Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms are soft and chewy peanut butter cookies with a sugary, crackled top and finished with a milk chocolate kiss! They’re the perfect go-to cookie for the holiday season!
Table of Contents
- These Peanut Butter Blossoms Are…
- Do I Have to Refrigerate the Cookie Dough?
- How to Make Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms
- What’s the Best Way to Store These Cookies?
- How Long Will Peanut Butter Blossoms Keep?
- Can I Freeze This Cookie Dough?
- One Last Tip Before Starting
- Enjoy More Holiday Cookies from Beyond the Butter!
- Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms Recipe
These Peanut Butter Blossoms Are…
- easy to make
- soft and chewy
- rolled in sugar to give it a sweet crackly crust
- perfect for chocolate and peanut butter lovers
- a classic and have been around since the 1950s
- a popular favorite for holiday baking
Truth be told, I never actually knew they were called peanut butter blossoms until a few years ago. Up until then, I had always referred to them as Hershey kiss cookies. Either way, they’re delicious, and I have fond memories as a kid eating the ones my Grammy always made!
Do I Have to Refrigerate the Cookie Dough?
Yes. Chilling the dough helps to prevent the cookie dough balls from spreading out too much while baking.
After making the cookie dough, it must be chilled for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.
Keep the dough covered tightly either in the mixing bowl (with plastic or reusable wrap over the top) or in a glass or plastic storage container.
How to Make Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms
Here’s a quick walk-thru on making this popular holiday cookie! You can find the full recipe below.
- Whisk the Dry Ingredients Together. You can sift them together if you’d like, but it is unnecessary. A good whisk will easily do the trick.
- Blend the Wet ingredients. I recommend using either your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for this part. Your butter should be at room temperature but not so soft it’s almost falling apart when you pick it up.
- Add the Dry Ingredients to the Wet. Reduce your mixer speed for this, so your dry ingredients don’t go flying!
- Chill the Dough. 1-hour minimum or, in my preference, overnight. Make sure it’s chilled in a well-sealed container.
- Roll the Dough Into Balls and Coat in Sugar. 1 inch is a perfect size, and you’ll yield the most amount of cookies this way. I’ve made them bigger, but don’t recommend it. No cookie scoop is needed—just a spoon and your clean hands. Use a bowl of about 1/2 cup of white or organic granulated sugar to coat the cookie dough balls.
- Place On a Baking Sheet and Bake. Space them 1 1/2 -2 inches apart., then bake for 7-8 minutes at 375ºF.
- Remove from Oven and Top with Chocolate Kiss. As quickly and carefully as possible—don’t burn yourself—place a milk chocolate kiss on top and gently push down. This will create that nice crackle top. Bake for 2 more minutes.
- Cool on Wire Cooling Rack, then Enjoy! Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to cool completely on the wire rack. Use a serving spatula to transfer them because they will be soft!
What’s the Best Way to Store These Cookies?
The best way to store peanut butter blossoms is in a tightly sealed food storage container with a slice of bread cut in half.
The peanut butter blossoms will absorb the moisture from the bread, keeping them soft for much longer.
How Long Will Peanut Butter Blossoms Keep?
Using the tips above, the cookies will last up to a week at room temperature. I guarantee you, though, they won’t last that long!
Can I Freeze This Cookie Dough?
Absolutely! To freeze peanut butter blossom cookie dough:
- Roll them into the 1-inch balls, but do not coat them in the sugar.
- Place them on a wax paper or parchment paper lined baking sheet, then into the freezer.
- Freeze until hard (about 1-2 hours), then place in a freezer storage bag.
- When ready to use, coat them in the sugar and bake for 9-11 minutes. Do not let them come to room temperature before baking.
- Top with the milk chocolate kiss, then back into the oven for 2 minutes more.
One Last Tip Before Starting
For a smoother process, I like to unwrap the chocolate kisses and put them in a bowl before baking the cookies. This way, you can have them ready to place on top of the cookies when they come out of the oven. You’re welcome 🙂
Enjoy More Holiday Cookies from Beyond the Butter!
Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter , room temperature
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar, lightly packed
- 1 Large Egg
- 2 tbsp Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar, additional amount for coating cookies
- 11 oz Bag of Hershey Kisses
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.1 3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour, 1 tsp Baking Soda, 1/2 tsp Salt
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together the peanut butter, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar on medium-high speed until well blended.1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter, 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter , 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar, 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
- Add in the egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.1 Large Egg, 2 tbsp Milk, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Reduce the mixer speed, gradually adding in the dry mixture until completely blended.
- Place the cookie dough in a well sealed food container or tightly wrap the top of the mixing bowl with plastic wrap (or alternative) and chill the cookie dough for a minimum of 1 hour.
