Gingerbread Kiss Cookies combine the spiciness of the Christmas season’s most popular flavor with the sweetness of Hershey’s Hugs to create the easiest, must-make holiday cookie.
Soft and chewy in the center, crispy on the edges, lightly coated in sugar, and topped with a chocolate kiss, these delicious treats are quick to bake and a fun way to spread some joy.
About Gingerbread Kiss Cookies
This Gingerbread Kiss Cookies recipe is a revised version of the traditional holiday cookie that features the same familiar ginger and spiced flavors as the original, but we add a fun twist to the Christmas classic–it’s topped with a kiss!
It is the ultimate contrast of creamy sweetness with the soft, spiced dough that simply makes holiday happiness in cookie form! These are sure to be a hit for your Christmas Cookie exchange!
This is the perfect easy recipe when you want to convey some holiday cheer because these delicious sweet treats show nothing but love. And sometimes, all you can send is a kiss in the shape of a cookie.
Why We Love This Gingerbread Kiss Cookies Recipe
- Quick and easy to make using simple pantry ingredients.
- Spicy ginger cookie pairs perfectly with the sweet chocolatey center.
- Deliciously soft and chewy.
- A warm, gingery smell flows throughout the whole house–you’ll have a house that smells like a holiday.
- Perfect for Christmas parties, holiday cookie exchanges, sweet treats to snack on, or to package as gifts.
Ingredients for Hershey Kiss Cookies
- All-purpose flour
- Ground ginger
- Ground cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground allspice
- Salted sweet cream butter
- Light brown sugar
- Molasses
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Hershey’s Hugs kisses: For gingerbread kiss cookies only.
- Sanding sugar: If you are not able to find sanding sugar you can use granulated sugar.
Substitutions and Additions
- Kisses: While I love the beautiful look of the white-striped kisses against the dark color of the cookies, feel free to use whatever type of kisses you prefer, including milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or caramel kisses.
- Gluten-free: To make this recipe gluten-free, use gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour.
- Add A Festive Flair: You can garnish your cookies with holiday sprinkles, chocolate flakes, sweetened dried cherries, or candied ginger for an extra festive flair.
Recommended Tools
- Cookie scoop
- Stand mixer or handheld mixer
- Baking sheet
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring tools
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How to Make Gingerbread Hershey Kiss Cookies
Gingerbread kiss cookies combine the spiciness of Christmas flavor with the sweetness of Hershey’s Hugs to create the easiest, must-make holiday cookie. Soft in the centers, crisp on the edges, lightly coated in sugar, and topped with a chocolate kiss, these delicious treats are quick to bake and a fun way to spread some joy.
- Combine flour, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, baking soda, ground nutmeg and ground allspice and set aside.
- Cream the butter. Add brown sugar to the butter and mix until combined.
Pro Tip: You can use a stand mixer or handheld mixer to cream the butter. To avoid flat cookies, make sure your butter is soft and at room temp and not melted, cold, or hard.
- Mix in molasses, egg and vanilla until well incorporated
- Mix in flour.
- Cover and place mixture in the refrigerator to chill.
Pro-Tip: Make sure you let your cookie dough chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to avoid it becoming too sticky. - Roll the chilled cookie dough into balls, coat with sanding sugar, and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
Pro Tip: Use a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop to evenly scoop out the cookie dough. You can use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop if you do not have a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop. - Bake at 350 Farenheit for 8-10 minutes and then allow the baked cookies to rest on the cookie sheet.
- Press a Hershey kiss in the center of each cookie.
- Cool, plate, and enjoy!
How to Store Gingerbread Kiss Cookies
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.
- To Freeze: You can freeze the baked/cooled cookie for up to 2 months. Allow the cookies to completely thaw before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can freeze the baked/cooled cookie for up to 2 months. You can also freeze the raw cookie dough. To freeze the unbaked dough, roll the chilled dough into balls and place them on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet uncovered in the freezer for 30 minutes, or until firm. Transfer the cookies to a resealable plastic freezer bag and store frozen for up to 3 months.
While the oven is preheating, remove the cookie dough balls from the freezer and roll them in sanding sugar. Place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 9 minutes.
If you want to buy sanding sugar, you can find it in many craft stores that have a cake decorating area. You can also find it in many grocery stores in the baking aisle. It is usually located with the sprinkles. You can also get it online here!
Other Easy Cookie Recipes
- Secret Kiss Cookies
- Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups
- Jello Cookies
- Old Fashioned Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Cookies and Cream Cookies
- Rainbow Sprinkle Cookies
- Ginger Cookies (White Chocolate Dipped)
Gingerbread Kiss Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ¾ cup salted sweet cream butter softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 30 Hershey’s Hugs kisses unwrapped
- Sanding sugar for coating the cookie dough balls
Instructions
- Using a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, baking soda, ground nutmeg and ground allspice. Set it aside.
- Using a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl and a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, cream the softened butter for 30 second to 1 minute.
- Add brown sugar and continue mixing on medium-high for 1 minute.
- Add the molasses, egg and vanilla. Mix just until well incorporated.
- Add flour mixture and mix just until combined.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Just before removing the dough from the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350*. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Using a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out the cookie dough. Roll the dough into a ball.
- Coat the dough ball in the sanding sugar and place the coated dough ball on the cookie sheet. Place the dough balls 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes. Press the unwrapped kiss in the center of the cookie. Allow the cookies to cool for another 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack to continue to cool completely.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.
- To Freeze: You can freeze the baked/cooled cookie for up to 2 months. Allow the cookies to completely thaw before serving.
- To avoid flat cookies, make sure your butter is soft and at room temp and not melted, cold, or hard.
- You can use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop if you do not have a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop.
- Make sure you let your cookie dough chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to avoid it becoming too sticky.
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