These Chocolate Caramel Blossoms, or Hershey Kiss Cookies, are one cookie you must add to your holiday baking list! They're soft, chocolatey cookies rolled in sugar and topped with Hershey Caramel Kisses! As I did, you can also try different sugars to roll them in! They're the cousin to my popular Familiar Peanut Butter Blossoms recipe, are simple to make, and genuinely flavorful!

Angled image of Chocolate Caramel Blossoms on cookie sheet | All Images © Sovuh, LLC

How it comes together

Just like the familiar, these Chocolate Caramel Blossoms will be a very easy recipe to make! You'll need either a hand mixer or a stand mixer to bring the ingredients together, along with a small bowl, cookie sheets, parchment paper, and 1 or 2 wire cooling racks.

Whisk the dry ingredients together. This includes all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt, and dutch process baking cocoa.
Mix the wet ingredients. Beat together the unsalted butter and sugars until light in color and airy in texture. Add in the egg, milk, and vanilla extract.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. The dough will be on the thicker side.
Chill the dough. Tightly wrap the top of the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and chill the cookie dough for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.
Roll the cookie dough balls in sugar. You may use granulated sugar or a flavored sugar of your choice. Place on the cookie sheet, spacing them out approximately 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes, if desired.
Bake for 6-8 minutes at 375ºF. While your cookies bake, unwrap the number of Hershey Caramel Kisses you'll need.
Top each cookie with a Hershey's caramel kiss. Return the cookies to the oven for an additional 2 minutes. It will make the chocolate kisses very soft but will hold their shape and will not melt.
Cool the chocolate caramel blossom cookies. Leave them on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to the cooling racks.
Store the cookies. Keep the cookies stored in an airtight container or cookie jar with a slice of bread for up to a week.

Baker notes

There is a 1-hour minimum chill time for this method. You can always chill the dough for longer or overnight.
Allow the chocolate caramel blossom cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack. They'll still be soft, so use a spatula and handle them carefully.
As the chocolate caramel blossoms bake, unwrap the Hershey's caramel kisses and put them into a bowl. When you pull the cookies out to add the kisses, it will go much faster!
The salted caramel and dark cocoa sugars came from The Spice & Tea Exchange in Lancaster, PA. Awesome place, and they have so many different teas and sugars to try!
Add a slice of bread to your container or cookie jar with chocolate caramel blossoms. It helps to keep the cookies from drying out.

Questions on this bake

Why do I need to chill this chocolate caramel blossom cookie dough?

Chilling this cookie dough will help keep it together as you shape it into cookie dough balls. It will also prevent them from spreading out too much while baking.

What other sugars can I roll chocolate caramel blossoms in?

You typically roll blossoms in granulated sugar before you bake them; however, for this method, you can have some fun and change it up! You can roll half of the cookie dough in salted caramel sugar and the other half in dark cocoa sugar. Both gave them a truly nice flavor and a little added crunch.

Do I need to flatten the ball of cookie dough with a glass before baking?

No, this chocolate caramel blossoms cookie dough does not need to be flattened. You scoop out the dough with a cookie scoop (or spoon), roll it in your hands to smooth it out, then roll it in sugar. Cookie balls that do get flattened slightly are my Almond Sprinkle Cookies, Lemon Shortbread Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies.

Won't Hershey's kisses melt in the oven?

Baking the chocolate caramel blossoms with Hershey's caramel kisses on top for the additional 2 minutes will not cause them to melt. They will become very soft; however, so be mindful when transferring them to the cooling racks. Try using a spatula to transfer them.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Dutch Process Baking Cocoa

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature

1/2 cup Granulated Sugar, plus additional for coating of cookies

1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar

1 Large Egg

2 tbsp Milk, 1%, 2%, or Fat-free

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

10 oz Hershey Caramel Kisses

Sea Salt Flakes, optional

Salted Caramel Sugar, optional

Dark Cocoa Sugar, optional

Method

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt, and dutch process baking cocoa. Set to the side.

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and airy.

Add in the large egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed.

Reduce your mixer speed to a slower setting and gradually add in the whisked dry mixture until it's completely blended. The dough will be on the thicker side.

Tightly wrap the top of the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and chill the cookie dough for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.

After dough has chilled, adjust your oven rack to the 2nd level position (just above center) and preheat your oven to 375ºF. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Using a spoon, scoop out a small amount of cookie dough, and shape it into 1-inch size balls.

Roll each ball in a small bowl of granulated sugar (or a flavored sugar of your choice), then place on the cookie sheet, spacing them out approximately 2 inches apart. Sprinkle the tops with some sea salt flakes, if desired.

Bake for 6-8 minutes at 375ºF. While your cookies bake, unwrap the number of Hershey Caramel Kisses you'll need.

When ready, remove the chocolate caramel blossoms from the oven. As you place a Hershey Caramel Kiss on top of each cookie, press down gently to spread the cookie out slightly. The cookie should show cracks as you do this, and it's totally okay! Then return the cookies to the oven and bake for 2 minutes longer.

Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooking rack to cool completely.

Keep the cookies stored in an airtight container or cookie jar with a slice of bread for up to a week.

Baker notes

There is a 1-hour minimum chill time for this method. You can always chill the dough for longer or overnight.

Allow the chocolate caramel blossom cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack. They'll still be soft, so use a spatula and handle them carefully.

As the chocolate caramel blossoms bake, unwrap the Hershey's caramel kisses and put them into a bowl. When you pull the cookies out to add the kisses, it will go much faster.

The salted caramel and dark cocoa sugars came from The Spice & Tea Exchange in Lancaster, PA. Awesome place, and they have so many different teas and sugars to try.

Add a slice of bread to your container or cookie jar with chocolate caramel blossoms. It helps to keep the cookies from drying out

Recipe adapted from the late Grammy's Familiar Peanut Butter Blossoms.❤️