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These Gingerbread Kiss Cookies are my latest holiday baking obsession. Soft, chewy, and full of cozy gingerbread spice, they sparkle with sugar and have sweet Hershey’s Hugs Kisses on top for the perfect festive touch. They’re fun to make, totally irresistible, and always bring a little extra cheer to the season.
I’ve baked a lot of gingerbread cookies with Hershey Kisses over the years, but these might just top the list. The dough comes together easily with warm holiday spices, and once it’s rolled in sugar, it bakes up with that perfect crackly top and a smell that instantly feels like Christmas. I love that you can make them two ways, classic with a Hershey’s Kiss or dipped in creamy white chocolate for a little extra sparkle. Either way, they’re sure to steal the spotlight on any cookie tray.
If you’re as cookie-obsessed as I am during the holidays, you’ll love adding these Christmas Sprinkle Cookies and our Grinch Cake Mix Cookies to your baking lineup; they’re a guaranteed hit every time.
Ingredients Notes
Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll need and a few easy swaps to make these Gingerbread Hershey Kiss Cookies:
- All-purpose flour – A 1:1 gluten-free baking blend works great if you prefer.
- Ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice – Use pumpkin pie spice for a quick shortcut.
- Salted sweet cream butter – Unsalted butter also works; just add a pinch of salt if using unsalted.
- Light brown sugar
- Molasses – Maple syrup or dark corn syrup can be used in a pinch.
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Hershey’s Kisses – Any flavor works if you can’t find the candy cane variety.
- Sanding sugar – Regular granulated sugar or colored sugar also look festive.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Gingerbread Kiss Cookies
Follow these simple steps to bake the perfect cookie every time:
Step 1
Mix the dry ingredients: Whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and allspice.
Step 2
Cream the wet ingredients: Using a stand mixer, or a large bowl and a hand mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy, then mix in molasses, egg, and vanilla.
Step 3
Combine and chill: Add the flour mixture until just combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Step 4
Shape and coat: Roll cookie dough balls and coat each in sanding sugar.
Step 5
Bake: Place 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes.
Step 6
Add kisses: Remove cookies from the oven, let them rest 2 minutes, then press a Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each cookie. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Serve these cookies with a steaming mug of Homemade Apple Cider or nestle them next to Hot Chocolate Cookies on a holiday dessert tray for a spread that’s sure to delight everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
The edges should look set and the tops slightly crackly. They’ll still feel soft in the center but will firm up as they cool, giving you that perfect chewy texture.
If the cookies are too hot when you press the kiss in, the chocolate can melt or lose its shape. Let the cookies rest for about 2 minutes before adding the kisses.
Chilling helps the dough firm up so the cookies bake thick and chewy instead of spreading flat. It also deepens the gingerbread flavor.
Definitely! Regular chocolate kisses, dark chocolate, or caramel varieties all taste amazing with the spiced gingerbread dough.
Make Ahead & Storage Instructions
- Make Ahead: Prepare the dough up to 2 days in advance. Chill or freeze the dough balls until you’re ready to bake.
- Store: Keep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.
- Freeze: Baked cookies freeze beautifully for up to 2 months. Let them thaw completely before serving or adding to cookie trays.
More Holiday Cookies to Try
If you can’t get enough festive baking, these cookies are perfect for your holiday cookie tray:
- Peppermint Kiss Cookies
- Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
- Hot Chocolate Cookies
- Grinch Cake Mix Cookies
- Reindeer Peanut Butter Cookies
If you’ve tried this Gingerbread Kiss Cookies Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it turned out in the comments below.
Gingerbread Kiss Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2¼ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¾ cup salted sweet cream butter softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 30 Hershey’s Hugs kisses unwrapped (You will only need 15 unwrapped kisses if making ½ batch with kisses and ½ batch without kisses and dipped in white almond bark)
- 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.3 cups all-purpose flour, 2¼ teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 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.¾ cup salted sweet cream butter
- Add brown sugar and continue mixing on medium-high for 1 minute.¾ cup light brown sugar
- Add the molasses, egg and vanilla. Mix just until well incorporated.½ cup + 2 tablespoons molasses, 1 large egg, 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 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.Sanding sugar for coating the cookie dough balls
- 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.30 Hershey’s Hugs kisses
Jenn’s Notes
- Make Ahead: Prepare dough up to 2 days ahead. Chill or freeze dough balls until ready to bake.
- Store: Keep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for 6 days.
- Freeze: Baked cookies freeze well for up to 2 months. Let thaw before serving.
- Chill dough to prevent spreading and keep cookies thick.
- Press the Hershey’s Kiss in while cookies are warm, not hot.
- Use a cookie scoop for evenly sized cookies.
- Don’t overbake—cookies will firm up as they cool.
- Allow cookies to cool completely before storing so the chocolate holds its shape.
I made 2 batches of these cookies tonight and they are fantastic. They are not overly spicy and are so chewy and delicious. My only tip would be to increase the time in the fridge. My first batch was chilled much longer than the 30 minutes and turned out perfect. The batch that was chilled for the 30 minutes spread significantly more. They still taste great, just look flatter. I also added in a little salt, mostly because I am not used to cookie recipes that don’t have salt in them. Again, just my personal preference. Overall these are a cookie I will make again.
Thank you so much for the great feedback!!
Ginger bread cookied
Can I substitute the egg for something like applesauce?
Great question! I haven’t tested these gingerbread kiss cookies without the egg, so I can’t say how well applesauce would work here. Cookies with warm spices and molasses rely on that egg to bind everything, so a swap could change the texture quite a bit. If you give it a try, I’d love to hear how it goes, but I can’t recommend it since it hasn’t been tested.
Can I substitute maple syrup for the molasses 1:1 for this recipe?
I don’t recommend swapping the molasses for maple syrup in this one. Molasses gives gingerbread cookies their classic flavor and helps with the texture, and maple syrup won’t work the same way. A swap like that would change how the dough bakes and the cookies won’t turn out as intended.
Don’t you have the recipes in grams?
Hi Patricia, I’m sorry, I don’t. But you could probably google it or put the recipe in chatgpt to convert it.