Chocolate Blossom Cookies with Caramel Kisses
These Chocolate Caramel Blossoms, also called Hershey Kiss Cookies, belong on every holiday baking list!
- Prep
- 1 hr 20 mins
- Cook
- 10 mins
- Total
- 1 hr 30 mins
- Makes
- 3 dozen
These Chocolate Caramel Blossoms, also known as Hershey Kiss Cookies, deserve a spot on your holiday baking list! They're soft, chocolatey cookies rolled in sugar and crowned with Hershey Caramel Kisses! You can also experiment with other sugars for rolling, the way I did. They're a close cousin of my popular Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms, simple to make, and absolutely delicious!
How to Make the Best Chocolate Caramel Blossoms
Like the classic version, these Chocolate Caramel Blossoms are very easy to make! You'll need a hand mixer or stand mixer to bring the dough together, plus a small bowl, cookie sheets, parchment paper, and 1 or 2 wire cooling racks.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together. Combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt, and Dutch-process cocoa powder.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Beat the unsalted butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Then add the egg, milk, and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. The dough will turn out on the thicker side.
- Chill the dough. Cover the top of the mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
- Roll the dough balls in sugar. You can use granulated sugar or a flavored sugar of your choice. Set them on the cookie sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes if you like.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes at 375ºF. While the cookies bake, unwrap as many Hershey Caramel Kisses as you'll need.
- Top each cookie with a Hershey's caramel kiss. Return the cookies to the oven for 2 more minutes. This softens the chocolate kisses, but they keep their shape and won't melt.
- Cool the chocolate caramel blossom cookies. Leave them on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving them to the cooling racks.
- Store the cookies. Keep them in an airtight container or cookie jar with a slice of bread for up to a week.
Helpful Tips
- This recipe needs a minimum chill time of 1 hour. You can chill the dough longer, or overnight if you prefer.
- Let the chocolate caramel blossom cookies rest on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack. They'll still be soft, so use a spatula and handle them gently.
- While the blossoms bake, unwrap the Hershey's caramel kisses and set them in a bowl. Having them ready when you pull the cookies out makes adding the kisses go much faster!
- The salted caramel and dark cocoa sugars came from The Spice & Tea Exchange in Lancaster, PA. It's a wonderful shop with so many teas and sugars to try!
- Tuck a slice of bread into your container or cookie jar with the chocolate caramel blossoms. It helps keep the cookies from drying out.
Recipe Questions
Why do I need to chill this chocolate caramel blossom cookie dough?Chilling the dough keeps it firm enough to shape into balls, and it also helps the cookies hold their shape instead of spreading too much in the oven.
What other sugars can I roll chocolate caramel blossoms in?Blossoms are usually rolled in granulated sugar before baking, but for this recipe you can get creative! Roll half the dough in salted caramel sugar and the other half in dark cocoa sugar. Both add lovely flavor and a little extra crunch.
Do I need to flatten the ball of cookie dough with a glass before baking?No, this chocolate caramel blossom dough does not need to be flattened. Scoop the dough with a cookie scoop (or a spoon), smooth it into a ball in your hands, then roll it in sugar. Cookies that do get pressed down slightly are my Almond Sprinkle Cookies, Lemon Shortbread Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies.
Won’t Hershey’s kisses melt in the oven?Baking the chocolate caramel blossoms with Hershey's caramel kisses on top for the extra 2 minutes will not make them melt. They do get very soft, though, so be careful when moving them to the cooling racks. A spatula works best for transferring them.
If you make this Chocolate Caramel Blossoms recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and tell me what you thought in the comments below. Thanks for stopping by!
Chocolate Blossom Cookies with Caramel Kisses
These Chocolate Caramel Blossoms belong on every holiday baking list! They're soft, chocolatey cookies rolled in sugar and topped with Hershey Caramel Kisses. They're simple to make and absolutely delicious, and I dare you to stop at just one!
- Prep
- 1 hr 20 mins
- Cook
- 10 mins
- Total
- 1 hr 30 mins
- Makes
- 3 dozen
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Dutch Process Baking Cocoa
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar, plus additional for coating of cookies
- 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 2 tbsp Milk, 1%, 2%, or Fat-free
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 10 oz Hershey Caramel Kisses
- Sea Salt Flakes, optional
- Salted Caramel Sugar, optional
- Dark Cocoa Sugar, optional
Method
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt, and Dutch-process cocoa powder. Set it aside.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the large egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Lower the mixer speed and gradually add the whisked dry ingredients until fully combined. The dough will be on the thicker side.
- Cover the top of the mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap and chill the dough for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
- Once the dough has chilled, set an oven rack to the 2nd level position (just above center) and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Using a spoon, scoop out a small portion of dough and shape it into 1-inch balls.
- Roll each ball in a small bowl of granulated sugar (or a flavored sugar of your choice), then set it on the cookie sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the tops with sea salt flakes if you like.
- Bake for 6-8 minutes at 375ºF. While the cookies bake, unwrap as many Hershey Caramel Kisses as you'll need.
- When they're ready, take the chocolate caramel blossoms out of the oven. Press a Hershey Caramel Kiss into the center of each cookie, pressing gently to spread the cookie out a little. Cracks may appear as you do this, and that's completely fine! Return the cookies to the oven and bake for 2 minutes longer.
- Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container or cookie jar with a slice of bread for up to a week.
Baker’s notes
- The dough needs a minimum chill time of 1 hour, though it can rest longer or overnight. Let the chocolate caramel blossoms cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack; they stay soft, so handle them carefully with a spatula. While they bake, unwrap the Hershey's caramel kisses and set them in a bowl so they're ready to go. The salted caramel and dark cocoa sugars came from The Spice & Tea Exchange in Lancaster, PA, a wonderful shop with plenty of teas and sugars to try. Store the cookies with a slice of bread in the container or cookie jar to keep them from drying out. Recipe adapted from my late Grammy's Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms.
