• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Pretty Bee
  • About
  • Start Here
  • Recipes
    • Sort By Allergen
    • View all recipes
  • cookbooks
    • Quick Start Bundle.
  • contact
  • subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Start Here
  • View All Recipes
  • Sort By Allergen
  • Cookbooks
  • Contact
×

Home » Holiday Cookies » Hidden Kiss Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan).

Hidden Kiss Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan).

Dec 23, 2018 · Modified: Dec 14, 2022 by Kelly Roenicke · 2 Comments

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

These holiday cookies have a surprise inside! A buttery cookie, powdered sugar coating, and chocolate center make these hidden kiss cookies extra special. The best part is, this delectable cookie recipe is gluten free, vegan, and nut free!

hidden kiss cookies on a plate

There’s something so fun about a surprise-inside treat! These hidden kiss cookies look like snowball cookies, but wait – when you bite inside, there’s a chocolate kiss hidden there! And not just any chocolate kiss, a homemade, dairy free chocolate kiss.

I love to adapt these kind of recipes. There’s usually a way to make these types of traditional cookies work for those with food allergies. You just have to get creative!

If you love holiday baking, this is a fun recipe to add to your cookie tray.

Jump to:
  • Ingredient Notes
  • Homemade Chocolate Kisses
  • Substitutions
  • Step by Step Instructions
  • Baking Tips
  • Storage
  • More Holiday Cookie Recipes
  • Recipe
vegan hidden kiss cookies on a baking sheet

Ingredient Notes

  • Allergy Friendly Chocolate Chips – Both PASCHA Chocolate and Enjoy Life Foods make baking chips that are dairy free and made in a nut free facility. You can use light chocolate or dark chocolate for this recipe, either will work well.
  • Gluten Free Flour Blend – There are so many great gluten free flours available nowadays. You will want to get a gluten free flour blend, like Namaste Perfect Flour, Now Foods, or you can make your own blend. Rice flour alone will not work for baking. Coconut flour or almond flour will also not work – the cookies will be flat and tough. Those grain free flours work best in recipes that contain eggs.
  • Pumpkin Seeds – I like adding the ground pumpkin seeds to this cookie dough. It adds a nice nutty flavor. If you can’t have pumpkin seeds, just substitute more gluten free flour or some ground oat flour. Superseedz pumpkin seeds are made in an allergy friendly facility.

Homemade Chocolate Kisses

To make homemade chocolate kisses, just take your favorite allergy friendly chocolate chips, and use a candy mold to make homemade chocolate kisses. I have seen the molds available on Amazon and eBay. You could also just pipe a small amount of chocolate on waxed paper. The candies will be flatter that way, but it will still be a similar idea.

how to make homemade hershey's kisses

Substitutions

  • You can use regular butter if you aren’t dairy free.
  • If you don’t want to use ground pumpkin seeds, try oat flour in an equal amount.
  • If you don’t want to make the candy kisses, just stir some mini chocolate chips into the cookie dough instead.
gluten free hidden kiss cookies

Step by Step Instructions

  1. Grind up the pumpkin seeds in a food processor.
  2. Make the dough, and refrigerate it for about 2 hours.
  3. Form the dough into balls, and press a chocolate kiss into the center. Form the dough around the chocolate kiss.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 18 minutes. Roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar.
how to make hidden kiss cookies

Baking Tips

  • Chilling the dough in the refrigerator will help these cookies keep their shape and not spread out on the baking sheet.
  • Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper so the cookies don’t stick.
  • Allow the cookies to cool for about 10 minutes before rolling in powdered sugar.
Christmas Cookie Ebook

Learn how to make the best, most delicious holiday cookies with these easy recipes. This is a great way to simplify your holiday baking! LEARN MORE…

Learn how to make these cookies in the video below.

Storage

Store cookies in an airtight container. They should stay fresh for about 5 days.

More Holiday Cookie Recipes

  • Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
  • Gluten Free Ginger Crinkle Cookies
  • Chocolate Dipped Lace Cookies

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Recipe

dairy free hidden kiss cookies
5 from 1 vote
Print

Hidden Kiss Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan).

These sweet treats have a chocolatey surprise inside! Hidden kiss cookies are a perfect addition to your holiday party.

