Peppermint Kisses

Peppermint Kisses

It was my turn today to take goodies to our 52-member quilt guild meeting. I decided on these Peppermint Kisses that are the easiest, most refreshing and delicious cookie dessert made in under 10 minutes using just 5 ingredients. 

A Tray of Kisses Ready for Transporting

They made his eyes sparkle with surprise and delight, as my candid food critic at home gave his stamp of approval to these delicate morsels, comparing them to Bengali sandesh. A popular milk dessert on the Bengali table, sandesh is made from homemade cottage cheese following a lengthy and tedious process.

A Lone Kiss

In contrast, Peppermint Kisses need no cooking or baking. Four of the five ingredients are simply combined thoroughly, formed into balls the size of quarters and finished with Hershey's peppermint kisses. Just make sure all ingredients are brought to room temperature before assembling. What could be simpler!

Ingredients: (makes 3 dozen kisses)

4 oz. (1/2 block) cream cheese

1 (16 oz.) bag confectioner's/powdered sugar

1/4 stick (1 oz.) unsalted butter

1 tsp. peppermint extract

3 dozen Hershey's peppermint (or other) kisses

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients to form a dough, making sure all the sugar is incorporated into the cream cheese; I gave it 50 strokes with a spatula by hand.
2. Take one pinch of dough at a time and roll in the palm of your hand to form into a smooth ball.
3. Place each ball in a mini-cupcake liner on a serving dish.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 until all the dough is used.
5. Press a Hershey's kiss into the center of each ball of dough.
6. Refrigerate for at least an hour to set and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Notes:

• Make these one at a time to avoid drying out the rest of the dough.
• Wash your hands after forming the balls and before pressing Hershey's kisses in to avoid transferring powdered sugar and to keep the chocolate kisses pristine.