Cinnamon kiss cookies

These cinnamon kiss cookies are made with a simple drop cookie recipe and a package of carrot cake Hershey’s Kisses. Shaped like the classic peanut butter kisses, they’re a sweet treat for any spring get together.

I saw these carrot cake flavored Hershey’s Kisses when I was shopping for something else and immediately knew I had to make something with them. Carrot cake is my absolute favorite dessert, but I’ve never made it from scratch because you have to grate carrots for ages.

I decided to taste test the kisses and was at first disappointed. Not only do they not have carrots in them {okay, no surprise there really} they also don’t taste like carrot cake! What they taste like is the cream cheese frosting that usually goes on the cake. Still super yummy!

The kisses are basically white chocolate with a rich and creamy frosting center.

For the cinnamon kiss cookies, I ended up doing a twist on the classic peanut butter kiss cookies, where you bake a drop cookie dough and then press the candy into the center. The base is kind of like a snickerdoodle. It’s dense and chewy and cinnamony. The kiss on top almost makes it taste like a big frosted cinnamon roll.

Cinnamon kiss cookies recipe

I used a stand mixer to make these. While you could mix it all by hand, you’re going to need some muscle and a bit of endurance.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter (That’s a stick.)
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• for rolling:
  2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 package Hershey’s Kisses Carrot Cake

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the mixer bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together until smooth.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and blend again.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Blend until just combined. You should have a soft dough that can form a ball but isn’t too sticky.

In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon and stir thoroughly.

Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop the dough into large tablespoons. Form each scoop into a ball and roll it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart.

My cookie sheet can hold 12 cookies. These spread some, but not a ton.

Bake the cookies in the oven at 400 degrees for 9 minutes. When they come out of the oven, remove them from the baking sheet onto a cooling rack right away. Let them sit for about 2 minutes and then stick a Carrot Cake Kiss in the middle of each one.

In the picture below, you can see that I didn’t remove the first batch from the baking sheet before adding the kisses and they melted fast!

Repeat until all the cookies are done. This makes about 2-1/2 dozen cookies.

I’m so happy with how these turned out. They were quick and simple. I love a cookie dough that doesn’t need to be chilled or rolled. They’re definitely not carrot cake, but these cinnamon kiss cookies are so good!

Yield: 2-1/2 dozen cookies

Cinnamon kiss cookies

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 package Hershey's Kisses Carrot Cake

for rolling:

Toggle ingredient group

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In the mixer bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together until smooth.
3. Add the egg and vanilla extract and blend again.
4. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Blend until just combined. You should have a soft dough that can form a ball but isn't too sticky.
5. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon and stir thoroughly.
6. Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop the dough into large tablespoons. Form each scoop into a ball and roll it in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
7. Bake the cookies in the oven at 400 degrees for 9 minutes. When they come out of the oven, remove them from the baking sheet onto a cooling rack right away. Let them sit for about 2 minutes and then stick a Carrot Cake Kiss in the middle of each one.
8. Repeat until all the cookies are done.