In this recipe for chocolate kiss cookies, a rich chocolatey cookie is rolled in sugar (or sprinkles) and topped with a chocolate kiss. These Hersey kiss cookies are blossom cookies for chocolate lovers and a delicious addition to your holiday cookie tray or to bake any time of the year.
Unwrap 18 chocolate kisses. Put them in a bowl in the freezer.
In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until combined.
Beat in egg and vanilla until fluffy.
Mix in the dry ingredients until combined.
Add mini chocolate chips and beat on low speed to combine.
Tightly cover dough with plastic wrap or transfer dough to an airtight container and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Put ¼ cup sugar in a small bowl, set aside.
Use a 1 ½ Tablespoon cookie scoop to measure out dough and then roll it into balls.
Roll each ball of dough in the sugar until evenly coated, then place them on prepared cookie sheets evenly spaced, with at least 1 ½” between the cookies.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 8 minutes. Take them out when they are just barely set. They will not spread very much.
Gently press the frozen chocolate kisses into the cookies.
Let them cool on the baking pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Notes
Ingredient Substitutions
Salted Butter. Unsalted butter, vegan butter and coconut oil are good substitutes.
White Sugar. use white sugar or organic cane sugar.
Light brown sugar. Dark brown sugar is a good substitute.
Flour. Use a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free baking flour for a gluten-free cookie.
Unsweetened cocoa powder. For a darker variety use dark cocoa powder.
Mini Chocolate Chips. I prefer mini chips because they don't overpower the chocolate kiss in the middle, however you can use regular chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.
Chocolate kisses. You can have some fun and substitute your favorite chocolate candy. I have used Dove chocolates (especially hearts around Valentine's Day), pieces of my favorite chocolate bar, peanut butter cups, etc.
Sugar/sprinkles. The fun thing about this recipe is that you can dress it up for any holiday. Either just roll the chocolate kiss cookies in sugar, or choose your favorite sprinkles. Think red & green for Christmas, orange and black for Halloween, red & pink for Valentine's Day, etc.)
StoreIt's important to make sure that the cookies cool completely and the kisses harden before trying to store them. When I bake these in the winter I just set them outside in the cold to harden faster. Then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.Freeze Baked CookiesYou can freeze baked chocolate kiss cookies. First, let them cool completely then store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Or Freeze the DoughPortion out the dough and roll it into balls then roll it in sugar or sprinkles. Then place it on a baking sheet and flash-freeze the balls until hardened. Once hardened, transfer the dough balls to an airtight container until you're ready to bake.To bake: remove the dough from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature for 2 hours before baking according to the recipe instructions. This is my preferred method, because you can bake them fresh when you're ready to enjoy them.