Hershey’s Red Velvet Blossoms Cookies Recipe delivers soft, cocoa-kissed red velvet cookies with sparkly sugar edges and a creamy chocolate Kiss in the center. If you want festive cookies for parties, bake sales, or gifting, this batch takes about 30 minutes start to finish. I made a plate for my neighbor last week and then snuck two for a midnight snack.
Easy Hershey’s Red Velvet Blossoms Cookies Recipe
This Hershey’s Red Velvet Blossoms Cookies Recipe gives you bakery-style texture without bakery-level fuss. The cookies bake up tender and chewy, the sugar coating adds a sweet crunch, and the Hershey’s Kiss finishes each one with a smooth chocolate bite. You get big holiday energy from a simple dough and a short ingredient list.
I modeled this version on classic red velvet flavor with cocoa, vanilla, and a tiny splash of vinegar for that signature tang. You can use Hershey’s Kisses or Hugs, and you can roll the dough in granulated or sanding sugar. Kids can help unwrap the chocolates, which oddly counts as quality time and quality control.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- All-purpose flour: 1 1/2 cups (190 g)
- Unsweetened natural cocoa powder: 2 tablespoons (not Dutch process)
- Baking soda: 1/2 teaspoon
- Fine sea salt: 1/4 teaspoon
- Unsalted butter, softened: 1/2 cup (113 g)
- Granulated sugar: 3/4 cup (150 g), plus extra for rolling
- Light brown sugar, packed: 1/4 cup (50 g)
- Large egg: 1
- Milk or buttermilk: 1 tablespoon
- Buttermilk adds classic red velvet tang; milk works fine
- Pure vanilla extract: 1 1/2 teaspoons
- Distilled white vinegar: 1 teaspoon
- Red gel food coloring: 1 to 2 teaspoons, to your preferred shade
- Gel color keeps the dough from thinning; avoid liquid drops if possible
- Hershey’s Kisses or Hugs: about 36, unwrapped and chilled
- Chill the chocolates so they hold their shape on warm cookies
Pantry shortcut:
- Use one box red velvet cake mix (15.25 oz), 1/3 cup neutral oil, and 2 large eggs. Skip the flour, cocoa, baking soda, milk, vinegar, and food color. Mix, scoop, roll in sugar, and bake as directed.
Substitutions and notes:
- Swap half the granulated sugar for coarse sanding sugar when rolling for extra sparkle.
- Use gluten-free 1:1 baking flour if needed; choose a blend with xanthan gum.
- Try Hershey’s Hugs for a white-and-chocolate swirl that pops against the red.
Equipment:
- Mixing bowls and a hand mixer or stand mixer
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Small cookie scoop, about 1 tablespoon capacity
- Baking sheets lined with parchment or silicone mats
- Cooling racks
How to Make Hershey’s Red Velvet Blossoms Cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes per batch
- Total Time: about 30 minutes
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chill the unwrapped Hershey’s Kisses while you mix the dough.
- Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set the bowl aside so you can grab it quickly.
- Beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy and slightly fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl.
- Beat in the egg, vanilla, milk or buttermilk, vinegar, and red gel color. Start with 1 teaspoon of gel and add more until you see a deep red that you love.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl. Mix on low until the dough forms and looks uniform. If the dough feels sticky, fold it a few times with a spatula and let it rest 5 minutes.
- Pour extra granulated or sanding sugar into a small bowl. Scoop dough into 1 tablespoon balls, then roll each ball in the sugar to coat.
- Arrange the dough balls 2 inches apart on the lined sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges look set and the tops look slightly puffy.
- Pull the sheet from the oven and wait 1 minute. Press one chilled Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each warm cookie.
- Move the cookies to a cooling rack. Let them cool until the chocolate sets and the cookies firm up, about 20 minutes.
- Repeat with the remaining dough. If the kitchen runs warm, keep the dough bowl near a cool spot so the cookies hold shape.
Tips & Tricks
- Chill the chocolates to keep the points sharp after pressing them into warm cookies.
- Want extra crinkle and crunch? Roll the dough balls in sugar twice.
- Aim for small cookies. A 1 tablespoon scoop keeps the dough from overspreading and centers the Kiss nicely.
- If the dough looks pale, add another 1/2 teaspoon of red gel and mix briefly.
- Pull the cookies when the edges set and the tops puff. The cookies finish on the sheet as they cool.
- Swap flavors by using almond extract in place of 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and topping with a Hershey’s Kiss with almond.
What to Serve with Hershey’s Red Velvet Blossoms Cookies
Serve these red velvet kiss cookies with cold milk, hot cocoa, or a latte for a cozy contrast. They shine on holiday dessert boards between peppermint bark and snickerdoodles. For an easy dessert, sandwich two cookies around vanilla ice cream and roll the edges in mini chocolate chips. If you want a color moment, mix a plate with classic peanut butter blossoms and these red beauties.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. To freeze baked cookies, place them in a single layer until firm, then stack with parchment and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and refresh on a baking sheet at 300°F for 3 to 4 minutes.
To freeze unbaked dough, scoop and sugar-coat the balls, then freeze on a sheet until firm. Bag and freeze up to 2 months, and bake from frozen at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes. Press a chilled Kiss into each cookie right after baking.
Nutrition Information
Approximate per cookie, based on 36 cookies with Hershey’s Kisses:
- Calories: 120
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 17 g
- Sugar: 10 g
- Protein: 1.5 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 85 mg
Hershey's Red Velvet Blossoms Cookies
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- In a medium bowl, combine red velvet cake mix, vegetable oil, and eggs. Mix until well blended.
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set.
- Immediately press a Hershey's Kiss into the center of each cookie.
- Remove from baking sheets to cooling racks and cool completely.