. 35)

Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternatively with milk to butter mixture, beating until well blended.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in red and/or green colored sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 - 1o minutes or until edges are lightly browned and cookies is set. Remove from oven; cool 2 to 3 minutes. Press candy piece into center of each cookie. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Yields approximately 35 cookies.

This was mine on the cookie sheets before they went in the oven, it was kind of trying for an OCD person like myself to get the little candies distrubuted evenly, but in the end they turned out fine, if I were to make them again, I wouldn't put candies on the bottoms of the cookies

Aren't they festive??

Pretty enough to eat

Here's a look at the gift tins I did this year.  I simplified them some from years past as I have gotten a little behind & I'm trying to beat the impending snow!  I settled on cheesecake brownies, homemade toffee dipped in chocolate & nuts, candy cane blossoms, & gingerbread.

And of course, I did have 2 little taste testers, who I am sure made everything sweeter :)  Here's the littlest elf helping out with the taste testing.  The brownie batter was a huge hit (I realize I shouldn't give my kids brownie batter due to the raw egg, but a little won't hurt :)