Warm gingerbread blossoms topped with a Hershey's Hug are the Christmas cookie dreams are made of. These fresh-baked spiced gingerbread drop cookies with cinnamon, ginger, & cloves are so flavorful. Then press the tops with a creamy white chocolate kiss for one of the best holiday cookie recipes you will ever have.
This is the best soft & chewy gingerbread cookie recipe. Plus they are so much easier to make than traditional gingerbread men. No rolling out dough, cutting out shapes, and frosting or decorating them. So if you crave gingerbread, this recipe will be your new Christmas favorite.
This was inspired by my love for peanut butter blossoms cookies & a Christmas cookie favorite at my house, Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies. Bake these up and put them out for Santa along with my M&M Christmas Cookie Bars. I guarantee you won't get coal in your stocking if you do.
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Why This is a Christmas Favorite
These cookies are amazing for the holiday season. There is something about gingerbread that just goes well with Christmas. So bake up a few dozen.
Also bake ups some Hershey Kiss Sugar Cookies too. Then enjoy them both for everything Christmas - cookie swap/exchange, school bake sale, work or church potluck, gifts, and cookie platters.
Ingredients for Gingerbread Blossoms
Here are the ingredients you will need to make homemade gingerbread blossom cookies topped with a Hershey's Hug candy. To start, make sure you buy a bag of Hershey's kisses, the ones I use are called "Hugs". Hugs are a bit different than regular Hershey's kisses. They have white and regular chocolate stripes on the outside and a soft creamy chocolate center on the inside.
For the cookie dough, the usual ingredients such as flour, baking powder & soda, sugar, butter, and eggs are needed. Additionally, classic gingerbread ingredients such as molasses, brown sugar, & spices go into this recipe as well. Here is everything you need to make homemade gingerbread drop cookies with a Hershey's topper.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Cinnamon
- Ground Cloves
- Ground Ginger
- Salted Butter
- Eggs
- Brown Sugar
- Molasses
- Vanilla Extract
- Granulated Sugar
- Hershey's Hugs Candies
See the recipe card for quantities.
Top Tips
Get some ingredients ready about an hour before you want to mix the ingredients. The butter needs to be soft and at room temperature. The eggs also should be at room temperature.
Pop the Hershey's Hugs into the freezer just before you start making these cookies. These kiss candies have a soft center so they tend to melt & get squishy very easily. Freezing them for about 30 minutes really helps keep their shape.
How to Make Gingerbread Blossoms
Preheat the oven to 375°. Prepare a baking sheet either with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper or a Silpat. Also, unwrap the Hershey's Hugs and set them in a bowl in a freezer. See my top tip for why!
Once all the ingredients are ready, including the eggs and butter at room temperature, it is time to start mixing the cookie dough. Like most classic cookie recipes, this gingerbread one starts by combining the dry and wet ingredients separately.
In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, & the 3 spices.
Using a hand mixer on low speed, cream together the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Next add the eggs, vanilla, & molasses and mix on low for 2 minutes until combined.
Add half the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Use the hand mixer to mix on low for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides with a spatula as needed. Repeat with the remaining half.
Once the dough is all combined. Scoop out 1" balls of dough & roll to coat in the granulated sugar. Place each on a prepared baking sheet. 12 fit evenly spaced out.
Baking Time & Temperature
Once 12 cookie dough balls are on the baking sheet, it is time to bake the gingerbread blossoms. In a 375° preheated oven, bake each tray of cookies for 8 minutes.
Hint: DO NOT overbake these cookies. They should be soft in the centers so the Hershey's Kisses candy can be pressed into the top once they come out of the oven. They will not be flat nor will they be golden or dark brown in color. The bottoms will be slightly darker in color but the tops should be the same.
Add the Hugs Candies
Once the cookies are done, remove them from the oven. Immediately press an unwrapped Hershey's into the top center of the cookie. Press until each is about halfway down the cookie. The sides should edge up around the Hugs as seen above.
Cooling Gingerbread Blossoms
The hot cookie will warm up the chocolate candy pressed into the top. Because of this, it is important to let the cookie & Hershey's cool completely before moving & eating them.
