Gingerbread Blossoms

There’s a reason gingerbread blossoms, or gingerbread kisses, are often the first treats to vanish from the holiday dessert table—it’s impossible to eat just one. Soft, chewy, perfectly spiced molasses cookies get topped with chocolate kisses. Essentially, these gingerbread kiss cookies are blossom cookies with a festive twist.

A combination of molasses, brown sugar and warm spices (plus a generous coating of sugar for extra sparkle) makes these morsels a perfect addition to your Christmas cookie recipes. So go ahead—bust out that apron and get to unwrapping some chocolate kisses!

Ingredients for Gingerbread Blossoms

• Butter: Because this recipe already calls for salt, opt for unsalted butter as your fat base. Allow time for your butter to soften to room temperature, or use this trick to soften butter in minutes.
• Brown sugar: Using brown sugar makes the gingerbread blossoms extra chewy and gives them a deeper flavor. Light or dark brown sugar will work just fine, although dark brown sugar gives a richer, bolder flavor due to the higher molasses content.
• Egg: Just one room-temperature egg helps bind the ingredients together.
• Molasses: Molasses is what makes these gingerbread kiss cookies so flavorful, chewy and moist. For this recipe, we recommend using light, unsulfured molasses, which is milder in flavor and is what you typically find at the grocery store.
• Flour: All-purpose flour lends just the right amount of structure without making the cookies dry. For the best results, be sure to measure your flour accurately.
• Baking soda: Baking soda interacts with acidic ingredients like molasses and brown sugar to help the gingerbread kisses rise in the oven.
• Salt: Even sweet recipes need a touch of salt for balance.
• Ground spices: All good gingerbread recipes start with the right amount of seasonings and spices. Ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg combine with the molasses to give these cookies their warm and spicy gingerbread flavor.
• Sugar: Rolling the chilled cookie dough in granulated sugar before baking adds another layer of sweetness, sparkle and texture.
• Chocolate kisses: Make sure to unwrap all the kisses beforehand so that you’re ready to place them on the cookies when they’re fresh from the oven. As with our peppermint blossom cookies, you can use any flavor of chocolate you want. We love the Hershey’s Hugs that also have white chocolate in them.

Directions

Step 1: Create the creamed mixture

Place the softened butter and brown sugar in a large bowl and cream them together for five to seven minutes, until light and fluffy.

Gradually beat the egg and molasses into the creamed butter and sugar.

Editor’s Tip: Creaming the butter and sugar is an important step in achieving soft and light cookies. Make sure to beat the ingredients on high speed for the full five to seven minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl once halfway through and again at the end.

Step 2: Gradually add the dry ingredients

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and spices together in a separate bowl. Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture.

Editor’s Tip: To avoid overmixing your dough (which could potentially lead to tough cookies), add the dry ingredients in two or three additions and mix on low speed just until the ingredients are combined.

Step 3: Chill the cookie dough

Cover the dough and place it in the refrigerator to chill until firm enough to shape, about four hours.

Step 4: Roll in sugar and bake

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Scoop the chilled dough and shape into 1-inch balls, then roll each dough ball in granulated sugar. Place the rolled dough balls about 1-inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned.

Editor’s Tip: It’s OK if you end up needing more than 1/4 cup sugar to coat the dough. Simply use as much as you need to evenly coat each dough ball.

Step 5: Place chocolate kisses on the warm cookies

Remove the cookies from the oven and immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie.

Allow the gingerbread kiss cookies to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Recipe Variations

• Switch up the chocolate: Try milk, white or dark chocolate in the center of the cookies. A mix of all three on a cookie platter makes for a pretty spread too.
• Opt for a different candy topping: They might not technically qualify as “blossoms” without the kiss, but we think a chocolate candy square, chocolate heart or caramel-filled chocolate candy would make for a delicious cookie topping.
• Add some extra spice: Add 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom to the existing combination of spices for extra depth and warmth.

How to Store Gingerbread Blossoms

To store gingerbread kisses, allow them to cool completely, then place them in an airtight container between layers of parchment or waxed paper for up to four days. For more details, here’s exactly how we store cookies to keep them extra fresh.

Can you make gingerbread blossoms ahead of time?

Yes, gingerbread blossoms are a great cookie recipe to make ahead of time. Prepared dough can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking. You can also freeze cookie dough or baked cookies—see the next answer.

Can you freeze gingerbread blossoms?

Yes, cookie dough balls that have been rolled in sugar can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. When ready to enjoy, simply bake from frozen as directed in the recipe.

You can also store baked gingerbread kiss cookies (chocolate kiss included!) in the freezer for up to three months. To freeze baked cookies, allow them to cool completely before freezing until solid. Keep frozen cookies in a freezer-safe resealable bag until ready to thaw. Here are our best tips on how to freeze cookies.

Gingerbread Blossom Tips

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How do you avoid flat gingerbread blossoms?

The key to avoiding flat cookies is keeping the dough cold before it hits the hot oven. First, make sure that you thoroughly chill the dough, at least four hours, before baking. For extra insurance, you can pop the sugar-coated dough balls in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before baking. Second, keep any dough that you’re not working with in the refrigerator. And third, make sure the cookie sheet has cooled completely before placing a new batch of chilled cookie dough balls on it.

What kind of molasses should you use for gingerbread kiss cookies?

We recommend a light unsulfured molasses—it is milder in flavor and is what you’ll typically find at the grocery store. You can opt for darker unsulfured molasses, which will give you a bolder, more molasses-forward flavor. Avoid blackstrap molasses, which is too bitter to use in these cookies.

How can you tell when gingerbread kisses are done baking?

Gingerbread blossoms are done baking when the edges are set and the cookies are lightly browned. Avoid overbaking the cookies to maintain their perfectly soft and chewy texture.