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.
I have made these msny times before and they’re always good. can you tell me how to adjust cooking time and temperature if using a convection setting on my new range?
Hi Donna! Excellent question. I’ve only ever made these in my small countertop convection oven once during a marathon cooking-baking day when I needed an additional oven. I typically (and this is for anything I make in my convection oven) reduce the baking temperature by 25-30 degrees and the baking time by 2 minutes. So instead of 375ºF, I would reduce it to 325ºF, and baking time 6 minutes, then an additional 2 minutes after adding the Hershey kisses. Because all ovens are different, and I was using a small convection countertop version (but waiting for my full-size convection oven to arrive soon!), I would still monitor the baking time and temp with yours. Happy baking and I would love to know how they turned out using your new range!
I followed the recipe almost exactly as you wrote it except I used natural peanut butter because that’s all I had, so I increased the flour to 2 cups to compensate for the oil in the peanut butter. They turned out delicious! A huge hit with my family! This recipe is a keeper!
Thank you so much, Margie, for making them and noting your changes when using the natural peanut butter!
my grandkids loved them
I love that they did, Ronetta! Thank you for making them!
OMG Jennifer!!!
I bake a lot and use Pinterest and other online recipes. NEVER, EVER have I used a recipe that shows you the ingredients and their amounts in the directions!!! This was AWESOME! Saved me time from having to scroll up to look at the amounts needed! I hope everyone appreciates this little touch and I will be following you now!
Oh, am I so glad to hear you love it, thank you! The scrolling up and down has always bugged me; so glad I added it! Thankyou for the follow too!
These are fantastic! I’ve made this recipe a few times, but the last time I made them I used some Reese’s Peanut Butter cups in place of the chocolate kisses. I’m a huge peanut butter fan so this made them 10 times better! Also the Peanut Butter cups stay soft after they have cooled unlike the chocolate kiss that can be hard. The only thing is they can get pretty melty so putting them in the fridge fist helps, and I also don’t put them on until the cookies are done and coming out of the oven.
Thank you for making them, Natalie! And for the Reese’s peanut butter cup tip!
This recipe honestly isn’t good. My cookies have been in the oven for 15 minutes and won’t even bake in the inside. Yes I followed the recipe exactly so somethings wrong with it. Never had trouble making these before. Definitely don’t suggest this recipe.
Bummer, I’m sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work for you. I’ve been making these for a long time and have never had any issues, so you may want to get an oven thermometer to ensure your oven isn’t off because that can affect the results. Happy baking and hope you find the recipe that best works for you!
This recipe is going in the cookie recipe vault! 👏🏼 Only addition, was adding extra peanut butter (I always do that!). But these???? Are the most PERFECT peanut butter blossom cookies I’ve ever had! And your tips & tricks truly helped in “making” the most perfect cookies. Thanks for making me look like an amazing baker!! 😊
Yay! Reading this makes me incredibly happy; thanks! I’m glad they turned out perfect, and I totally hear you on adding a little extra peanut butter. I do that too on occasion 🙂 Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have a happy new year!
These are legit the best peanut butter blossoms myself and my husband have ever had. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so pleased you and your husband love them; thank you!
Easy! Look just like pic!
THANK YOU for putting the ingredient amounts in the instructions, brilliant!
Also, do I HAVE to use parchment paper? Or could I use a non stick baking pan?
Thanks!
You’re so welcome! I’ve always used either parchment paper or silicone baking mats when baking cookies, but if you have a non-stick baking sheet, that should be fine to leave the paper off.