Course Dessert
Cuisine Dairy Free, gluten free, vegan.
Keyword buttery, easy
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Chilling 1 hour
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 20
Calories 192 kcal
Author Kelly Roenicke

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup vegan buttery spread
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
  • 4 Tablespoons organic cane sugar
  • ½ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
  • 1 ¾ cups gluten free flour
  • 1 ¼ cup dairy free chocolate chips
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Make the chocolate kisses:

  1. Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for one minute. If they aren’t melted, microwave in ten second intervals, stirring in between, until the are melted.

  2. Use a small spoon to put the chocolate into a chocolate kiss mold. Smooth out the chocolate with the back of the spoon. Refrigerate until firm, for about 30 minutes.

Make the cookies:

  1. Place the pumpkin seeds in a mini food processor and process on high speed until they are finely ground.

  2. Cream the vegan buttery spread, vanilla extract, applesauce, salt, and granulated sugar.
  3. Add the gluten free flour and ground pumpkin seeds. Mix on low speed. The dough will be very thick.

  4. Refrigerate the dough for two hours.

  5. Remove the chocolate kisses from the candy mold.

  6. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

  7. Roll the dough into balls and place a chocolate kiss in the center of each ball. Pinch the dough around the kiss and use your fingers to smooth the dough out. Place on the cookie sheet. You should leave one inch of space between each cookie. You can fit 12 cookies on a cookie sheet.

  8. Bake at 325 degrees F for 18-21 minutes, until the balls are golden brown on the bottom.

  9. Place the powdered sugar in a bowl.

  10. Remove the cookies from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.

  11. While the cookies are warm, roll them in the powdered sugar. Let the cookies cool fully, then roll in the powdered sugar again to get a nice white coating.
  12. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

Nutrition facts are for one cookie.

If you aren’t dairy free, go ahead and use regular butter and Hershey’s Kisses.

Store cookies in an airtight container. They should stay fresh for about five days.

Nutrition Facts
Hidden Kiss Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan).
Amount per Serving
Calories
192
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
10
g
15
%
Saturated Fat
 
4
g
25
%
Sodium
 
56
mg
2
%
Potassium
 
79
mg
2
%
Carbohydrates
 
22
g
7
%
Fiber
 
2
g
8
%
Sugar
 
12
g
13
%
Protein
 
2
g
4
%
Vitamin A
 
330
IU
7
%
Calcium
 
15
mg
2
%
Iron
 
1.2
mg
7
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Related

« Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs (Gluten Free, Egg Free).
Creamy Cauliflower Carrot Soup (Dairy Free, Grain Free). »

Filed Under: Dairy Free, Desserts, food, Gluten Free, Holiday Cookies, Nut Free, Recipes, Sweets, Vegan Tagged With: Dairy Free, Egg Free, Fish Free, Garlic Free, Gluten Free, Mustard Free, Nightshade Free, Onion Free, Peanut Free, Sesame Free, Shellfish Free, Soy Free, top 8 allergy free recipe, Tree Nut Free

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Kelly Roenicke
Kelly Roenicke
Mom to two boys with food allergies and sensitivities, Kelly is passionate about allergy friendly cooking and baking. She believes that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.
Kelly Roenicke
Latest posts by Kelly Roenicke (see all)
  • Delicious Vegan Banana Waffles. - March 18, 2023
  • 25 Delectable Egg Free Desserts Your Family Will Love. - March 2, 2023
  • Gluten Free Apple Muffins (Vegan, Nut Free). - February 28, 2023

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. D

    December 14, 2022 at 5:32 pm

    5 stars
    My sons love these cookies!

    Reply
  2. Lisa Callaway

    December 24, 2020 at 3:17 am

    3/4 cup vegan buttery spread—–could I use butter instead of this and increase it to 1 cup?
    2 teaspoons vanilla
    2 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce—can I omit this since I’ll increase butter?

    And can I omit the pepitias?

    My daughter is allergic to wheat but not the rest of the ingredients I have mentioned.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

kelly roenicke portrait

Hi! I'm Kelly, and I believe that you can enjoy amazing, easy recipes even when cooking for multiple food allergies.

Learn more →

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Find the perfect recipe

Filter all recipes by allergen

Search & Sort Recipes by Allergen

Footer

↑ back to top

Browse my allergy friendly cookbooks.

Why, yes, I DO have a print cookbook!

Allergy Friendly Chocolate Cake Your Family Will Love

best dairy free gluten free chocolate cake recipe

Copyright © 2022 The Pretty Bee | Disclosure | Privacy Policy