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Cookie Kisses

Cookie Kisses
(Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 28.).

I remember these cookies from childhood and I wonder if they originated from Maida's recipe. She says that this is a variation of an old American recipe called "Sombreros" "Blossoms" or "Silver Tipped Blossoms". They are very much like a peanut butter cookie with a chocolate kiss on top. I thought they were very sweet (sugary), so if you want them less sweet, you might try cutting back on the sugar. I would cut the white sugar by 1/2 cup and leave the brown sugar as written. 

48 Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses
1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
Additional granulated sugar

Makes 48 cookies

Adjust oven racks into thirds. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment. Remove the wrapping from the chocolate kisses and set aside.

The dough can be made in a food processor or mixer. Processor method: Place the flour, baking soda, salt, sugars in processor bowl and pulse 2-3 times to mix. Place the egg, vanilla and milk in a 1-cup glass measuring cup and set aside. Cut up the butter and add it and the peanut butter to the processor bowl. Turn on the processor and pour the egg mixture through the tube. Process until the mixture forms a ball.

I used the mixer method, which is as follows:

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, and set aside. Reserve both sugars. Place the egg, vanilla, and milk in a small cup and set aside. Place the butter and peanut butter in the mixer bowl and beat until soft.


Add both the white and brown sugars and mix.


Add half of the sifted dry ingredients, the egg mixture, and remaining dry ingredients. Beat until thoroughly mixed.



On a work surface, place a long piece of foil or wax paper. Divide the dough into 48 mounds, teaspoon sized.


Place additional sugar (about 1/2 cup) on a wide plate. Roll the dough mounds into balls, then roll the balls in the sugar. Place them on the cookie sheets. Maida recommends placing only 12 cookies on each sheet. However, I did more (about 18-20).


Place one sheet in the oven and wait a few minutes before adding the second sheet so that they don't come out at the same time. (I only baked one sheet at a time, avoiding this confusion, but of course it will take longer). Bake for 12-13 minutes. The cookies will be lightly colored and still feel soft.

Immediately place a chocolate kiss in the center of each cookie, pressing down firmly. Transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. It may be necessary to spread the cookies in the storage container to avoid mashing the chocolate. 



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Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi! How much would you cut the sugar? I think there’s a typo because if we cut 1/2 cup white sugar, there is just sugar to coat the cookies left. Is this what you meant? How do you think these compare to the cookies of your childhood? I love this kind of cookie….Maida’s recipes always seem to have a neat twist in some way.
January 17, 2026 at 5:32 AM
Anonymous said…
Sorry for the confusion. The sugar for the cookies call for 1/2 cup each of brown sugar and white sugar. So 1 cup total - I would cut the white sugar by 1/2 and use the entire 1/2 cup brown sugar. So, basically 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar. The sugar for coating the cookies is separate - 1/2 cup but I had lots left over so I could cut that in half as well if you are concerned about not having to throw out the left-over sugar. They are probably meant to be very sweet but I find that I as get older, I like things less sweet. I remember them being very much like the ones my mother used to make. I hope that helps and let me know if you make them with less sugar and how they turn out.
January 17, 2026 at 8:15 AM
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