Gingerbread Kiss Cookies

Pillowy soft gingerbread cookies, lightly coated in sugar and topped off with a Hershey’s chocolate kiss. A must make holiday cookie.

Gingerbread Kiss Cookie Recipe from bakedbyrachel.com

This is my official kick-off to holiday baking. Or rather, Christmas holiday baking. Because there’s always a holiday of some sort. I’ve made a handful of thumbprint cookies before but never a kiss or blossom cookie. I don’t really get why some people call them blossoms. Chocolate blooming from a cookie? They don’t look like flowers blooming.

Gingerbread Kiss Cookie Recipe from bakedbyrachel.com

Due to a fairly recent allergy diagnosis in my immediate family, making traditional peanut butter blossoms, aka kiss cookies, were out of the question. My next logical thought was Biscoff because it’s a fantastic substitution for peanut butter in just about any recipe or situation, but it just wasn’t screaming Christmas or holiday baking to me.

Gingerbread Kiss Cookie Recipe from bakedbyrachel.com

I had one of those light-bulb moments of o m g it needs to be gingerbread. Yes, seriously. Pillowy soft gingerbread cookies, lightly coated in sugar and topped off with a Hershey’s chocolate kiss. They’re out of this world incredible. I’m not even remotely exaggerating. Of course, you must be a huge fan of gingerbread flavored goodies… but I am, so I’m completely allowed to make that kind of statement. A-maaazing!

Make these, love these and never think about peanut butter or Biscoff again. Okay maybe that’s going too far.

Gingerbread Kiss Cookies

Pillowy soft gingerbread cookies, lightly coated in sugar and topped off with a Hershey's chocolate kiss.
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Chocolate, Cookie, Gingerbread
Servings: 5 dozen

Ingredients

  • 3 C all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 C unsalted butter softened
  • 3/4 C light brown sugar
  • 1/2 C molasses
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 C granulated sugar
  • 60 Hershey's Kisses unwrapped

Instructions

  • In a large bowl combine first six ingredients, set aside. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar. Add molasses, egg and vanilla, mixing until nearly combined. Mix in flour mixture, beating until fully combined.
  • Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 2-4 hours or overnight. Dough should be fairly firm but still easy to work with and roll. Remove dough 20 minutes prior to baking.
  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
  • Shape dough into 1" balls, roll in sugar and space 2" apart on prepared baking sheet.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes. Immediately press an unwrapped chocolate kiss into each cookie. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a covered container.

Notes

Recipe yields roughly 5 dozen cookies.
*Notes: This is sticky dough that needs to be chilled prior to rolling. Factor in chill time when planning to make this. Also, this dough freezes well so a full batch can be mixed and only a portion cooked if desired.
An original recipe from Baked by Rachel
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40 Responses to “Gingerbread Kiss Cookies”

  1. #
    1
    amanda @ fake ginger — December 3, 2012 at 6:53 am

    Great idea! They look amazing!

  2. #
    2
    Lauren at Keep It Sweet — December 3, 2012 at 7:57 am

    Love this twist for a nut-free version, so perfect for the holidays!

  3. #
    3
    Erin|The Law Student's Wife — December 3, 2012 at 9:26 am

    Gingerbread is one of my all time fave Christmas flavors. Love the update to the classic PB blossom!

  4. #
    4
    Tara @ Chip Chip Hooray — December 3, 2012 at 10:40 am

    Adorable! And such a great substitution for peanut butter at the holidays. :)

  5. #
    5
    Becca @ Crumbs and Chaos — December 3, 2012 at 10:44 am

    LOVE this gingerbread/chocolate combo…GREAT idea!!

  6. #
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    Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel — December 3, 2012 at 11:12 am

    Gorgeous photos, girl! And these cookies look amazing.. I easily want a dozen to myself.

  7. #
    7
    Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie — December 3, 2012 at 11:18 am

    I love gingerbread and chocolate together

  8. #
    8
    Alaina @ Fabtastic Eats — December 3, 2012 at 11:59 am

    oh yum..I love this! I love soft cookies more than anything..I can’t wait to try these!

  9. #
    9
    Jamie @ Thrifty Veggie Mama — December 3, 2012 at 1:12 pm

    Love this! I love gingerbread so I bet the combo is great!

  10. #
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    Cassie | Bake Your Day — December 3, 2012 at 1:48 pm

    First, that cake plate is adorable. Second, there is no way my self-control would hold for these. I love how soft and chewy they are!

  11. #
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    nicole @ I am a Honey Bee — December 3, 2012 at 1:56 pm

    i unwrapped all my kisses last night to make cookies tonight. these kiss cookies are so addictive.

    Love the idea of gingerbread ones

  12. #
    12
    Caroline — December 3, 2012 at 3:23 pm

    These look great, I’m bookmarking this!

  13. #
    13
    Julie @ Table for Two — December 3, 2012 at 3:24 pm

    just wanted to say i had the PLEASURE of devouring 3-4 of these at Mixed this weekend and they were AMAZING. Super soft gingerbread cookie! I loved it. And I love you. A lot. I can’t wait to see you again :) :) :)

  14. #
    14
    brandi — December 3, 2012 at 4:11 pm

    these look fabulous! i LOVE ginger and chocolate together :)

  15. #
    15
    claire @ the realistic nutritionist — December 3, 2012 at 4:18 pm

    These are so cute. I love kiss cookies. I usually end up eating all of the kisses though.

