Description
Strawberry Kiss Cookies are soft, funfetti sugar cookies featuring a creamy cream cheese dough rolled in sparkling sanding sugar or non-pareils and topped with a delightful Hershey's Strawberry Ice Cream Cone Kiss. These playful cookies offer a perfect balance of sweetness and texture, ideal for parties or special occasions.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 16 ounce bag Funfetti Sugar Cookie Mix
- 4 ounce cream cheese softened (half of an 8-ounce package)
- 1 large egg
Coating and Topping
- ½ cup pink or white sanding sugar or non-pareils
- 18 Hershey’s Strawberry Ice Cream Cone Kisses, unwrapped
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheet: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure it's ready for baking.
- Make the Dough: In a large mixing bowl, use a hand or stand mixer to beat together the funfetti sugar cookie mix, softened cream cheese, and large egg until combined into a soft dough.
- Prepare the Coating: Pour the pink or white sanding sugar or non-pareils into a shallow bowl for easy coating.
- Scoop and Coat Dough Balls: Using a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out balls of dough and drop them into the bowl of sugar or non-pareils. Roll the dough gently until coated and form into even balls.
- Optional Chill for Easier Handling: If the dough is too sticky to scoop and roll, refrigerate or freeze it for 30 to 60 minutes to make it easier to handle but still slightly sticky.
- Arrange on Baking Sheet: Place the coated cookie balls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 1 ½ inches apart to allow for spreading.
- Bake Cookies: Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes or until the edges are set and slightly firm.
- Cool Slightly and Add Strawberry Kisses: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3 to 5 minutes. Then, press an unwrapped Hershey’s Strawberry Ice Cream Cone Kiss into the center of each cookie.
- Cool Completely or Serve Warm: Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely to set the shape of the Kisses, or serve them warm based on your preference.
Notes
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or refrigerate for up to one week.
- You can freeze these cookies for 2-3 months to enjoy later without losing quality.
- Do not cover or store cookies while warm, as this may deform the Strawberry Kisses.
- If dough is sticky, coating hands or cookie scoop lightly with sanding sugar can help with handling.
- The amount of cooling time before pressing in the Kisses affects how soft or hard the chocolates become—pressing them immediately after baking will make them melt, while cooling fully will keep them firm.
- Non-pareils do not prevent sticking like sanding sugar but still help in coating the dough balls nicely.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
