Cherry Kiss Cookie Recipe
Cherry kiss cookies are soft pink cookies made with maraschino cherries and topped with a classic Hershey’s Kiss for the perfect cherry-chocolate treat.
Servings: 36 cookies
Calories: 122kcal
Ingredients
- ¾ cup finely chopped maraschino cherries, from a 12-ounce jar of cherries that have been drained (reserving 1 ½ tablespoon juice for the dough)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, for the cookie dough
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, for the chopped cherries
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 ½ tablespoons maraschino cherry juice, from the jar of maraschino cherries
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 to 6 drops red food coloring, optional
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 36 Hershey’s Kiss chocolate candies
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Drain the jar of maraschino cherries, reserving 1 ½ tablespoons of the juice, then pat the cherries dry with a paper towel.
- Finely chop the cherries, add to a small bowl and toss to coat with 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. This helps ensure the cherries evenly distribute into the dough when mixed. Set aside.
- Add the remaining 2 cups of all-purpose flour and salt to a separate bowl and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and powdered sugar, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the reserved 1 ½ tablespoons cherry juice, almond extract, and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Beat again until fully incorporated.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the bowl, mixing on low speed just until all the flour is fully incorporated. The dough will be stiff. If adding red food coloring to the dough, start with 2 to 3 drops, mix to incorporate, adding an additional 1 to 2 drops if desired to achieve a pink cookie dough color.
- Using a rubber spatula, stir in the reserved chopped maraschino cherries until well distributed into the cookie dough.
- Using a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop a level amount of dough and gently roll into a smooth ball in the palm of your hands.
- Roll the smooth ball in the granulated sugar just to lightly coat before placing onto a prepared cookie sheet. Repeat until all the cookies have been scooped and rolled in the sugar. Place the cookies 1 ½ to 2 inches apart on each cookie sheet. 12 to 15 cookies should easily fit onto a large (approximately 12x16 inch) baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies in the center of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or just until lightly golden around the bottom edges of the cookies.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and gently press a single Hershey’s Kiss chocolate candy into the center of each warm cookie being careful not to push it too far into the cookie but just enough to slightly spread the cookie and for the candy to not fall off the top once cooled and set.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before plating and serving.
Notes
- If you prefer to not add the red food coloring to your cookie dough, but want to have your finished cookies look a little more pink, you can substitute pink sanding sugar sprinkles for the granulated sugar in the recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 37mg | Potassium: 12mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 160IU | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 0.4mg
