Peanut Butter Blossoms

Name: Peanut Butter Blossoms
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 9 min
Total time: 49 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar; 1/2 cup (107g) light brown sugar (packed); 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter (softened); 1/2 cup (128g) creamy peanut butter; 1 large egg (at room temperature); 1 teaspoon vanilla; 1 3/4 cup (210g) all-purpose flour (spoon and level method); 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; granulated sugar (for rolling); 27-36 chocolate kisses unwrapped (depending on the size of your dough balls)

December 23, 2019 by Kelly 48 Comments

Peanut Butter Blossoms – soft and chewy peanut butter cookies topped with a chocolate kiss. Their sweet and salty combination is irresistible!

These Peanut Butter Blossoms are a family favorite, especially with the kids! Who could resist the sweet and salty combination of a soft peanut butter cookie topped with a chocolate kiss?

The kids love helping out when making these cookies. There’s just something so much fun about smooshing a Hershey’s chocolate kiss into the middle of a soft, hot cookie!

Where do Peanut Butter Blossoms come from? The origin of Peanut Blossoms

Originally called the Peanut Blossom, Peanut Butter Blossoms were first created by Freda Smith of Gibsonburg, Ohio. Ms. Smith was making a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and realized that she was out of chocolate chips. She grabbed a bag of Hershey’s Kisses and Peanut Butter Blossoms were born.

Ms. Smith entered her happy accident in the ninth annual Pillsbury Bake-off in 1957 and placed second in the contest. The first place winner, “accordion treats,” may have won the $45,000 first place prize, but Peanut Butter Blossoms have been a popular favorite and holiday essential for 62 years.

In 1999, the Peanut Blossom was inducted into the Pillsbury Bake-Off Hall of Fame.

I’ve adapted Ms. Smith’s original recipe by replacing the shortening and milk with butter.

Ingredients in Hershey Kiss Cookies

Peanut Butter – the main flavoring ingredient. I use a commercial creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy instead of a natural peanut butter.
Butter – makes the cookies buttery and tender. Soften the butter to a cool room temperature before mixing.
Brown sugar – for a caramely flavor and extra chew.
Granulated sugar – for sweetness and structure.
Egg – to bind the ingredients together
Flour – I use all-purpose flour. Be sure to either weigh your flour or use the spoon and level method of measuring.
Salt – a half teaspoon of salt gives the cookie a wonderful sweet and salty flavor.
Baking soda – for leavening.
Hershey’s Kisses – for topping the cookie. That’s what makes them so cute!

How to make Peanut Blossoms (in a nutshell)

Combine the sugars, butter, and peanut butter and mix until fluffy
Mix in the egg and vanilla
Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt) and mix to combine.
Chill the dough for 30 minutes.
Roll dough into balls, roll in sugar, and bake.
Remove from oven and top with Hershey’s Kisses.

How to make Peanut Butter Blossoms from scratch

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine the sugars, butter, and peanut butter and mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Then add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined and there are no streaks of flour.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes (or up to one day). I like my dough to be 55° F before baking. If you chill for longer than an hour, let the dough rest at room temperature until it becomes more workable, about 55° F.

Unwrap the chocolate kisses and set on a plate in the refrigerator.

How to bake Peanut Butter Blossoms

Using a small cookie scoop (1 ½ tablespoons), scoop dough (mine were 25 grams) and roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter.

Roll the dough balls in granulated sugar and place on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.

Bake in a 375° oven until the cookies turn slightly golden and form cracks, about 7-9 minutes. As soon as they form cracks remove them from the oven.

While the cookies are still warm, press an unwrapped chocolate kiss into the middle of the cookie. This will cause more cracks to form.

Let cool on a cooling rack.

If you press the chocolate kiss onto the top of the cookie as soon as it comes out of the oven while the cookie is still hot, the bottom of the kiss will melt from the heat of the cookie. As it cools, the melted chocolate will harden and the kiss will be stuck to the cookie.

