Candy Cane Kiss Sugar Cookie Bars

These are the bars that inspired me to make some different Christmas cookies this year. I saw this recipe and thought that would be great for Christmas and I happen to have the candy cane Hershey's kisses on hand and this is a great way to use them.

adapted from the recipe here

Ingredients

Bars

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups finely chopped Hershey's candy cane kisses - about 45 kisses

Frosting

1 1/2 cup vanilla chips
1 Tablespoon vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

For the bars:
In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla until combined. In a separate bowl whisk the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Gently fold in the chopped Hershey kisses.

Press dough into the pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges begin to have a golden brown look. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.

For the frosting:
In a double boiler, or microwave, melt the chocolate chips and the shortening until smooth. Add the extract and stir. Pour over the bars in the pan. After the topping is hard remove from the pan using the parchment to lift them out. Slice into bars.

~Michelle