My Family’s Favorite Holiday Cookie Recipe Comes From the Back of the Hershey’s Kisses Bag

When Hershey’s released Hot Cocoa Kisses, I found the holiday cookie recipe that my family would beg me to make for years to come. I should preface this story by saying that the generations before me passed down the sweet tooth gene—or more specifically, a love for all things chocolate. Yet, when it came to the holidays, my predecessors were surprisingly lacking any sort of chocolatey tradition. 

The day that my mom came home with the new hot cocoa-flavored Hershey Kisses was the day that our yearly sugar cookie was pushed to the side. The milk chocolates are filled with a marshmallow cream—mimicking the hot cocoa flavor while holding the perfect balance of sweet and savory—and the bag features an irresistible recipe that I’ll make year after year. 

My Family’s Favorite Hot Cocoa Cookies 

I love this hot cocoa-inspired cookie recipe because it’s so effortlessly simple to bake. According to the brand, it only takes about 30 minutes total, but I’d estimate that it’ll take you around 40 minutes (you have to cut approximately 18 marshmallows in half and unwrap each Hershey’s Kisses individually, which is a task I usually dedicate to my sisters while I prepare the dough). 

You’ll need two bowls to separate out the dry and wet ingredients like you would any other cookie recipe. First, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar well before mixing in the eggs and vanilla. To achieve the right consistency, I recommend bringing the eggs to room temperature and adding them into the sugar mixture one at a time. Next, slowly stir in your dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt). It can get quite messy if you add in too much too fast, so beat the dough on a low speed while adding gradually. 

For the chocolate chips, I prefer using milk chocolate or semisweet. You can use dark chocolate chips, but I’ve learned that the former options balance out the Hershey’s Kisses more delicately. The key to this recipe is chilling the dough in the freezer for about ten minutes. In my experience, you won’t need more time than that—if you let it sit in the freezer for too long, it can be extremely difficult to shape the dough into proper cookies (1-inch dough balls are usually the size that I aim for). 

Bake first, then top each center of the cookie with half of a marshmallow, and place back in the oven. 

The biggest mistake that I’ve made is waiting until the marshmallow was slightly brown until I took it out of the heat—don’t do this! It means that you’ve overbaked your cookie. Instead, wait until the marshmallows are slightly puffed. While the cookies are cooling for a few minutes, scrounge up some extra hands to help you top each one with hot cocoa Hershey’s Kisses (if you do this while they’re fresh out of the oven, the chocolate will completely melt, so certainly adhere to that 3-minute cooling period). 

Once these steps are complete, you’ll have a treat full of chocolatey goodness waiting for you on the other side. 

Warning: Prepare to be the designated holiday baker of the family!