How to prevent the Hershey’s Kisses from melting after putting them on the cookies

My kitchen is always very warm (today it was 80° F inside). Chocolate melts at 86°F (30°C). Between a hot cookie and a too warm kitchen, you risk having the Hershey’s Kiss melt completely into a puddle.

To compensate for a very warm kitchen, wait a few minutes before pressing on the Hershey’s Kiss. I keep the Hershey’s Kisses unwrapped in the refrigerator until the last minute. I hold an ice cube in my hand for a minute or so before beginning if it’s very hot. Press the Kisses on and immediately put the tray into the freezer for a few minutes.

A balance has to be found between allowing the bottom of the Kiss to melt and preventing the top of the Kiss from melting.

Do I have to chill the dough?

Chilling the dough has several benefits:

A colder dough will spread less.
The flour will absorb the liquids and the dough will become more workable.

Only 30 minutes or so are needed for chilling. I like to get my dough to about 55° F. This creates a nice, puffy cookie. If I’m really in a hurry, I pop the dough into the freezer for about 10-15 minutes.

How to store Peanut Butter Blossoms

Peanut Butter Blossoms can be stored in an airtight container on the counter, or in the fridge if your kitchen is warm.

To stack Peanut Butter Blossoms without damaging the chocolate kisses, put a layer of cookies in the bottom of your container. The second layer of cookies should sit on top of the edges of the cookie beneath it, not touching the chocolate kiss. Continue stacking in this manner.

They can also be frozen for about 3 months.

How long will my Peanut Butter Blossoms stay fresh?

Peanut Butter Blossoms will stay fresh for about 5 days.

A tip for keeping them soft: stick a half a piece of white bread in the container with them. The cookies will absorb the moisture from the bread and remain soft. I only bother with this if they last more than 3 days.

I don’t like the bread to directly touch any of the cookies. The cookies that it touches can get a little too moist.

How to freeze Peanut Butter Blossoms

The cookies can be frozen after baking. Let set at room temperature to thaw before eating.

The dough balls can be frozen before baking. Either let set in the refrigerator overnight and bake the next day, or let set the dough balls at room temperature until they become 55° F. Roll the balls in sugar and bake as directed.

Shop the recipe:

Baking pans – a good light colored, metal baking sheet is essential to cookies baking properly.

Cookie scoop – the easiest way to make perfectly shaped and equally sized balls of cookie dough.

Parchment paper – less washing up, nonstick, plus I like the texture of the cookies baked on a metal pan that is lined with parchment.

MORE FAVORITE COOKIES TO LOVE:

Peanut Butter Blossoms

★★★★★

5 from 30 reviews

Author: Kelly
Total Time: 49 minutes
Yield: 27 cookies 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Peanut Butter Blossoms – soft and chewy peanut butter cookies topped with a chocolate kiss. Their sweet and salty combination is irresistible!

Ingredients

Scale

½ cup (99g) granulated sugar
½ cup (107g) light brown sugar (packed)
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter (softened)
½ cup (128g) creamy peanut butter
1 large egg (at room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¾ cup (210g) all-purpose flour (spoon and level method)
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

To finish the cookies:

granulated sugar (for rolling)
27-36 chocolate kisses unwrapped (depending on the size of your dough balls)

Instructions

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine the sugars, butter, and peanut butter and mix until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Scrape the bowl and add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Then add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined and there are no streaks of flour.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes (or up to one day).
Unwrap the chocolate kisses and set on a plate in the refrigerator.

To bake the cookies:

Preheat oven to 375° F with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line a light colored metal baking sheet with parchment.
Using a small cookie scoop (1 ½ tablespoons) scoop dough and roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter.
Roll the dough balls in granulated sugar and place on cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.
Bake in a 375° oven until the cookies turn slightly golden and form cracks, about 9 minutes. As soon as they form cracks remove them from the oven.
While the cookies are still warm, press an unwrapped chocolate kiss into the middle of the cookie. This will cause more cracks to form.
Let cool on a cooling rack.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 9 minutes
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 129

Keywords: chocolate, cookies, easy, Hershey's Kisses, holiday, peanut butter, peanut butter blossoms

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

What are peanut butter blossoms?

