These colorful and playful blossom cookies are a fun and festive treat for Christmas time. These red velvet hot cocoa blossom cookies are made with cocoa powder and tinted red, then topped with a marshmallow and hot cocoa Hershey’s Kiss chocolate. Fun to make with your kids or made for a Christmas cookie exchange, these are sure to be a hit with friends and family.
I love making holiday themed blossom cookies. I grew up eating peanut butter blossoms that my grandmother loved to make, so this type of cookie has a special place in my heart. This Christmas themed blossom cookie is a festive take on the traditional cookie. While it lacks the flavors of things like peppermint, eggnog, or gingerbread, they remind me of little Santa hats.
For this recipe I use Hershey’s Hot Cocoa Kisses, which are usually available in stores around Thanksgiving or shortly after. They’re a fun limited time Kiss candy that’s chocolate with a marshmallow flavored crème center. As always, feel free to use any Kiss you prefer though. Since this cookie doesn’t have any strong flavors besides chocolate, you could also top with peppermint Kisses instead.
Ingredients for Red Velvet Hot Cocoa Blossom Cookies
Most of the ingredients for these cookies are typical pantry staples. The main things you may need to pick up are Hershey’s Kisses, some marshmallows, and red gel food coloring.
Flour – The base of the cookie, all-purpose flour works best here.
Cocoa – Unsweetened cocoa powder adds a nice chocolate flavor to the cookie.
Baking Soda – The single leavener works fine here since you don’t want the cookies to have a large rise in the oven.
Butter – You’ll want a ½ cup, or 1 stick, of unsalted butter for these. Bring it to room temperature before mixing.
Sugar – I like a mix of both brown and white sugar for these. You can use either light or dark brown sugar here. You’ll also need about a ½ cup of granulated sugar for rolling in before baking.
Egg – 1 large egg will be enough to provide some moisture.
Vanilla – Two teaspoons of extract help balance and enhance the flavor from the unsweetened cocoa powder.
Milk – I use whole milk, but any milk or heavy cream will be fine, just adds a little more needed moisture to the batter.
Food Coloring – I prefer gel food coloring, especially for red velvet. It’s a little more expensive, but you need a lot less of it to attain vibrant color. A half teaspoon should give enough color for the batch. Feel free to omit altogether and you’ll have a chocolate blossom.
Marshmallows – Use a standard size marshmallow and cut them in half. You’ll top the cookie with these a few minutes into the baking time to soften the marshmallows.
Hershey’s Kisses – For this recipe I use Hot Cocoa Kisses, they’re chocolate and filled with a marshmallow flavored crème. They’re usually available in most grocery stores starting just after Thanksgiving. You could also use peppermint Kisses that are available around the same time of year, or any other Kiss candy you prefer.
How to Make Red Velvet Hot Cocoa Blossoms
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine fully and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) add the butter and both sugars and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and egg and beat on low speed until fully combined, about a minute or two.
Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, including the milk and gel food coloring, mixing on low speed until fully combined into a sticky dough. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Remove the dough from the fridge and preheat your oven to 350°F/177°C.
Prepare the toppings for the cookies by pouring about a ½ cup of granulated sugar into a bowl, slice 18 marshmallows in half, and remove your Kisses from their wrappers. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop or estimate that amount with your hands and scoop out some cookie dough. Roll the dough into a ball and then roll in the sugar. Place the cookies on your pan about 2 inches apart and bake for 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and quickly but gently top each cookie with half a marshmallow, sticky side down. Return to the oven and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes until the edges are just starting to set.
Once cooked, remove from the oven, and gently press a Kiss into the top of each cookie. Allow the cookies to cool and set on the baking sheet about 5 more minutes, and then move them to a cooling rack. The chocolate will be very soft, so allow the cookies to fully cool at least an hour so that the Kisses will set again.
The cookies can be stored covered at room temperature for about a week.
📋 Recipe
Red Velvet Hot Cocoa Blossom Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
- ½ teaspoon red gel food color
Toppings:
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 18 marshmallows, cut in half
- 36 Hot Cocoa Hershey’s Kisses
Directions
- In a mixing bowl, combine 1 ¾ cups flour, ¼ cup cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt. Whisk to combine fully and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) add the ½ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, and ¼ cup white sugar and mix on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and egg and beat on low speed until fully combined, about a minute or two.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, including the 1 tablespoon of milk and ½ teaspoon of red gel food coloring, mixing on low speed until fully combined into a sticky dough. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and preheat your oven to 350°F/177°C.
- Prepare the toppings for the cookies by pouring about a ½ cup of granulated sugar into a bowl, slice 18 marshmallows in half, and remove your Kisses from their wrappers. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop or estimate that amount with your hands and scoop out some cookie dough. Roll the dough into a ball and then roll in the sugar. Place the cookies on your pan about 2 inches apart and bake for 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and quickly but gently top each cookie with half a marshmallow, sticky side down. Return to the oven and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes until the edges are just starting to set.
- Once cooked, remove from the oven, and gently press a Kiss into the top of each cookie. Allow the cookies to cool and set on the baking sheet about 5 more minutes, and then move them to a cooling rack. The chocolate will be very soft, so allow the cookies to fully cool at least an hour so that the Kisses will set again.
- The cookies can be stored covered at room temperature for about a week.
Equipment Used
Notes
Your Notes
Nutrition
Comments
No Comments