Bakers online say Hershey's Kisses aren't melting anymore. I put the claim to the test.
Some DIY sweets are so familiar they’ve accidentally become classics. One of them is pretzel-and-Kiss candy. You may be familiar with the process: Place a Hershey’s Kiss on a pretzel, pop it in the oven for a few minutes, and watch the chocolate melt until it’s glossy before pressing an M&M into it. It’s the kind of consistently quick and easy treat that appears at holidays like Christmas and Easter, with nothing changing but the colors of the M&M’s to match the season.
So when a Reddit user recently shared a photo of these candies gone wrong—showing the Kisses cracked and crumbled instead of melted—bakers online immediately started asking questions. Had Hershey’s changed its recipe? Why were the candies suddenly behaving differently in the oven?
Why are bakers saying Hershey’s Kisses don’t melt anymore?
The implication among many commenters seems to be that the recipe has shifted. Some blame rising cocoa prices. Others insist that American chocolate has been quietly getting worse for years. A few people swear the company must have altered the recipe entirely.
Anyone who has made those candies or any of the many cookies that feature Kisses knows what they’re supposed to do in the oven: soften just enough to be malleable. When that didn’t happen for the Reddit baker, it makes sense that people started asking, have Hershey’s Kisses stopped melting?
What Happened When I Tested It
To find out, I decided to make the candies myself with the help of my nine-year-old daughter, who happily appointed herself my sous-chef for the project.
Even with all the unwrapping, we had the Kisses in the oven in less than 10 minutes. And the result? The Kisses melted just as beautifully as they always have.
The chocolate softened as expected, and spread just a bit the moment we pressed M&M’s on top. No cracking, no crumbling, no strange behavior.
To be fair, I did a few quick checks beforehand. It was well before the Kisses’ expiration date. The bag I used was unopened and appeared to have been stored normally at the grocery store. So there was nothing to suggest the chocolate had been compromised, which may have been what the original Reddit baker was dealing with.
It’s also worth acknowledging something most bakers already know: No one is pretending Hershey’s is luxury chocolate. It’s nostalgic chocolate. The unmistakable, slightly tangy flavor is tied up in decades of s’mores, holiday candy bowls and school bake sales. People love it for what it is, but it’s not designed to compete with high-end European bars or small-batch chocolatier brands, as many Reddit commenters seem to feel it should.
Still, whatever might have happened in that baker’s kitchen, the Kisses I tested behaved exactly as expected. So while the internet occasionally loves a good conspiracy, this time it seems Hershey’s Kisses are still doing exactly what they’ve always done: melting right on cue.
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