Red Velvet Kiss Cookies – Easy and Fun for the Holidays!

These easy, homemade Red Velvet Kiss Cookies topped with candy cane Hershey’s Kisses chocolates are the perfect sweet treats for the holidays! 

We are entering my favorite time of year and I couldn’t be more excited!

While many people think of December as the holiday season, I like to think of it as “baking season”. There are so many amazing things to bake for the holidays and I want to try so many classic recipes this year! 

These red velvet kiss cookies are perfect not only for Christmas, but also for New Year’s and Valentine’s Day. The red coloring, the chocolate kisses… you can easily call these Christmas or Valentine’s day cookies.

Why You’ll Love Them

• Easy – They are a basic drop cookies.
• Bright Colors – These colors are perfect for any holiday.
• Made From Scratch – When you make cookies homemade, they just taste better.
• Make Ahead – They last for a week.

So, let me tell you all about how to make these amazing red velvet kiss cookies! 

Ingredients 

If you have been stocking up ingredients for all your holiday baking, then you probably already have everything you need to make red velvet kiss cookies. All the ingredients in these Christmas kiss cookies are pantry staples, it just matters how you put them all together! Here is what you will need:

• all-purpose flour– I have made these cookies with gluten free baking flour mix before and they have turned out wonderfully. This is an easy way to turn this recipe into gluten free Christmas cookies.
• unsweetened cocoa powder– Be sure to get dark chocolate, unsweetened cocoa power which has the most intense flavor. 
• baking soda and baking powder– These will both help leaven the cookies as they bake. Be sure to check the expiration date on both as fresh baking soda and baking power will be best for all your holiday baking!
• salt– A little salt enhances the flavor of the cookies.
• butter– I always bake with unsalted butter.
• brown sugar– Brown sugar gives the cookies a molasses flavor and keeps them moist as they bake.
• granulated sugar– White sugar makes the cookies perfectly sweet
• egg– An egg will help bind the cookies together, preventing them from being too crumbly.
• vanilla extract– Vanilla adds a rich taste and natural sweetness that brings out the flavor of the cocoa powder. 
• red food coloring– I use red gel food coloring that is stronger than liquid food coloring. It will make the cookies a nice, deep red color with just a few drops. 
• Hershey’s Kisses – Unwrapped candy cane Hershey’s Kisses are the perfect finishing touch!

Kitchen Tools

Once you have all of your ingredients together, you will also need a few common kitchen tools to make these fun, festive and yummy red velvet kiss cookies. I bet you already have all of these tools, too!

• mixing bowls
• electric mixer
• a cookie scooper
• mini muffin pan

How to Make Them 

If you are a cookie-baking pro, then you could probably make these cookies in your sleep. They are so easy! If you are a baking beginner, don’t worry. Your first batch of cookies will be perfect. Take a quick look at how to make red velvet cookies before you start baking. 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray your mini muffin pan with baking spray and set aside. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking soda, baking  powder, and salt. 

3. In a separate mixing bowl cream together unsalted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg,  vanilla extract, and red food gel with an electric hand mixer or kitchen aid until all combined.

4. Add flour mixture into butter, this batter will be thick.

5. Scoop out a tablespoon of batter and place in mini muffin pan.

6. Bake in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.

7. While cookies are baking unwrap Hershey kisses.

8. Remove cookies from oven and immediately press a kiss all the way down in the cookie while  they are still in the pan. This will create a well which the kiss will instantly melt.

9. Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes, remove from pan and place on a cooling rack.

10. Place another kiss on top.

These red velvet Hershey kiss cookies are so simple to make! I absolutely love baking them in the muffin tin because it makes perfectly uniform cookies that are thick and chewy. They are picture perfect and so irresistible!

Variations

There are a few ways you can switch up these cookies. Here are my favorite variations that I have tried over the years:

• Use any kind of Hershey’s kisses chocolates on top of the cookies. Regular Hershey kisses, Hershey’s hugs or even mint green hershey kisses will all work perfectly.
• Roll the tablespoon of cookie dough batter in granulated sugar before placing it in the mini muffin tin to bake. This gives the cookies a snowy look and adds a little more sweetness. You can’t go wrong with more sugar!
• Bake the cookies on a flat, parchment lined baking sheet. They will only need to bake for about 8 minutes and make a thinner, standard cookie that is still chewy and delicious. 
• Skip the red food coloring to make tasty hershey kiss cookies that are chocolatey brown instead of red. 
• Use almond extract in place of vanilla for a nutty twist. Almond goes well with the chocolate cookies and is a classic Christmas flavor. 

If you come up with a great red velvet Hershey kiss cookie variation, let me know! I make these cookies a lot so I’m always looking for new ways to make them even better. 

Tips and Tricks

The first thing I definitely recommend doing with these cookies is storing them in an airtight container at room temperature. Once they have cooled completely, place them in a cookie tin or airtight container right away. You want to prevent them from drying out! They will keep at room temperature for about a week (unless you eat them before that!). 

I also recommend spraying the muffin tin well. The cookies will pop out very easily if the muffin tin is well greased. Baking spray works best to get every corner of the pan but butter or oil rubbed inside each muffin cavity will also help. 

Christmas Kiss Cookies

So are you ready for baking season? I definitely am! These red velvet Hershey kiss cookies are top priority on my list of cookies to bake this season and I think you should try them too. They are such a perfect Christmas cookie that I know you will love to bake and to eat. Enjoy! 

More Desserts

• Birthday Cake Cookies Recipe
• Easy and Delicious Strawberry Cobbler 
• Mint Chocolate Chip Brookies
• Yummy Chocolate Covered Pretzels 

I hope you like this recipe for Red Velvet Kiss Cookies– be sure to give it a review below!

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