- After dough has chilled, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats, adjust the oven rack to the 2nd level mark (just above center), and preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Using a spoon and your clean hands, shape the cookie dough into 1 inch balls, roll in granulated sugar, and place about 1 1/2 – 2 inches apart on lined baking sheets.1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- Bake for 7-8 minutes, then remove from oven and place a milk chocolate kiss on each cookie, pressing down gently to create the crackly cookie edges..11 oz Bag of Hershey Kisses
- Return to the oven and bake for 2 minutes longer.
- Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooking rack to cool completely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container with a slice of bread for up to a week.
Video
Notes
- For a smoother process, I like to unwrap the chocolate kisses and put them in a bowl before baking the cookies. This way, you can have them ready to place on top of the cookies when they come out of the oven.
- The best way to store peanut butter blossoms is in a tightly sealed food storage container with a slice of bread cut in half. The peanut butter blossoms will absorb the moisture from the bread, keeping them soft for much longer. The cookies will last up to a week at room temperature. I guarantee you, though, they won’t last that long!
- To freeze peanut butter blossom cookie dough:
- Roll them into the 1-inch balls, but do not coat them in the sugar.
- Place them on a wax paper or parchment paper lined baking sheet, then into the freezer.
- Freeze until hard (about 1-2 hours), then place in a freezer storage bag.
- When ready to bake, coat them in the sugar and bake for 9-11 minutes. Do not let them come to room temperature before baking. Top with the milk chocolate kiss, then back into the oven for 2 minutes more.
- Recipe adapted from the Original 1957 Bake-off Contest Recipe and my Grammy’s family recipe.
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided above is an estimate only and will vary based on specific ingredients used. See Nutritional Disclaimer for more info.
My mom always made them with the kisses while cooking…they don’t melt much but the tips of the kisses usually got burnt.
Anyone tried making these with almond milk vs. regular dairy milk? How did it turn out??
I tried with oat milk and it works just fine 🙂
I made these yesterday and they turned out delicious!! So soft and chewy! Thanks for the recipe!
Could you use crunchy peanut butter for this?
I’m sorry, I’ve never tried it with crunchy peanut butter before. I think it would take away from the softness of the cookie, but that’s just me. You can always try it out and see.
I usually make with crunchy peanut butter because that is the kind of peanut butter my family likes. I usually add a tablespoon more. I didn’t chill the dough. I just rolled into balls and baked. Came out just as expected. The batch made about 45 cookies. They are going fast!
Thanks for your reply and feedback! I’ve never tried them with the crunchy peanut butter, but now I want to!
Can I omit the milk or replace it with something else?
Cook for 10-11 min then remove from oven and add kiss. Don’t return to oven unless you want melted kisses.
Absolutely!!! 👍👩🍳
Mine have always done well with the 7-8 mark, then returning for 2 minutes with the kiss. They’ve never melted, they just become shiny and soft. If you accidentally bump them (which I’ve done transferring them to the cooling rack lol) they will go to a little blob. As they cool though they’ll harden again.
Can you bake with the kiss on the top the whole time?
I’ve honestly never tried this before. I’d imagine they would just turn into a blob of chocolate that goes over the edge of the cookies. You can always try 1 or 2 first just to see how they come out…but I think they’ll just be blobs 🙂
No it will melt all over. Bake till cookie is light golden then take them out and immediately press the kiss into the cookie, cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute then transfer to wire rack to cool completely, no need to bake them any longer. If you want to freeze them after they have completely cooled, place on cookie sheet and flash freeze for 30 minutes then store in freezer bags. I have been making these for 50 years and with perfect success with what I am telling you I promise! 👩🍳
I prepped these then got too tired to return to baking them after they chilled in the mixing bowl in the fridge. Can I still use the batter five days later? Will it be okay for it to thaw so I can roll the dough into balls before baking it?
Hmmm…if it’s been 5 days I would be nervous to use it. I hate to waste food, but I wouldn’t want you or anyone in your house to get sick. It’s probably better to just start fresh. Sorry!
Try stirring in 2 tbsp Applesauce
I make my cookie those and I keep them in the fridge for weeks on end and they are fine as long as they are refrigerated.
Can these be frozen?
Yes, absolutely! Freeze the cookie dough into the balls first minus rolling them in the sugar. When ready to bake, take them out of the freezer, roll them into the sugar and bake. They do not need to defrost before baking them. You might have to add a 1-2 minutes to your baking time, so I recommend doing a test of a few first to see.
While we loved these, my picky kids didn’t like the peanut butter. Can I leave it out and just do the rest? How will that change the dough?
You could use almond butter in its place, but I definitely wouldn’t leave it out.
My son is allergic to peanut butter so using almond butter would be a great solution. Have you ever made them with almond butter? How do they taste compared to ones with real peanut butter?
I’ve never made these with almond butter, but I have an almond butter chocolate chip cookie recipe that’s really good. And this is going to sound like a lame answer, but the taste is more like almonds, and less sweeter than peanut butter. It’s a milder taste to me. If you try it with the almond butter, I recommend using one that is no-stir and creamy.
Don’t do it nicole