A deliciously decadent chocolate cookie, coated in sugar, and topped with a chocolate kiss, Hershey’s Kiss Cookies are a perfect holiday treat that everyone will love! Want my advice? Make a lot of these, because they will disappear quite quickly!
We have another thumbprint type of cookie again today. Yesterday’s recipe, although similar in technique to these Hershey’s Kiss Cookies, have a completely different flavour. This is another recipe that freezes well and is fun to make with kids. They will love to roll the cookie dough in sugar and to stick that chocolate right into the center. Hopefully, the don’t eat them all first!
It might come as no surprise to my readers that I’m back with a third installment of Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas. Should you be new here, let me tell you a bit about how this works. This is my third annual Christmas cookie extravaganza. Like the previous two years, I will post a brand new Christmas cookie recipe for 24 consecutive days. Yes, that means Saturdays and Sundays too! For your reference, you can find links to the first two years further down the page.
Fresh off of my 12 Biscotti of Christmas series, I’m excited to get this new series started. Last year, I also did 12 Bundt Cakes of Christmas. Now, who’s ready to get started on this journey with me? Do you have someone in the kitchen to help you? Are your Hershey’s Kisses all unwrapped? Did you eat a few of the chocolates just to make sure they’re “good?” Is your apron on and your oven preheated? Good! Let’s get to it!
VISITING HERSHEY PARK
A few years ago, John.e and I decided to take McKenna to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania for a mid-July road trip. We piled into the car, along with my ex-wife, (because we all get along greatly) and made the drive. The park was great! There were lots of rides, lots of activities, and lots and lots of chocolate.
Hershey’s chocolate was everywhere! And, much of it was free. Almost every shop at the park had an attendant handing out sample chocolate kisses. McKenna was so happy. And, so was John.e. But, I wasn’t. You see, Dear Reader, I don’t care much for Hershey chocolate. When it comes to mass-produced chocolate, I much prefer Cadbury.
To be perfectly honest, I grew rather tired of declining the free chocolate. The purpose of the visit was to take McKenna there. I wanted to go, because I knew a part of the trip would find me in Amish country, and I was dying to get to their markets!
MORE CHRISTMAS COOKIE RECIPES!
Did you know that I’ve been posting a 24 Cookies of Christmas series for a few years now? There are over 100 Christmas cookie recipes that you can find right here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen! To make it easier to find, I have created a page for each series. Just click on the image below and you’ll find the full series for that volume all one page!
CHOCOLATE SUBSTITUTES
I went ahead and used the Hershey’s Kisses in this Hershey’s Kiss Cookies recipe, despite them not being my favourite. They are extremely easy to find and very inexpensive. Also, they work very well in this cookie recipe and 99% of the population tends to like them. It was an easy decision.
A few years back, I posted a similar recipe – Christmas Peanut Butter Rosettes. In that recipe, I used a chocolate with a rosette shape. If you prefer, you can use those instead of the kisses.
My favourite brand of rosettes were Neilson’s. Do you remember the Neilson’s brand? They are extremely hard to find, in fact, I’m not sure they’re even made anymore. I have not seen them in years! They used to make really good rosettes. The Neilson’s brand of rosettes were called Golden Buds. I’ve seen other brands called Rose Buds as well.
TRIVIA
I learned this when we visited Hershey Park. Do you know why their most popular chocolate confection, the kiss, is called a kiss? Well, we know they are called Hershey’s because the founder was Milton S. Hershey. He introduced the kiss chocolate in 1907.
The name “kiss” was adopted and applied to the confection, because of the sound the melted chocolate made when it was dropped from the vats onto the conveyer belt. The name stuck and it’s hard to imagine those little chocolates being called anything else!
MORE CHRISTMAS CONFECTIONS!
In some cases, we want more than a cookie. That’s why I have two more Christmas-themed collections you might want to consider. The first, is my 12 Bundt Cakes of Christmas, and the second is my 12 Biscotti of Christmas. Click on the image below to see each collection all on one page with links to each recipe!
STORING, PACKAGING, AND FREEZING
If you plan to freeze these cookies, you certainly can! Once they are completely cooled, pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight fitting lid too. (I use these quite often when freezing baked goods.) I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that cookie freshness locked in! You can freeze these cookies for up to three months.
CONCLUSION:
As I said, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 100 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!
Hershey’s Kiss Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sanding sugar (can use granulated sugar)
- 44 Hershey's Kiss Chocolates, unwrapped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and both sugars until creamy and smooth. About 2-3 minutes.
- Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Beat to incorporate.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and beat on low speed until just mixed in.
- Roll mixture into balls using 1 1/2 teaspoons of the dough for each cookie. Roll in the sanding sugar and place on the prepared baking sheet. Leave two inches of space between each cookie.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and place a Hershey's Kiss in the center of each cookie. Push the chocolate down into the baked cookie until you feel slight resistance.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes. Carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling or until the chocolate has hardened.
Nutrition
Katherine Johnson says
How cone my cookies came out flat? But they sure are yummy!!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
I’m not sure why they would be flat, Katherine. My only guess without knowing exactly what you did would be that your baking soda is old. Baking soda does expire.