This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
These peanut butter blossoms use the same dough as my peanut butter cookies, the recipe one reader entered in her county fair and won a blue ribbon with. I didn’t change a thing in it. What I tested was the Hershey’s Kiss on top. Room temperature Kisses melted into the hot cookies and lost their shape, but frozen Kisses held, so I unwrap and freeze them before I even start the dough.
Such a fun and easy recipe to make!
-Carolina
How I Tested These Peanut Butter Blossoms
A peanut butter blossom is a peanut butter cookie with a Hershey’s Kiss added. So I didn’t start from scratch. These use my peanut butter cookie recipe, the soft, chewy one with more peanut butter than most recipes call for. That dough was already right, so it stays the same here.
The blossom version gets three small changes. Each dough ball gets rolled in sugar. I use a 2 tablespoon scoop instead of the bigger scoop for my plain peanut butter cookies, so they bake in 9 to 11 minutes. And the Kiss goes in the second they come out of the oven.
The Kiss is what I tested. I tried room temperature Kisses against frozen ones. The room temperature Kisses melted into the hot cookies and didn’t hold their shape. Frozen Kisses stayed tall and pointed, so now I unwrap them and freeze them before I even start the dough.
Make a double or triple batch and fill up those Christmas cookie plates!
Peanut Butter Blossom Ingredients
This is my peanut butter cookie dough plus two extras: sugar for rolling and the Kisses. Find the full amounts in the recipe card.
- Unsalted butter: Use it at room temperature so it creams easily with the sugars.
- Brown sugar: It keeps the cookies moist and gives them their chew.
- Granulated sugar: It goes in the dough, and you’ll need more for rolling. It helps the edges brown.
- Creamy peanut butter: Use processed peanut butter like Jif or Skippy, not natural.
- All purpose flour: I weigh mine. For this recipe it’s 180g.
- Baking soda and baking powder: Both help the cookies rise and brown.
- Hershey’s Kisses: Unwrap them and freeze them before you make the dough, so they hold their shape when they go into the hot cookies.
- Plus: an egg, vanilla extract, and salt.
How to make this Peanut Butter Blossoms Recipe
- Combine the all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.
- Cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together with a mixer.
- Add in the peanut butter, vanilla extract and egg, beat again until smooth.
- Gently add in the dry ingredients, mixing on low or by hand just until combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to form dough balls, roll in sugar and place on a silicone mat lined baking sheet.
- Bake. Remove from the oven and place a hershey kiss in the center of each cookie.
Peanut Butter Blossom Tips
- Freeze the Kisses first. Unwrap them, put them in a bowl, and get them in the freezer before you make the dough. Room temperature Kisses melt and lose their shape.
- Weigh, don’t scoop. Set your bowl on a kitchen scale, zero it out, and add flour until it reads 180g.
- Set the butter out early. Room temperature butter creams with the sugars much more easily.
- Grab Jif or Skippy. I recommend processed creamy peanut butter, not natural.
- Press the Kiss in right away. Do it the second the pan comes out of the oven, while the cookies are still soft.
- Let them sit on the pan. Give them 15 to 20 minutes before you move them to a cooling rack.
Why I Weigh My Flour
A kitchen scale is the most accurate way to measure flour. Scooping straight from the bag packs too much flour into the cup, and too much flour makes dry cookies. Set your bowl on the scale, zero it out, and add 180g.
Peanut Butter Blossom Variations
Gluten Free Peanut Butter Blossoms
Use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend in place of all-purpose flour. I used King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour with great results. I’ve made these gluten free multiple times, so one batch works for the whole table.
How to Store, Make Ahead, and Freeze Peanut Butter Blossoms
To store: Let the cookies cool to room temperature. Keep them in a clean, dry airtight container on the counter for up to a week, or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. If you stack them, put parchment paper between the layers so they don’t stick.
To make ahead: This dough doesn’t need to chill. But you can make it ahead. Wrap it well in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
To freeze: These don’t freeze well because the Hershey’s kiss usually falls off.
Peanut Butter Blossom FAQs
I tested frozen against room temperature. Room temperature Kisses melted into the hot cookies and didn’t hold their shape. Frozen Kisses stay tall.
Right when the cookies come out of the oven. They’re still hot and soft, so the frozen Kiss presses right into the center.
No. This dough is ready to scoop and bake right away. You can make it ahead and keep it wrapped in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
Yes. A reader doubled it and baked 80 cookies! Bake one sheet at a time so the cookies bake evenly.
More Christmas Desserts
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Peanut Butter Spider Cookies
- Cut Out Sugar Cookies
- Stained Glass Church Window Cookies
- Tiger Butter
- Peppermint Oreo Balls
Tap stars to rate!
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup (107g) packed brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (201g) creamy peanut butter, not natural
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- Hershey Kisses
- Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies
Instructions
- Unwrap the Hershey kisses, place in a bowl and put in the freezer. This helps them to maintain their shape once added to the hot cookies. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute, until smooth and fluffy.1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, 1/2 cup (107g) packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup (66g) granulated sugar
- Add in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla extract, beat again, less than 1 minute.3/4 cup (201g) creamy peanut butter, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, mixing on low or with a spatula just until combined. Be careful not to over mix.1 1/2 cups (180g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
- Use a small cookie scoop to form balls from the dough. Once released from the scoop, roll in hands to form a uniform ball, then roll in granulated sugar. Place the cookies 2-3 inches apart on a silicone lined baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies begin to just turn golden. My cookie dough balls were 2 tablespoons large and baked for 9-11 minutes. Be sure to adjust the baking time for smaller cookies.Granulated sugar
- Remove the cookies from the oven and press a hershey kiss into the center of each cookie. Allow the cookies to cool for 15-20 minutes before moving to cooling rack.Hershey Kisses
Last Step: I’d love to hear what you think. Leave a rating and comment here.
Such a fun and easy recipe to make. I doble it and baked 80 cookies. Loved the idea of freezing the Hershey kisses so when adding them they didn’t melt. Thanks for a yummy recipe Beth!