Wednesday, February 5, 2020

UR Sweet: Red Velvet Blossom Cookies


I've had this blog for 6 years now (WTF HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?) and I think I've shared Valentine's Day treats nearly every single year! I'm impressed with myself! Knowing that I feel like I can't let anyone down (the whopping 20 of you that even read my recipe posts, ha!).


This year, I went for simplicity. I knew I liked the idea of a festive cookie or something pretty simple and then I saw this twist on the classic peanut butter blossom cookie concept and my mind was blown. OF COURSE! Why NOT make the blossom cookie with other flavors?


I found this recipe originally on Dessert Now, Dinner Later and wanted to give it a try myself. What I love about her recipe is that she uses cake mix to make her cookie dough and since I am ALL for a simple recipe with just 3 or 4 ingredients, I had to try it.


Cake mix cookies are so simple and work really well - did you know that just by adding less liquid, cake batter becomes cookie dough? It's a pretty obvious thing when you think of it but WHO WOULD THINK OF THAT? Not me!


What WAS tough in planning for these was deciding what kind of Hershey's Kisses to use! Chocolate is lovely but the options are (sort of) endless. You can put Hugs on these! Or you could find a seasonal Hershey's Kiss and use those. I found these lava cake Kisses out for Valentine's Day and used those. They made for a real melty and gooey bite. Any of the fun Kisses flavors would impress your honey this Valentine's Day.


Speaking of Valentine's Day, have any plans for it this year? I love that it's on a Friday! I know we can go out on a weeknight, but I much prefer to lay low on weeknights and go out on weekends. So having the holiday on a Friday opens up a whole new world of possibilities for us! How about you?



Red Velvet Blossom Cookies

Ingredients
  • 1 box Red Velvet Cake Mix
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 large egg
  • Sugar for rolling (you can use white or red-colored sugar - I made a mix of both!)
  • 1 bag Hershey Kisses (have fun with the flavor you get - Hugs would be yummy or one of their special seasonal flavors!)
  1. Heat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Unwrap your Hershey Kisses to make the final few steps easier on yourself.
  3. In a large box, combine the cake mix, oil, water, and egg until smooth and fully mixed (alternatively, you could mix this in your mixer or with a hand mixer).
  4. Pour enough sugar into a bowl for your cookie dough to roll around in.
  5. Roll cookie dough into balls a bit smaller than a golf ball and then roll them into the sugar until fully coated.
  6. Place the cookies on a prepared baking sheet (with parchment paper or spray) and bake for 8 minutes.
  7. Gently press a Hershey Kiss into the center of each cookie and then put back into the oven for 1-2 additional minutes.
  8. Let cookies cool completely on a cooling rack.