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      15.1
      Rachel — December 3, 2012 at 4:32 pm

      I think all but one time I’ve bit the Kiss off before eating the cookie :)

  16. #
    16
    Gabbie — December 3, 2012 at 4:47 pm

    These look delish! I must try them later.

  17. #
    17
    Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen — December 3, 2012 at 7:22 pm

    They are so puffy and delicious looking!!

  18. #
    18
    what katie's baking — December 3, 2012 at 10:54 pm

    these look SO good. soooo festive!

  19. #
    19
    Angel — December 4, 2012 at 8:09 am

    Gingerbread is more festive than peanut butter,great idea !

  20. #
    20
    Tracey — December 4, 2012 at 10:37 am

    What a fun combo Rachel – I love gingerbread and chocolate together! I so wish I had Hershey’s Kisses in the house right now.

  21. #
    21
    Jan — December 4, 2012 at 12:53 pm

    Yeah and Thanks! I was looking for a different kind of kiss cookie to add on to my list! Yum!

  22. #
    22
    Julia | JuliasAlbum.com — December 4, 2012 at 3:50 pm

    These look so lovely! That’s the kind of gingerbread cookie that I will eat!

  23. #
    23
    Lindsay @Artsy-Fartsy Mama — December 9, 2012 at 6:03 pm

    Yum! These sound amazing!! Thanks for sharing.

    I also wanted to let you know that I featured you on my blog today

  24. #
    24
    Elle — December 18, 2012 at 10:59 am

    Hi! I made these last night and they turned out AMAZING! I think I love them more than the peanut butter version!

    I posted about them on my blog, if that’s a problem just let me know and I will remove :)

    Thanks so much for sharking this recipe!

    • #
      24.1
      Rachel — December 18, 2012 at 3:39 pm

      So glad to hear you enjoyed them so much! And thank you for linking back :)

  25. #
    25
    Caren — December 18, 2012 at 5:53 pm

    I am making the dough for these tonight for my Christmas gifts. Using this recipe as well as a few other favorites from your site.

  26. #
    26
    Valentina — December 28, 2012 at 3:04 pm

    Hey. loove the recipe, just beautiful cookies :)
    I have one little problem, here in my country there’s no molases, is there any substitute for molases? maybe honey? or just skip the molases?
    Pleaasee, let me know so i can bake this wonderful cookies as soon as i can :D

  27. #
    27
    Yvonne @ bitter baker — January 29, 2013 at 11:04 pm

    These look great!! I would have loved to made them for this Holiday. On the other hand, I can happily eat gingerbread cookies all year long!

  28. #
    28
    Mandy — December 1, 2013 at 10:06 pm

    I am so excited about these since Peanut Blossoms were one of my favorite holiday treats and I recently found out I needed to be peanut free . Will be trying these soon. Thank you!

    • #
      28.1
      Rachel — December 2, 2013 at 7:08 am

      I might be biased but I think these are worlds better than peanut butter blossoms. Of course, I haven’t had a peanut butter version in probably a decade lol. I hope you enjoy them!! :)

  29. #
    29
    Moana — December 15, 2013 at 2:12 pm

    These are so wonderful. I love the hershey pb ones but my husband didnt. We both love this cookie. Will definitely make them again. Thanks for sharing.

    • #
      29.1
      Rachel — December 16, 2013 at 8:21 am

      So glad to hear it! :)

  30. #
    30
    Kelsie — January 5, 2014 at 9:38 am

    Hey! I saw these and they looked delicious! So i tried to make them, but the dough was super crumbly and dry but if i pressed them together they were okay. After baking them they were still a bit dry but still good! Any suggestions? I live in Utah, so its a higher elevation and really dry, don’t know if that has anything to do with it.. :/

    Thanks!

    • #
      30.1
      Rachel — January 5, 2014 at 8:19 pm

      I’ve made them multiples times without issue. Occasionally it’s the difference between using a hand mixer vs stand mixer. A stand mixer is much more powerful, giving better results for certain recipes over what a hand mixer would offer. It’s also possible that measurements were off or as you noted, the altitude could have played a role. Unfortunately when it comes to baking there are so many possibilities that I cannot pinpoint it for you.

  31. #
    31
    Alida @My Little Italian Kitchen — November 30, 2015 at 5:23 am

    These little bites look so inviting. Love your presentation and photographs. I would love to make these for Christmas!

    • #
      31.1
      Rachel — November 30, 2015 at 7:36 am

      Thanks Alida!

  32. #
    32
    Robin | CaliGirl Cooking — December 20, 2015 at 3:37 pm

    Just made these yesterday..Yum! Oh, and I subbed dark chocolate kisses for the regular (they were out of regular at the store) and it was sooooo good!

    • #
      32.1
      Rachel — December 20, 2015 at 7:37 pm

      So glad you enjoyed them, Robin! :)

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