Hershey Kiss Snowball Cookies

These cookies remind me of Christmases when I was little. I used to help my mom unwrap all of the Hershey kisses and roll them into the middle of each cookie! These might just be my all time favorite Christmas cookie and I highly recommend trying them!

Start with 1 cup softened butter in a medium mixing bowl.

Mix in 2/3 cup of granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

In a separate small mixing bowl, mix together 1 2/3 cups of all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup of cocoa.

 Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture - I do this by adding a little of the flour mixture, and stirring until it is completely incorporated, then adding a little more and continuing until the flour mixture is completely stirred in.

Stir in 1 cup of chopped pecans. Place the dough in the refrigerator and let it cool for one hour.

While the dough is in the refrigerator, unwrap 44 Hershey kisses - this recipe makes 44 cookies for me, but have extra Hershey kisses on hand just in case :)

I had no idea how to explain this through pictures, but hopefully this is makes sense... Measure out 1 tablespoon of dough (I measure out all 44 cookies at once) then press 1 Hershey kiss into each piece of dough and roll the dough around the Hershey kiss to form a ball.

These cookies spread a little more than I was expecting them too, but they still don't spread a ton. Place each ball about an inch apart along a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the cookies at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes. Once they are out of the oven, let them cool just until they are cool enough for you to handle.

Once they are cool enough to touch, roll them once in icing sugar. This coat is really just a sticky melted mess but it helps the second coat stick. When you've rolled the cookies once, set them out to cool completely. I typically put them in the fridge to speed up this process!

When they are completely cool, roll them in icing sugar again and you're done!

HERSHEY KISS SNOWBALL COOKIES
yield: 44 cookies 
ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup pecans, chopped
44 Hershey kisses (maybe more)
icing sugar (to roll the cookies in)

directions
1. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and vanilla.
2. In a separate small mixing bowl, stir together flour and cocoa.
3. Gradually mix the flour mixture into the butter mixture, until the flour mixture is completely incorporated.
4. Mix in the chopped pecans.
5. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. While the dough is in the refrigerator, unwrap 44 Hershey kisses.
6. Measure out 1 tablespoon of dough for each cookie and roll a Hershey kiss into the center of each cookie. Place the rolled cookies about 1 inch apart across a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. When the cookies are cool enough to touch, roll the in icing sugar. Let this coat set, and allow the cookies to cool completely. Then, roll them in icing sugar again.

Let me know if you have any questions!