Peanut Butter Blossoms are a thick and chewy peanut butter cookie that has a crunchy, sparkly sugar coating and is topped with a Hershey’s Kiss after baking.

Who invented Peanut Butter Blossoms?

Ms. Freda Smith invented Peanut Butter Blossoms and entered them into the ninth annual Pillsbury Bakeoff where she won second place.

How to keep kisses from melting on Peanut Butter Blossoms?

Let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes before putting the kisses on.
Keep the kisses unwrapped and in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Put the cookies in the freezer immediately after putting the kisses on until the cookies have cooled.
See more information above.

My peanut butter blossoms are too hard. What did I do wrong?

Over baking the cookies will cause them to get hard. Pull them from the oven as soon as cracks form on the cookies

Why are my Peanut Butter Blossoms flat?

If the dough is too warm, it will spread too far making a flat cookie. I like my dough to be about 55°F before baking.

Why are my Peanut Butter Blossoms crumbly or dry?

Make sure that you have measured the ingredients correctly. Too much flour can make the cookies dry and crumbly. The most correct way to measure flour is by weight.

If you don’t have a scale, for this recipe I have used the spoon and level method. The spoon and level method assumes 4.25 ounces of flour per cup. Loosen up the flour in the top couple of inches of flour. Spoon out flour and put it into your measuring cup. Level off the top of the measuring cup with a straight edge (back of a knife).

I use a small cookie scoop that holds 1 ½ tablespoons (25 grams) of dough. This makes a dough ball that is a little over an inch in diameter and yields about 27 cookies for this recipe.

Using a 1 tablespoon scoop would create about 40 smaller cookies. Using a 1.2 tablespoon scoop would produce about 33 cookies.

Adjust the baking time as necessary.

Why do you put sugar on Peanut Butter Blossoms?

Sugar gives the cookies a sparkly coating and a nice crunch.

Why should you refrigerate Peanut Butter Blossoms dough?

Refrigerating the dough prevents it from spreading too far during baking. It also makes the dough more workable.

How big are peanut butter blossoms supposed to be?

They can be anywhere from 1 ½ inch to 2 inches depending on how much dough you use per ball. The cookies shown here are 2 inches in diameter.

How long does it take to make Peanut Butter Blossoms?

It takes about 10 minutes to mix up the dough, 30 minutes to chill, and about 9 minutes per tray of baking for a total of about 50 minutes.

How many calories in Peanut Butter Blossoms?

These Peanut Butter Blossoms have 129 calories each. If you make the cookies smaller, they will have less calories each.

How to keep peanut butter blossoms soft?

A half slice of bread in the tightly closed cookie container will help keep them soft.

What is better to use to make Peanut Butter Blossoms, butter or margarine?

I only use good quality butter in baking for its buttery flavor and to be sure the recipe comes out right. The ingredients in margarine may not behave the same during baking as butter.

How to make soft Peanut Butter Blossoms?

Not overbaking will produce a cookie that is soft and chewy on the inside. Measuring your flour correctly is also important.

What temperature do Peanut Butter Blossoms bake at?

Peanut Butter Blossoms bake at 375°F. This is hot enough so that the cookie doesn’t spread too much and so that the outside of the cookie sets while the inside stays soft and moist.

How well do Peanut Butter Blossoms freeze?

Peanut Butter Blossoms freeze very well. They can be frozen after baking. They can also be frozen as dough balls before baking. See instructions above on freezing.

How long to wait to transport Peanut Butter Blossoms?

Make sure the Peanut Butter Blossoms are completely cooled before packing for transporting. Putting them in the refrigerator or freezer will speed things along.

How to make kisses peanut butter blossoms look Christmasy?

Roll the dough balls into red or green colored sugar crystals for a festive look.

How to make Peanut Butter Blossoms without shortening?

The original recipe used shortening. This recipe has been adapted to use only butter, no shortening.

Enjoy, friends!

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