valentines day cookie cups
This Valentine's Day Cookie Cups recipe is the easiest way to bake bite-sized treats that are bursting with love. A soft, chewy, buttery base is perfect for hiding the sweet surprise inside.
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Valentine’s Day Cookie Cups are simple, semi-homemade sweet treats with a hidden candy hug tucked inside each cookie. This easy-to-make recipe quickly combines a sugar cookie mix with 4 basic ingredients to form the dough that covers the chocolate and bakes it into the best bite-sized delicious dessert that’s sealed with a kiss.

Valentines Cookie Cups with hershey kiss


Skip the store-bought box of chocolates because baking these homemade Valentine’s Day Cookie Cups is the easiest and sweetest way to win that special someone’s heart, especially since my recipe has a shortcut solution to send your heartfelt wish when you’re at a loss for words. (Inspired by my good friend, Spaceships and Laserbeams Grinch Cookie Cups!)

I love using a package of sugar cookie mix to simplify the ingredient list; it takes mere minutes to combine with a few other pantry staples to form a perfectly pink, soft, chewy, buttery base for the cookie cups. The dough is wrapped around the Hershey’s hug and hides the chocolate until it’s baked and revealed upon the first bite.

The best part is that these cups are cooked in muffin tins, so they won’t spread like the traditional treats–each cookie is guaranteed to be thick enough to handle the Hersey’s.

Homemade presents are the sweetest (and tastiest) tokens of affection and perfect to share with the people that matter the most. These Valentine’s Day Cookie Cups are delicious desserts with the prettiest combination of sprinkles, chocolate, and pink colors that send a sweet message and spreads the language of love.

Valentines Cookie Cups with hershey kiss
  • Easy to prepare using a package of cookie mix combined with 4 other ingredients.
  • Bite-sized treats bake in 10 minutes.
  • Better and more thoughtful than a box of chocolates.
  • Pretty pink soft and chewy cookie that hides a chocolate hug.
  • Fun baking activity to make with the kids.
  • Perfect for Valentine’s Day dessert, school parties, or homemade gift-giving to your special someone.
valentines day cookie cups

Ingredients

  • Packaged sugar cookie mix: Feel free to use a homemade sugar cookie dough for this recipe, but make sure to add the food coloring into it with the liquids. You can also use a snickerdoodle cookie mix, but leave out the cinnamon sugar packet.
  • Salted butter: You can switch this out for unsalted butter, and add an extra pinch of salt in to keep the flavor. 
  • All-purpose flour
  • Egg
  • Pink/red food coloring: For a fancier type of food coloring with a little flavor, juice some strawberries or raspberries and use them for your food coloring.
  • Hershey’s hugs (unwrapped): You can use any type of Hershey’s kiss for this recipe.
  • Decorative sprinkles (optional topping)

Substitutions and Additions

  • Change Your Candy: Feel free to use Reese’s peanut butter cups, Rolos, caramel M&Ms, or other similar-sized chocolate for a sweet surprise inside your cookie cup.
  • Customize Your Cup: This recipe is easy to customize for any holiday or special occasion. Use a red and white Hershey’s Hug and crushed candy cane topping for Christmas, green sprinkles for St. Patrick’s Day, pastel colors for a baby shower or Easter, or a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and orange sprinkle topping for Halloween.
  • Tasty Toppings: You can decorate your Cookie Cup with your favorite toppings. Press some mini chocolate chips, mini M&Ms, colored sprinkles, or nonpareils into the warm baked cookie dough. Or add a chocolate drizzle, some colorful frosting, or icing sugar.
valentines day cookie cups
  • Mini cupcake pan
  • Cooking spray
  • Hand or stand mixer
  • Measuring tools
  • Mixing bowls (large and small)
  • Mixing tools
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This Valentine’s Day Cookie Cups recipe is so simple with a semi-homemade solution for easy, fuss-free baking. The sugar cookie base is thick enough to hide a sweet surprise wrapped inside–it’s the prettiest pink, bite-sized treat that’s better than buying a box of chocolate because it’s made from the heart.

