These gingerbread blossoms capture so many of the flavors we love this time of year—warm spice, cozy molasses, a soft, chewy texture, and a melty chocolate kiss (or white chocolate hug!) in the center. They’re quick, simple, and festive, plus there’s no cookie dough chilling required!
When you want a treat that’s quick and easy, as well as crowd-pleasing, these gingerbread blossoms fit the bill… and with a little holiday sparkle, to boot! The dough mixes up in minutes, doesn’t need time to chill(!!!), and bakes into soft, puffy gingerbread pillows ready to crown with chocolate.
Think of this gingerbread blossom cookie recipe as a new take on holiday-favorite spiced soft molasses cookies, with the chocolatey appeal of peanut butter blossoms.
Here’s Why You’ll Love Gingerbread Blossoms
- No dough chilling required (see more no-dough-chilling cookie recipes)
- Simple, beginner-friendly baking recipe
- Soft in centers with crisp sugared edges
- Generously spiced
- Festive & pretty
- Freezer-friendly—freeze now to enjoy later!
Grab These Ingredients
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the base of this cookie recipe.
- Baking Soda: For rise and spread.
- A Generous Amount of Spices: Ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg.
- Salt: Salt adds flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Butter: Creamed butter forms the base of these soft cookies. If you’re a beginner baker, here’s more on how to cream butter and sugar properly. Be sure to start with proper room-temperature butter—it’s cooler than you think!
- Brown Sugar: I prefer dark brown sugar here, for the extra molasses flavor, but you can use light if that’s what you have.
- Molasses: Use unsulphured or dark/robust molasses; blackstrap is too bitter and overpowering for these.
- Egg: An egg binds everything together.
- Vanilla Extract: For flavor.
- Hershey’s Kisses (or white chocolate Hugs)
You’ll also need to roll the dough balls in sugar before baking. For this, you can use regular granulated sugar, but I like using coarse sugar for extra crunch and sparkle. In the photos, I used this sparkling sugar, but something like Sugar In The Raw works, too.
A Few Step-by-Step Photos
Whisk the dry ingredients together, then combine the wet ingredients together. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients. The dough will be thick:
Roll cookie dough into balls. Use about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie. A medium cookie scoop works perfectly here.
For sparkle and crunch, generously roll each cookie dough ball in coarse sparkling sugar (what I used in these photos) or regular granulated sugar.
These cookies need about 12 minutes in the oven.
Finally, Seal With a Kiss
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then lightly press a Hershey’s Kiss or Hug in the center of each slightly cooled-but-still-warm cookie. And then, here is my trick:
Briefly freeze the gingerbread blossoms to prevent the chocolate kiss candy from melting into a puddle.
Make sure you clear a space in your freezer before you begin, because you’ll want to do this quickly! If your freezer doesn’t have room for a large baking sheet, transfer the slightly cooled cookies to a smaller tray or plate before topping with the chocolate. This is the same process I use when I make candy cane kiss cookies, too.
Just a short stint in the freezer flash-cools the cookies, so you can enjoy them sooner.
Warm cookies will melt the chocolate kiss candy into a puddle. That’s why I recommend transferring the cookies to a smaller tray and flash-freezing them for 10 minutes. This quick chill helps the chocolate keep its shape.
Absolutely. Make the dough up to 3 days in advance and store tightly covered in the refrigerator. Let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before scooping and rolling.
I do not recommend it. Blackstrap is quite bitter, too thick, and will dry out these cookies. Use unsulphured or “dark/robust” molasses.
Even More Molasses & Gingerbread Cookies
Molasses/gingerbread cookies were an enormous part of my childhood. My mom and I baked her soft gingersnaps together nearly every December—I even published her recipe in Sally’s Baking Addiction cookbook. Over the years, I’ve published many variations, both on my website and in my cookbooks. Have you tried any of these yet?
- Seriously Soft Molasses Cookies: Soft, chewy, and sugar-coated, these classic molasses cookies are a must-make every holiday season.
- Gingerbread Cookies: The timeless roll-out original, ready for your cookie cutters and decorating fun.
- Gingerbread Latte Cookies: Dunk in espresso-speckled white chocolate for a creamy gingerbread latte experience… in a cookie!
- Gingerbread Cookie Bars: No-chill, no-roll, no-fuss gingerbread cookie bars are such a fan-favorite that I included them in my New York Times best-selling book, Sally’s Baking 101.
- Crisp Molasses Cookies: If you’re looking for a crunchy gingersnap cookie, this one’s for you—they actually snap when you break them!
- Chocolate Ginger Cookies: An elevated twist on my classic molasses cookies. You’ll appreciate the added cocoa flavor and how they are beautifully finished with dark chocolate and crystallized ginger.
- Iced Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies: One of my personal favorites, with the added chewy texture of an oatmeal cookie, plus icing on top!
This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.
Gingerbread Blossoms
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 30 cookies
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft gingerbread blossoms feature the nostalgic flavors of warm spice and cozy molasses, with a melty chocolate kiss—or white chocolate hug—nestled in the center. This no-chill dough comes together quickly and bakes into perfectly spiced holiday cookies that disappear quickly!
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 and 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar (I use dark)
- 6 Tablespoons (128g) unsulphured or dark molasses (I prefer Grandma’s brand; do not use blackstrap)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- for rolling: 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar or coarse sparkling sugar
- 30 Hershey’s Kisses or Hugs, unwrapped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until creamy and combined, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. The mixture may look a bit curdled and separated; that’s ok.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. The dough is thick.
- Scoop and roll cookie dough into balls, a scant 1.5 Tablespoons (30g) of dough each. Roll each in granulated sugar or coarse sugar, and arrange at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake cookies for 12 minutes or until edges appear set.
- Remove from the oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
- Set the chocolate: Using a thin spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to a smaller tray or plate that will fit in your freezer. Press a chocolate kiss candy into the center of each, then place the plate(s) of cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes to quickly set the chocolate.
- Remove the cookies from the freezer and serve.
- Cover leftover cookies tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let the chilled cookie dough sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before scooping and rolling. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw. Read my tips and tricks on how to freeze cookie dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Cookie Scoop | Coarse Sugar | Cooling Rack
- Coarse Sugar: In step 5 when you coat the dough balls, you can use regular granulated sugar, but I like using coarse sugar for extra crunch and sparkle. In the photos, I used this sparkling sugar, but something like Sugar In The Raw works, too.
- Chocolate Kisses/Hug Candies: Regular chocolate Kisses hold their shape best. White chocolate Hugs are softer and melt more quickly, so the quick freeze step in step 8 is especially important.
- Can I Make These Plain Without the Chocolate Center? Yes. Simply bake as directed and skip step 8. Or, instead of a Hershey’s Kisses, you can press a few chocolate chips, white chocolate morsels, or butterscotch chips in the center.
