Red Velvet Chocolate Kiss Cookies are a festive version of the classic Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies. They’re so pretty that we could call them Red Velvet Blossoms. We’re keeping the cookies small for the perfect cookie-to-chocolate ratio. Try this recipe today!
These Red Velvet Chocolate Kiss Cookies would be the perfect treat for your Valentine with the pretty red sanding sugar on them.
Or you could make these easy cookies for your Christmas Cookie Exchange this year.
The red color and chocolate kiss will be a standout on your Christmas treat table.
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Key to Success #1 – Start with Softened Butter
One of the most important steps to making cookies is creaming together the butter and sugar.
Creaming these ingredients together properly is the secret to tender cookies like we want in this recipe.
But in order to cream the butter and the sugar, it’s critical that the butter is softened but not melted.
Make sure your butter is softened before you start mixing it using a hand mixer.
Leave the butter out on the counter for a half-hour or more to allow it to soften.
If you are in a hurry, you can soften the butter in the microwave.
Microwave the cold butter on the defrost setting for 20-30 seconds.
You don’t want the butter to melt at all, but you want it to be soft enough to combine with the sugar easily.
Use your electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together at high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy and completely smooth.
The fluffy texture of the butter and sugar is the key to a great cookie.
Key to Success #2 – Roll the Dough into Small 1-inch Balls
The size of the red velvet cookie dough balls makes a huge difference in how your cookies turn out.
I said it once and I’ll say it again.
The key to a good kiss cookie is the chocolate-to-cookie ratio.
The easiest way to make consistent 1-inch dough balls is to use a small cookie scoop.
I have a small cookie scoop by OXO that I use all the time when I’m baking cookies or making small treats.
It holds 2 teaspoons of dough and is the perfect size for these red velvet kiss cookies.
Scoop the dough so that it fills the cookie scoop but doesn’t overflow out the top.
I often press the cookie scoop against the side of the bowl to wipe off the excess dough.
Next, dispense the dough into your hands and roll it into a tight ball then roll it in a small bowl of red sanding sugar until the dough is completely covered.
The red sanding sugar is optional, but that is what creates the beautiful red color on these cookies.
If you don’t have any red sanding sugar, you can use regular granulated sugar.
Finally, place the sugar-coated dough ball onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet two inches apart.
On my large cookie sheet, I can get 20 cookies on each sheet by placing the dough balls 4 across and 5 down.
The cookies will not spread much so that’s the reason we’re able to place them closer together than usual.
Key to Success #3 – Bake Then Kiss!
The magic behind any kiss cookies is adding the Hershey’s Kisses while the cookies are still warm so that the chocolate will start to melt into the cookie.
Start by baking your red velvet cookies for about 8 minutes at 350 degrees F.
The cookies will be very lightly browned and look round and puffy.
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and immediately press an unwrapped Hershey’s Kiss into the top of each cookie.
Be gentle with this step.
You don’t want to press the chocolate kiss all the way down to the bottom of the cookie.
Simply press the chocolate down lightly so that the cookies crack a bit and the Hershey’s kiss is perched on top.
The beautiful cracks in the top of the cookies make it look like a blossom with a chocolate center.
And the small cookies with the pretty Hershey’s Kiss on top create the perfect ratio of chocolate to delicious cookie.
Save this Red Velvet Chocolate Kiss Cookies recipe to your favorite Valentine’s Day Treats board or your Chistmas Cookie Exchange board.
Red Velvet Chocolate Blossoms
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp milk
- 2-3 drops red food coloring
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 oz red sanding sugar
- 1 pkg 16 oz Hershey’s Kisses, foils removed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unwrap Hershey's Kisses.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk, vanilla, and food coloring. Mix well.
- Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until well combined.
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in red sanding sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.
- Bake 8-10 minutes until cookies are set. Immediately press a Hershey's Kiss into the top of each cookie. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment
Nutrition
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