  1. Beat the sugar cookie mix, melted butter, flour, egg, and food coloring together until just combined.
    Pro Tip: Adjust food coloring amounts as needed or desired color is attained.
  2. Scoop about 1 Tablespoon of cookie dough and flatten it to the size of your palm.
    Pro Tip: You can use your hand or a rolling pin to flatten the dough.
  3. Place a Hershey’s hug in the center of the flattened cookie dough and then wrap the dough around the Hershey’s hug to create a ball. 
    Pro-Tip: As you wrap the dough around the Hershey’s hugs, you will need to fix the cracks will form in the dough. They won’t just fold perfectly. Use your hands to form the ball of dough around the hug.
  4. Add the chocolate-filled cookie dough ball into a muffin pan cavity upright and repeat until all the cookie dough is used.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes or until the outsides of the dough looks set.
  6. Remove from the oven and top with decorative sprinkles. 
    Pro-Tip: Find some cute decorative sprinkles, like flowers or hearts, to decorate the tops of the cups. Press them into the warm dough slightly as soon as they come out of the oven in order to get them to stay better.
  7. Cool, serve, and enjoy!
    Pro-Tip: It’s best to allow the cookie cups to cool for about 15 minutes before removing them from the muffin tins. If they are too hot, they will fall apart.
collage valentine's cookie cups

Storage Tips

  • To Store: You can store these cookie cups in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for up to two weeks.
  • To Freeze: To freeze your cookie cups, wrap them individually, place them in a freezer-safe container or bag, and store them in the freezer for 5-6 months. 
valentines day cookie cups

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to chill my cookie dough?

No, this is a sugar cookie dough that doesn’t need to be chilled. Instead of rolling out the dough, it is baked in mini muffin tins, eliminating the need to chill.

Can I prepare these in advance?

Yes, you can prepare these cookie cups in advance. The dough will stay good in the fridge for a day or two if tightly wrapped. When you’re ready to bake the cookie cups, simply wrap the dough around the Hershey’s hug and bake according to the recipe instructions.

Can my kids help prepare these cookie cups?

Yes, this is a great way to get your kids involved in the kitchen! Having them unwrap the hugs, then hide them in the cookie dough is a fun way to spend time together and bond as a family!

valentines day cookie cups

Other Easy Valentines Day Dessert Recipes

5 from 4 votes
valentines day cookie cups
Serves — 25
This Valentine's Day Cookie Cups recipe is the easiest way to bake bite-sized treats that are bursting with love. A soft, chewy, buttery base is perfect for hiding the sweet surprise inside.
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 17.5 ounce package sugar cookie mix
  • ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter melted
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • Pink/red food coloring
  • 24-26 Hershey’s hugs unwrapped
  • Decorative sprinkles, optional topping

Instructions
 

  • Spray a mini cupcake pan with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • In a large bowl, beat the sugar cookie mix, melted butter, all-purpose flour, egg, and food coloring together until just combined. Adjust food coloring amounts as needed.
  • Grab about 1 Tablespoon of the cookie dough mixture and use your hand or rolling pin to flatten it out to the size of your palm.
  • Add an unwrapped Hershey’s hug to the center of the flattened cookie dough and then wrap the dough around the Hershey’s hug to create a ball.
  • Place the filled cookie dough ball into the muffin pan cavity upright and repeat until you no longer have any cookie dough.
  • Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the outsides of the dough looks set.
  • Remove from the oven and top with decorative sprinkles.
  • Let the cookie cups cool off for 15 minutes before serving.

Jenn’s Notes

Storage:
  • To Store: You can store these cookie cups in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for up to two weeks.
  • To Freeze: To freeze your cookie cups, wrap them individually, place them in a freezer-safe container or bag, and store them in the freezer for 5-6 months. 
Tips:
  • It’s best to allow the cookie cups to cool for about 15 minutes before removing them from the muffin tins. If they are too hot, they will fall apart.
  • As you wrap the dough around the Hershey’s hugs, you will need to fix the cracks will form in the dough. They won’t just fold perfectly. Use your hands to form the ball of dough around the hug.
  • Find some cute decorative sprinkles, like flowers or hearts, to decorate the tops of the cups. Press them into the warm dough slightly as soon as they come out of the oven in order to get them to stay better.

Nutrition Info

Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 95mg | Potassium: 4mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 123IU | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg
Jennifer Fishkind

About Jenn

Jenn is a mom to three beautiful boys, wife to an amazing husband, social influencer and blogger. I love all things easy recipes, easy crafts, all things hacks, traveling EVERYWHERE and feeding my Pinterest addiction!

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