United Bakes of America Round 7 and Christmas Chocolate Crinkle Kiss Cookies!

Now that was a mouthful! I have been wanting to make crinkle cookies for so long, they seem so simple yet look so effective! and when I saw that Bakergirl had made some and put festive Hershey's Kisses on top I knew I had to make them a.s.a.p because I had a cupboard stuffed full of festive Kisses so it was the perfect match! 

You can really decorate them with any chocolate you like, for the caramel lovers Rolo's would be fun, for the peanut butter lovers mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups would be super delish, but for mine I used 3 varieties of Hershey's Kisses: peppermint candy cane, mint truffle and cookies and cream.

They all turned out to be so yummy that I had a hard time to not devour them all in one evening! but my favourite of the bunch had to be the mint truffle kiss cookie! The cookies themselves are so rich and fudgy, and the addition of a flavoured kiss on top just sends them over the edge!

These would be the perfect cookie to make for your christmas cookie exchange, or to hand out as christmas gifts or to just have around the house for all those visitors you will be getting in the next few weeks!

Bake these up and your Christmas visitors will love you for it!

Christmas Chocolate Crinkle Kiss Cookies:

Makes 30

From Bakergirl

2 cups plain flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking salt

2 cups caster sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup icing sugar

Assorted Hershey's Kisses (I used peppermint, mint truffle and cookies and cream)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract.  Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture, until just combined.  Place plastic wrap over the bowl and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours.  

Meanwhile, unwrap Hershey's Kisses, place in a small bowl and freeze until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil; set aside.  Place icing sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Scoop dough into 1/2 tablespoon balls (make sure you stick firmly to the 1/2 tablespoon...I thought that seemed like hardly any dough at all so I was more generous with my first batch and they turned out huge!), roll in the icing sugar, and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 11-13 minutes, until cookies crackle and no longer look raw (they'll start to look cakey).

Remove from oven.  Immediately press a frozen kiss into each cookie, then place cookie sheet into the freezer just until chocolate is set and is no longer shiny.  Remove from freezer and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

...and there you have it! I dare you not to eat more than 5 in one go! 

Now, onto what other US inspired treats others have been baking! Ros from The More Than Occasional Baker made these absolutely adorable little Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Baked Buttermilk Mini Donuts! Not only do they have Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on top, but they also have vanilla pudding inside the donuts which is an ingredient you can only get in the States! Luckily, Ros thought to pick some up last time she was there 'just in case' and lucky she did! The recipe she used is also from a California blogger, Picky Palate, who happens to be one of my fave bloggers - in fact I forgot that I myself had recommended this recipe to Ros a few months back knowing the peanut butter loving fan she is! Glad she got a chance to try them...now I'm planning to try them myself too after these drool worthy pics! What's not to love about a light and fluffy buttermilk doughnut, dipped in ganache and covered in mighty chunks of peanut butter cup! 

My coconut loving blogging friend, Kit, from I-Lost in Austen made this beautiful Praline Bundt Cake after her husband brought her back a Bundt pan from his business trip to San Diego (lucky thing!). Apparently Bundt pans are hard to come by in France and so she was pretty pleased with her gift, I bet her husband was too after she baked this yummy sounding recipe! The bundt has chopped pecans and praline baked inside as well as cream cheese resulting in a super moist cake which I think is evident from the picture and as if that isn't delicious enough, it was then drizzled with praline icing! 

Finally, my sister Tamara baked up these Snickers Blondies using the Outsider Tart cookbook.  I am super jealous because I know exactly what these taste like, I tried one for myself back here and so I know just what I was missing out on by not living nearby enough to pop on over for a piece! They are baked like a brownie but packed with caramel, chocolate and peanut goodness and then drizzled with caramel and peanuts on top! If you live in London, you can try the real deal by picking one up from Outsider Tart themselves! You won't be sorry!

So I'm super excited to see what everyone bakes up this month, especially because it's December and as bakers we will all be in overload and I'm hoping lots of fun festive stuff will pop up! Be sure to enter UBA if it's an American inspired dish or uses American ingredients, because I love to see what you come up with!

Happy baking!