Valentine Kiss Cookies Recipes

SHORTBREAD HERSHEY KISS COOKIES RECIPE

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar together with either a hand or stand mixer until thoroughly combined.
• Sift flour and cornstarch together and stir in salt. Be sure that when you measure the flour and cornstarch you use the spoon and level method - stir the flour or cornstarch with a spoon and then spoon it into your measuring cup and a bit over. Do not pack it in. Then use a knife or the handle of the spoon to level off the top. Remove a couple of spoonfuls after measuring the cornstarch for a scant cup. If you don't measure this way, you may use too much flour and end up with dry and crumbly cookies.
• Add flour mixture and vanilla to sugar/butter and mix on medium to high speed until thoroughly combined. This will take a few minutes as you are making a mixture similar to pie crust and the butter needs time to be cut into the flour. If it seems to remain just too crumbly after several minutes, you can add a couple more tablespoons of butter. Keep mixing the dough until it comes together as it should not be crumbly.
• Form dough into a ball/disc, as you would pie crust, and wrap with plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or overnight. Preheat oven to 325°F if making the same day.
• Take heaping teaspoonfuls of dough and roll into balls with hands lightly dusted with powdered sugar. If dough starts to melt in your hands, place back in the fridge for 20 minutes.
• Place cookie balls onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat about 1 inch apart.
• At this point you can take a small clean glass and dip the bottom in powered sugar and flatten each cookie or use your thumb to create a crater that you press the kiss into later. Both seemed to work equally well for me, though I preferred the look of the thumb-pressed cookies more for this application. Note that these cookies will not rise or expand very much.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges have just a very slight golden tinge. Check at around 10-12 minutes if your oven runs really hot. These are not cookies you want to get brown.
• Remove sheets from oven and allow to cool for a minute. Then immediately place an unwrapped Hershey Kiss into the center of each cookie, pressing down lightly.
• Allow to cool completely and enjoy. Cookies can be stored at room temperature in air-tight container for up to 3 day. Unbaked dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days (wrap tightly so it doesn't dry out) or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

CHERRY CHOCOLATE KISS COOKIES - VALENTINE KISSES

Steps:

• Beat butter, add sugar and salt. Beat in cherry liquid and almond extract. Beat in flour. Fold in cherries.
• Refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes (you don't have to, but dough is easier to work with when cold).
• Roll dough into balls, coat in sugar and place on cookie sheet. These cookies will flatten on their own, but I typically put a thumb print in the center to flatten some.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 14 minutes. Let cool on pan for 1-2 minutes.
• Add Hershey Kiss/Hug to center of the cookies. (Hugs melt especially fast, you may want to let the cookies cool a little longer before adding Hugs, but cookies should still be warm so chocolate can melt into the cookie).
• Transfer to wire rack to cool.

VALENTINE KISS COOKIES!

Steps:

• Cream peanut butter, margarine, and sugar.
• Beat in eggs.
• Combine flour, baking powder, and cinnamon, and add to mixture gradually.
• Chill dough for 30 minutes.
• Wrap about one tsp dough around each chocolate kiss.
• Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
• Roll in powdered sugar.