After the Hershey's Hug has been added, let the cookie continue to cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes. Then carefully remove each cookie using a spatula and transfer it to a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool completely which takes about 30-45 minutes (depending on the temperature inside your home).
Once the chocolate is set and firm again, the cookies are ready. Enjoy your homemade gingerbread blossom cookies or save them for later.
Variations
These chewy spiced gingerbread drop cookies are so amazing as is. Plus the added chocolate on top is to die for. When baking it is important to follow the measurements and ingredients as is.
I would not change anything about this recipe. However, here are a few variations to add to the cookie topping to make it even more yummy & fun.
- Kiss Cookie - instead of a Hug candy, use the classic original Hershey's Kiss on these gingerbread cookies.
- Caramel - Drizzle on a bit of store-bought caramel sauce
- Ultimate Christmas - use candy cane-flavored Hershey's Kisses on the top for 2 great holiday combos together.
I have not tried making this gluten-free, egg-free, or dairy-free.
Equipment
To ensure this recipe is easy to make, the following kitchen tools are recommended. This cookie recipe calls for baking sheets, a hand mixer, spatulas, the usual mixing bowls, etc. Here are some of my favorite products & ingredients that are required for making this recipe.
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Storing & Freezing
Gingerbread blossoms with a Hershey's kiss on top and store well in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Store in a cool dry location like your pantry, cupboard, or counter. Keep away from heat or sunlight.
You can also mix the dough ahead of time. The gingerbread cookie dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and placed in an air-tight ziplock bag. Store in the refrigerator for 2 days before baking or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Bring cookie dough to room temperature before baking as directed. This may include defrosting for 2 days in the refrigerator if frozen.
FAQ
This recipe makes soft gingerbread. They should be only baked for 8 minutes and no longer. If you overbaked them, they may turn out hard.
Hard or dry cookies may also be a result of not storing them properly. Make sure they are in an air-tight container.
There are several theories as to how gingerbread became a Christmas tradition. Some think that the fairytale Hansel and Gretel were traditionally told around the holiday. Other historians state that gingerbread houses were first decorated in Germany in the 1800s. The history of the gingerbread house no matter how it started, sure is a tasty tradition.
I have not tried making this recipe with honey instead of molasses. I like the deep color that molasses brings to the recipe.
Gingerbread Blossoms with Hershey's Hugs
Equipment
- baking sheet
- hand mixer
Ingredients
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground clove
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 cup salted butter softened (2 sticks)
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar for rolling the dough
- 1 bag Hershey's Hugs * 48+ each unwrapped
Instructions
- Bring eggs and butter to room temperature. Also, unwrap the Hershey's candies and place them in a bowl in the freezer - See TOP TIP for why this helps with the recipe.
- Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray, parchment paper, or a silicone baking mat.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, & the 3 spices.
- Using a hand mixer on low speed, cream together the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Next add the eggs, vanilla, & molasses and mix on low for 2 minutes until combined.
- Add half the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Use the hand mixer to mix on low for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides with a spatula as needed. Repeat with the remaining half.
- Shaped dough into 1" balls. Roll each cookie dough ball in granulated sugar to coat all sides. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until you have 12 cookies evenly spaced on the cookie baking sheet.
- Bake for 8 minutes. Do NOT overbake, the centers may still be a bit soft. That is perfect.
- Remove the tray from the oven carefully with oven mitts. Immediately & gently press 1 Hershey's Hug candy kiss in the center of each cookie. Try to not let the cookies crack so that the Hug will stay firmly in place as the cookie cools around it.
- Let the cookie cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before removing them. Using a spatula, gently remove cookies to a cooling rack.
- Let cookies cool on the baking rack until the chocolate is firm and set. This can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes. Enjoy.
- Store cookies for up to 3 days in an air-tight container.
Nutrition
Food safety
Here are some tips about raw cookie dough. This recipe calls for eggs and consuming raw eggs in cookie dough is not safe according to the CDC.
- Cook these cookies according to the recipe so they are safe to consume.
- Do not cross-contaminate the raw eggs or other ingredients with other items or food in your kitchen.
- Always clean kitchen surfaces and equipment with hot water and soap.
AJ says
These were so good. I did freeze the Hershey's on the second batch since the first ones did melt a bit more than I wanted to when I pushed them on. Perfect!