5 Times Hershey’s Kisses Were Christmas Icons

Hershey’s Kisses are the Christmas candy. For starters, their simple, bite-sized bell shape inspired this iconic commercial that has endured for over 30 (thirty!) years. They have attached themselves to Chrstimas cookies (another storied holiday institution), and have become synonymous with the most well-known holiday cookie of all, the incorrigible peanut butter blossom. Plus, there is something about chocolate in a foil wrapper that signals the start of the holiday season. Simply put, the Hershey’s Kisses aesthetic is about simple luxury and heartwarming convenience. That’s why it’s my favorite Christmas candy.

A few years ago, I started to notice that Hershey’s Kisses were rolling out wonderful new flavors that didn’t overshadow the original Kisses but instead enhanced the melt-in-your-mouth wrapped chocolate. They were already a Christmas candy classic, but now, with their yearly roll outs, Hershey’s Kisses might just be the best Christmas candy of all time.

Like the best Easter candy, the enthusiastic imagination of Hershey’s Kisses keeps customers connected to the product.You have to keep up with the times, and Hershey’s has. Here are five Kisses innovations we adore, and think you should be buying this Holiday season.

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Candy Cane

Credit: Liv Averett/istock

Look away, white chocolate and candy cane haters. These Hershey’s Kisses are rich, creamy, and wonderfully minty. Mint and white chocolate work together in a wonderful tandem to produce a lingering cooling sensation that melts in your mouth. I love the tiny little bits of candy canes, too, which add some crunchy texture to the party. Candy canes by themselves? Not that great. In a Hershey’s Kiss? Phenomenal. 

Special Dark

Credit: Liv Averett/Hersheyland

We here at Sporked love the grown up flavors of dark chocolate, and you can savor it all the more when it’s in the form of a Hershey’s Kiss. Most dark chocolate takes the form of a hard chocolate bar that you have to gnaw at, but this Kiss still has some of that milk chocolate softness. It’s nothing like the melty milk chocolate of a classic Hershey’s Kiss, but you still get to savor all that wonderfully bitter, citrusy dark chocolate flavor in a way that you just can’t with a dark chocolate bar.

Credit: Liv Averett/Hersheyland

This one is for the sugar lovers. The lovely bits of sugar cookie add some needed crunch, and the white chocolate is smooth and rich. I would argue that the Hershey’s Kisses’ main attribute is a smoothness, and white chocolate lends itself to that experience so very well. Also, how about using this in a peanut butter blossom? The crunchy bits of cookie would compliment that warm, chewy cookie quite well.

Mint Truffle

Credit: Liv Averett/Hersheyland

Basically Junior Mints, the Mint Truffle Hershey’s Kisses are mint goo encased in bitter dark chocolate. I personally think that the mint-flavored Hershey’s Kisses are the best of all. There’s something so wonderfully soothing about mint and Hershey’s chocolate together. It just liquifies in your mouth. Apologies for the chef-y reference here, but you know how bacon fat renders in a pan? That’s what’s happening in your mouth as you eat these. Just wonderful.

Almond

Credit: Liv Averett/istock

What many consider to be the best Hershey’s Kiss of all, the buttery, crunchy almond and milk chocolate combo here feels otherworldly. Plus, I would also submit that mixed nuts are quintessentially Christmas. You can let these melt in your mouth or you can just go straight for the decisive one bite. Either way you eat it, the almond Hershey’s Kiss doesn’t disappoint. It’s chocolatey, nutty, rich, and just purely Christmas. Great to bake with, too.


About the Author

Danny Palumbo

Danny is a comedian, cook, and food writer living in Los Angeles. He loves gas station eggs, canned sardines, and Easter candy. He also passionately believes that all the best chips come from Pennsylvania (Herr's!). If you can't understand Danny when he talks, it's because he's from Pittsburgh.