Hershey's Kisses are celebrating 100 years. These Sweetheart Kisses Cookies include a shortcut, using refrigerated sugar cookie dough.
Posted on 02/26/2007 10:00:46 PM PST by NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
A pocketful of crumpled foil wrappers with a leftover plume or two will give you away. You've been into the chocolate. Again.
But a Kiss is just a Kiss and well, it's only 25 calories or so.
We love our Kisses, so much so that 100 years after Milton S. Hershey turned out the first flat-bottomed chocolate Kiss with the paper plume, we're going through 80 million a day.
That's a lot of co-workers to blame.
The bite-size chocolate seems innocent enough; it would take 99 to equal a pound of chocolate, and most of us can stop at a handful. On a good day.
Erin Kroeger of Downs, an insurance business analyst, keeps a crinkly package of milk chocolate Kisses in her desk drawer. And she doesn't even pretend they're for co-workers who need a mid-afternoon sugar rush.
"Actually, I keep them to myself," she said.
Her goal is to make it to Friday without opening the bag, and then it lasts only a day.
"I'm bad, I'm really bad," she said.
The 30-year-old mother of two credits a fast metabolism with helping her burn off her favorites, the cherry cordial crème-filled variety. She clearly remembers her first Kiss, stolen from the top of her grandmother's peanut butter cookies.
"I used to pick off the Kisses and leave the cookies. Who needs the cookie?"
Co-worker Julie Pence remembers picking through crinkled Easter grass to find Kisses wrapped in pink, blue and green foils, which Hershey introduced in 1968. But now the mother of four is hooked on chocolate caramel, which came out three years ago.
Although she brings a bag to work, she stuffs it in her desk drawer to avoid temptation and tries to limit herself to about five a day.
"One, two, three," she started counting, as she thought about her day. "Um, maybe more than that."
Co-workers know they can slide her drawer open and help themselves, which they do. The number of Kisses she goes through in a week depends on the workload.
"It seems if we get real busy, we'll go through more."
Second-grade teacher Julie Moore uses Kisses as a reward for good behavior at Bloomington's Sheridan Elementary School. At the end of the day, the kids gather in a circle and she'll toss one out to each of them if it's been a good day.
"Don't ask me to define a good day," she said with a laugh.
To avoid a battle over flavors, she sticks with milk chocolate. Moore passed her love of chocolate onto her own children; a daughter got her first cavity when she started working for a candy store at 16.
She also fondly remembers how her sweet tooth started.
"Mom bribed me to walk with Fannie May. Isn't that terrible?"
Hershey's Kisses are celebrating 100 years. These Sweetheart Kisses Cookies include a shortcut, using refrigerated sugar cookie dough.
Sweetheart KISSES Cookies
Sugar cookie dough (ready-made or your favorite recipe)
Cocoa
48 milk chocolate Kisses, unwrapped
1 teaspoon shortening (do not use butter, margarine, spread or oil)
Divide dough in half; roll out to ¼-inch thickness following package or recipe directions. Cut out with 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutters; place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake according to package or recipe directions. Cool completely on cooling racks. Sprinkle cookies with cocoa.
Place 12 chocolates and shortening in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high 1 minute or until chocolates are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Drizzle cookies. Before drizzle sets, place chocolate in center of each heart. Tops about 3 dozen cookies.
For something a little lighter, try whipping up the Chocolate Kisses Mousse, which has a hint of cherry brandy or almond extract.
Chocolate KISSES Mousse
36 milk chocolate Kisses, unwrapped
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows or 15 regular marshmallows
1/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons kirsch (cherry brandy) or 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
6 to 8 drops red food color (optional)
1 cup (1/2 pint) cold whipping cream
Additional kisses (optional)
Combine marshmallows and milk in small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat.
Pour 1/3 cup marshmallow mixture into medium bowl; stir in brandy and food color, if desired. Set aside.
To remaining marshmallow mixture, add 36 chocolate pieces; return to low heat, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.
Beat whipping cream in small bowl until stiff. Fold 1 cup whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Gradually fold remaining whipped cream into reserved mixture. Fill 4 parfait glasses about three-fourths full with chocolate mixture; spoon or pipe remaining mixture on top.
Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or until set. Garnish with additional chocolates, if desired. Makes 4 servings.
I intentionally combine melted kisses and peanut-butter (thick) for a sandwich... both are a lot tasty together..
When are they going to finally package them without the pesky tinfoil? That's what I want to know.
I happen to like the little pesky tinfoil, it is like unwrapping a tiny gift. My favorite is the kisses with almonds.
Important safety tip.
Too bad they are going to Mexico.
Any chocalate tastes better than Hershey. I prefer Dove Promises.
Chocolate.
Godiva chocolate is the worst.
Back in the early '80's when it was really hot (and expensive) I had friends rave about it. I finally broke down and bought a small box.
It was terrible! As I told the friends - I had been raised on the good stuff - German, French, Swiss, and Danish chocolate and that Godiva was popular only cause it was marketed well.
The pesky tinfoil is probably helpful for health reasons.... as some other FReeper pointed out. Open chocolates in a tray? For starters, MILK chocolate is essentially a dairy-based product. It probably has a higher spoilage rate without the foil... ya know?!
You've got that right - Hershey is not chocolate, its
chocolate colored wax.
Speaking of Wilbur Chocolate.... Wow. That actually rings a bell with me, since my a cappella quartet once did a trade show gig in Chicago - the Candy Manufacturers Association. Wilbur Chocolate was there with their booth, and their rep liked us so much that he gave us ***each*** a 5 lb. slab of chocolate to take home after our 4 hours of strolling around and singing.
I think this is a "recipe for cooking dummies". The Kisses don't come unwrapped so... in order for the recipe to work right, they have to be UNwrapped by a human. Don't expect to be able to buy them that way ;-).
Gimme the best TASTE every time... and it AIN'T GODIVA! :-)
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