When I saw the Candy-Cane Hershey Kisses, I just couldn't say no. When I saw this recipe on the bag, I knew I had made the right decision.

Confession: I only ate one. I am blessed this year to have a lot of people to bake for, especially since I'm trying to break my cycle/battle with food.

The one I had though? Delicious. Be careful. I had to chew on some gum to keep myself from eating all of these. If you like peppermint... they are THAT addicting.

Ingredients:

- 1 bag of Hershey brand Candy-Cane Kisses
- 1/2 butter, softened
- 1 C sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 C all-purpose, unbleached flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp milk (I used skim)
*red or green sugar crystals, powdered sugar, or festive sprinkles

Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Beat butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl.

- Add flour, baking soda, and salt to butter mixture. Add milk as needed, alternating with flour mixture. Use your mixer as long as possible, if not until the mix is well blended.

*I refrigerated the dough for a bit since I had to take care of Michael and rolling the cookies was a bit time consuming. You do not HAVE to refrigerate the dough, but I would say it makes it a bit easier.*

- Shape dough into 1" to 2" balls. Roll in sugar or sprinkles if you wish to make the cookies much more festive.
- Place on a nonstick cookie sheet, or lightly sprayed cookie sheet, and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

This is where I had some trouble. My first batch turned out like this...
So, the kisses looked more like melted candy canes or discolored witch's hats.

My second batch was slightly better, but sadly not as perfect as I'd like. I put the kisses in the fridge, and wonder if I had put them in the freezer if they had turned out perfect. So...

- Remove your cookies from the baking sheet to a cooling rack. Let sit for 2 to 3 minutes before placing candy-cane Hershey kisses in the center.

These are fabulous cookies for a party or to give away. Enjoy!


There's still time! Enter the Atkinson Drive and Exquisite Crafts giveaways!

Although I've been beyond focused on sticking to a budget, there come times when you need to just splurge a bit. Live a little. Ya know?

I wanted to put together a care package for my little sister (who is a freshman at the University of Kansas this year!), and I wasn't about to do it half-heartedly. Although buying name brand, specific things can be pricey at the grocery store-- sometimes you do whatcha gotta do.

Since it is Autumn (just about), I thought what better way to celebrate than to make this adorable treat I found on Pinterest (which, actually, my little sister initially pinned-- so I knew it was a keeper/winner for the care package).

Ingredients:

- Hershey Kisses
- mini chocolate chip morsels
- Nutter Butter (bite size)

Directions:

- Melt about 1 C of mini chocolate chips (about half of the bag) in the microwave or over the stove top.

*Never add water. I learned this the hard way once while making chocolate covered strawberries.*

- Carefully dip the flat end of a Hershey Kiss into the melted chocolate and bind it to a Nutter Butter. Do the same with a mini chocolate chip (see the picture).


- Repeat as many times as you like. Careful leaving these lying around, though! Many of mine kept mysteriously disappearing and I would have to make more.

Great for goody bags, too (like pictured below)! The bags and leaves I bought at our local Dollar Tree, so they clearly didn't break the bank!

I also gave in and bought three cans of pumpkin today. Needless to say, there's going to be some serious pumpkin recipes coming!