Peanut Butter Blossoms
Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies Overview
- Skill Level: Beginner
- Techniques Used: The Creaming Method for Cookies
Peanut butter blossoms (also known as peanut butter kiss cookies) couldn’t be easier to make and are such a popular offering during the holidays. The base is a simple and soft peanut butter cookie rolled in granulated sugar. Once the cookies come out of the oven all you have to do is to press a Hershey’s kiss into the warm cookie and they are done!
I always add peanut butter blossoms into my Christmas cookie tin and it surprises me every year how much people rave about them. I love adding a mix of simple to make and more complicated cookies. These are one of the easy holiday cookies that are never left out!
How to Make Peanut Butter Blossoms
The cookie part of peanut butter blossoms uses the classic creaming method. This means it is important that your butter is at room temperature. And because peanut butter is very high in fat, it goes in with the butter during the creaming stage.
Step 1: Cream the Butter, Peanut Butter, and Sugars Together
Start by creaming together the butter, peanut butter, with both of the sugars. Make sure you cream them together until very light and fluffy. This will likely take about 3 minutes.
Properly creaming the fat and sugar not only gives cookies the best texture, but it also increases the volume of the dough. This means, more cookies!
Step 2: Mix in the Egg, Milk, and Vanilla
Once the sugar is creamed with the fat, you can add the egg, milk, and vanilla. The milk will help keep the cookies nice and moist so they do not dry out.
Step 3: Mix in the Dry Ingredients
Start by adding the salt and baking soda and mix those in before adding the flour. This will ensure they are evenly distributed.
Once you add the flour into the bowl make sure you mix just until it is incorporated. This should only take about 10-15 seconds of mixing. Over-mixing once the flour is in the cookie dough can make your peanut butter blossoms dry and tough.
Step 4: Roll in Granulated Sugar
Portion the cookie dough out and roll it into balls and then into granulated sugar. The most traditional size for a peanut butter blossom is about 1 TBSP dough each. I made mine a little bit bigger- about 1 1/2 TBSP.
The granulated sugar will add a bit of extra sweetness and some texture to your final baked peanut butter blossoms.
Step 5: Bake
Place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake. When you pull the cookies out of the oven, they will likely not have spread out very much. This is normal!
Step 6: Add the Chocolate Kiss
While the cookies are still warm, press a Hershey kiss in the top. The cookie will spread out and crack a little bit as the kiss goes in.
I personally think the classic milk chocolate kisses are the best for these cookies. I tried them with dark chocolate kisses, and while I typically enjoy dark chocolate more than milk chocolate, they just didn’t taste right for peanut butter blossoms.
Peanut Butter Blossoms FAQ
- Why are my peanut butter blossoms dry?: Cookies can become dry because they have too much flour in them, because they are over-mixed, and/or they have been over-baked. Make sure you measure your flour by lightly spooning it into your cups and not packing it down. Also, only mix for about 10-15 seconds once the flour goes into your dough.
- Can you use chunky peanut butter in peanut butter blossoms?: Yes! You can use creamy or chunky peanut butter. Creamy peanut butter makes a classic peanut butter blossom, but chunky peanut butter will add a little crunch to your cookies!
- Can you freeze peanut butter blossoms?: Yes, you can freeze peanut butter blossoms in an freezer ziplock bag for up to 3 months. But be aware that the chocolate can sometimes have a bit of a white film on it once it thaws. This does not mean it is spoiled, it is just “bloomed.”
Peanut Butter Blossoms
These classic peanut butter blossoms start with a soft and chewy peanut butter cookie and are topped with a Hershey's kiss! These are so easy to make and always a crowd pleaser!
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough
- 1 stick (1/2 cup, 113 gr) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (190 gr) creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup (65 gr) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (75 gr) brown sugar, lightly packed (light or dark brown)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 TBSP (30 ml) milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (180 gr) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
For Topping
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar for rolling
- 32 Hershey's Kisses
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes.
- Add in the egg, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add the baking soda, and salt and mix until incorporated. Then mix in the flour and mix until just combined. Stop mixing as soon as the flour is worked in or you will risk getting tough cookies.
- Scoop dough in 1-2 TBSP portions. 1 TBSP will give you smaller cookies where the kiss goes out to the edges of the cookie. 1 1/2 TBSP will give you cookies the size pictured. Roll the cookies in the granulated sugar and split them evenly between the two sheet pans.
- Bake 1 sheet pan at a time at 375 F (190 C) for 8-10 minutes until the edges are set and the tops are lightly golden brown. Immediately push a kiss into the tops of each cookie when they come out of the oven.
- Let cool on the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days.
Notes
*slightly adapted from Hershey's Peanut Butter Blossom's
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