Chocolate Kiss Sugar Cookies

Here’s a yummy little chocolate sugar cookie with a Hershey’s Kiss tucked in the middle! As you can see in the photo above, you can decorate these cookies with candy cane kisses, milk chocolate kisses, or dark chocolate kisses. Or, you can use 3 chocolate chips pressed into the center of each cookie, and they’re yummy that way too!

These cookies are easy to make, but you need to use these tips to get the best results:

If using Candy Cane Kisses, unwrap them ahead of time and keep them refrigerated until ready to use (these kisses get more melty faster than the regular chocolate kisses when you’re placing them on hot cookies).
Another tip if using Candy Cane Kisses: You need to work fast—after the cookies come out of the oven, press the Candy Cane Kisses into all of them quickly, then remove them from the cookie sheet onto a wire rack to cool. If the cookies stay on the hot cookie sheet over a minute, the Candy Cane Kisses start to get too melty. This isn’t as much of a problem if you are using the regular chocolate kisses.

Those are really the most important things you need to know—and even if you work fast, those Candy Cane Kisses will still get a little melty on you. But they taste so good on top of the little chocolate cookies, I’m okay with that! Or, if you prefer, you can use milk or dark chocolate kisses, or butterscotch, peanut butter, vanilla, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate chips (it’s a great way to use up those extra small amounts of baking chips you have left over from other recipes!).

Chocolate Kiss Sugar Cookies

Servings: 36-38
Time: 1hr
Difficulty: easy
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CHOCOLATE KISS SUGAR COOKIES by NancyC
Makes 36 to 38 cookies

4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
36 to 38 Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses (refrigerate them until ready to use). Or, use milk or dark chocolate kisses; or butterscotch, peanut butter, vanilla, milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In medium bowl, cream softened butter and sugar until well-blended. Beat in egg, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Add flour and cocoa powder, and mix until a dough forms (this will be a thick, stiff dough).

Chill dough for 10 to 15 minutes to make it easier to form into balls. Then scoop out slightly rounded teaspoons of dough and roll into balls. Place balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350˚F for 10 to 11 minutes, until edges are firm.

Remove from oven; working quickly (because the candy cane kisses get soft and melty quickly), gently press a candy cane kiss into the center of each cookie (surface of cookies may crack slightly). OR use milk or dark chocolate kisses, or chocolate, vanilla, or butterscotch baking chips. As soon as you’re done, remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from NancyC | nancy-c.com

If you’re making these cookies for the holidays, the Candy Cane Kisses are the most festive! But these cookies are a great treat all year long, so you can vary the kinds of Kisses you use in this recipe depending on the season!

Are you doing a lot of cookie-baking this season?

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