There are certain cookies I can experiment with at Christmas, and then there are the cookies my family expects to see every single year. These Nutella Kiss Cookies are firmly in the second group. If I didn’t make them, my kids would definitely complain.
They begin with the traditional peanut butter blossom cookie that almost everyone recognizes, but I make mine a little differently. Instead of using only peanut butter, I replace half of it with Nutella. That simple change adds a soft chocolate-hazelnut flavor to the peanut butter cookie without taking away the familiar taste everyone loves.
I also roll my Nutella Kiss Cookies in different colors of homemade sugar before baking them. Red and green make them especially pretty for Christmas, and I’ll show you how easy it is to color ordinary granulated sugar with gel food coloring.
These cookies have been part of our family’s Christmas celebrations since my kids were little. I would sit them down with a bag of Hershey’s Kisses and let them help me remove all the wrappers.
I’m sure plenty of chocolates disappeared before they ever made it to the cookies, but that was part of the fun.
Now, when I bake Nutella Kiss Cookies, I don’t just think about the finished plate of cookies. I remember little hands unwrapping chocolates, the crinkle of all that foil, and my kids trying to sneak a Kiss when they thought I wasn’t looking.
Somewhere along the way, this simple cookie became one of our family traditions.
Why I Add Nutella to Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Traditional peanut butter blossoms are made with peanut butter and topped with one chocolate Kiss. They’re a classic for a reason. Hershey’s shares the familiar version in its traditional peanut butter blossoms recipe.
My Nutella Kiss Cookies keep everything people recognize about the original, including the soft peanut butter cookie, the crackled edges, and the chocolate pressed into the center.
The difference is in the dough.
This recipe uses six tablespoons of peanut butter and six tablespoons of Nutella. The two balance each other nicely. You can still taste the peanut butter, but the Nutella adds another layer of chocolate and hazelnut flavor.
It makes a familiar Christmas cookie feel a little more special without turning it into something completely different.
You can use creamy or crunchy peanut butter. Creamy gives the cookies a smoother texture, while crunchy adds little pieces of peanut throughout the dough. Both work, so I use whichever sounds best or happens to be in my pantry.
I freeze the unwrapped Hershey’s Kisses while I prepare and bake the dough. After the cookies have been removed from the oven, I press a frozen Kiss into each center.
The chilled chocolate holds its shape better when it meets the warm cookie.
How I Make Colored Sugar for Nutella Kiss Cookies
The homemade colored sugar is such a simple touch, but it makes these Nutella Kiss Cookies look especially festive on a Christmas cookie tray.
I like using more than one color, usually red and green, and keeping each color in its own small bowl.
To make it, place granulated sugar in a blender or food processor and add gel food coloring. Pulse the mixture until the color is completely incorporated and the sugar reaches the shade you want.
Gel food coloring works especially well because it adds strong color without pouring much extra liquid into the sugar. Begin with a small amount, pulse it into the sugar, and then add more gel if you want a deeper shade.
Prepare each color separately so they stay bright and distinct.
When the dough has been shaped into one-inch balls, roll each ball in one of the colored sugars before placing it on the cookie sheet. The sparkling coating stays visible after baking and gives the finished Nutella Kiss Cookies that cheerful red-and-green Christmas look.
You can also match the sugar to other occasions. Pink or red would be pretty for Valentine’s Day, pastels would work for spring, and orange sugar could turn these into a fun fall cookie.
My family will always think of them as a Christmas cookie, though.
Peanut Butter Nutella Kiss Cookies Recipe
Yield: 48 cookies
Baking temperature: 325°F to 350°F
Baking time: 8 to 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 48 Hershey’s Kisses
- 1/2 cup butter
- 6 tablespoons creamy or crunchy peanut butter
- 6 tablespoons Nutella
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Colored granulated sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Remove the wrappers from all 48 Hershey’s Kisses. Place the unwrapped chocolates in the freezer while you prepare the cookie dough.
- Heat the oven to 325°F to 350°F. I bake at more than 4,000 feet, where 325°F works well for me. At a lower elevation, begin with 350°F and watch the first test cookie carefully.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, and Nutella until well blended.
- Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the peanut butter and Nutella mixture.
- Shape the dough into 48 balls, about one inch each.
- Roll each dough ball in colored granulated sugar, then place the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 3 to 4 minutes. Press one frozen Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each cookie. The cookie will crack around the edges, which is exactly what you want.
- Transfer the Nutella Kiss Cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely.
Make One Test Cookie First
Before baking the entire pan, I recommend baking one Nutella Kiss Cookie by itself. Flour measurement, ingredient temperature, elevation, and individual ovens can all change how cookie dough behaves.
If the test cookie spreads too much, work a small amount of additional flour into the remaining dough. If it holds its shape and develops those pretty cracks when you add the Kiss, leave the dough alone.
Also watch the baking time closely. These are small cookies, so even a minute can make a difference. They should be lightly browned rather than dark around the edges.
Storing and Freezing Nutella Kiss Cookies
Once the Nutella Kiss Cookies have cooled completely and the chocolate centers are firm, store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
I don’t refrigerate cookies because I find that refrigeration dries them out too quickly.
These cookies can also be frozen. Place the completely cooled cookies in a freezer-safe container, separating the layers with parchment paper if needed so the chocolate centers aren’t crushed.
When I want to warm frozen cookies, I place them directly into a cool oven. Then I turn the oven to 350°F and warm them for about eight minutes because these are smaller cookies.
Keep in mind that the Hershey’s Kisses will soften and may lose some of their shape as they warm. If you want the chocolate centers to remain neatly shaped, let the cookies thaw at room temperature instead.
If you’re stacking the cookies for storage or adding them to a Christmas tray, make sure the Kisses have completely set first. Warm chocolate can easily smear onto the bottoms of the cookies above it.
A Christmas Cookie My Family Counts On
I make many different cookies during the Christmas season, but Nutella Kiss Cookies are the ones that absolutely have to be there.
They aren’t complicated or fancy. They’re a familiar cookie with my own little chocolate-hazelnut spin, dressed up in homemade Christmas sugar.
More importantly, they’re tied to years of Christmas memories with my kids. They loved helping me unwrap the Kisses when they were little, even if their version of helping included eating a few along the way.
Now this is one of those recipes that feels like Christmas to all of us.
I hope your family enjoys these Nutella Kiss Cookies as much as mine does. And if you have children or grandchildren helping with the wrappers, I recommend buying a few extra Kisses.
Some traditions are very predictable.
Making every house feel a little more like home.
