My peanut butter blossoms are made with the softest, butteriest peanut butter cookie base and topped off with a sweet milk chocolate kiss! They’re a classic holiday cookie that’s both fun and easy to make! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Homemade Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Peanut butter blossoms have always been my favorite cookie on the holiday cookie tray. They’re the perfect combination chocolate and peanut butter (like my peanut butter chocolate cake!), and they are so easy to make. Plus, they’re just so pretty with their sparkly exteriors!
My recipe is made without shortening and instead uses butter for super soft, and, well, buttery results. You’ll love this swap (I do the same in my peanut butter oatmeal cookies!) and how nice the results are!
Today’s recipe is adapted from my favorite peanut butter cookies. You’ll simply prepare the dough, let it chill for 30 agonizing short minutes, roll the cookies in sugar, and bake. Once they’re out of the oven, top them off with a Hershey kiss (a fun task for the kids), and you’re done. So simple!
Serve these alongside sugar cookies and your other favorite holiday cookies and they’ll be a guaranteed hit!
What You Need
Here are the key ingredients in my super soft peanut butter blossoms:
- Butter. Rather than using shortening (which many recipes call for) I use all butter in this recipe. The butter makes the flavor deeper, richer, and just all around much better than a shortening-based cookie. Made this way, the interiors are much softer and more melt-in-your-mouth than ones made with shortening.
- Peanut butter. Do not use the natural/sugar-free peanut butter that separates. Unfortunately, the cookies just won’t bake up the same and tend to become dry and crumbly. Stick with classic peanut butter (Skippy, Jiff, store brand, etc.).
- Sugar. These cookies wouldn’t be complete without a sparkly sugar coating. I personally like to use an organic cane sugar (the granules are more coarse), but regular granulated sugar would work too. Inside the cookies we’ll use a combination of granulated and light brown sugar for depth of flavor and a nice chewy texture.
- Cornstarch. Cornstarch is my secret weapon for soft cookies that hold their shape! I use it in my M&M cookies, whipped shortbread, thumbprint cookies, and so many others.
- Hershey kisses. Milk chocolate Hershey’s kisses are traditional, but you can use dark chocolate or pretty much any other flavor you like.
SAM’S TIP: I’ve also made these cookies with mini peanut butter cups instead of kisses. Use whichever you prefer here–both work great!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Combine the wet ingredients – Cream together the butter and sugars, then stir in the peanut butter. Mix in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- Add the dry – Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Chill and roll – Cover and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, then scoop into 2 teaspoon-sized balls. Roll the dough through sugar before placing on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Bake, top, and enjoy! Bake the cookies for 8 minutes at 375F. Remove from oven and add Hershey kisses to the centers. Let cool completely on the baking sheet before enjoying!
SAM’S TIP: Your cookies may look slightly underdone when they come out of the oven–that’s okay (ideal, actually!)! Letting the cookies finish baking on their sheets makes for super soft, tender results. If you were to bake them completely in the oven, they would be hard and crumbly once cooled.
Frequently Asked Questions
The most likely reason for this is not measuring flour properly or over-baking. Make sure you either spoon and level (no scooping!) or use a kitchen scale to measure your flour, and let your cookies finish baking outside the oven on their cookie sheets.
Yes! Just let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the freezer. They should last about three months stored this way. See also my post on how to freeze cookie dough.
I do not recommend using natural peanut butter (the kind that separates) here or in any of my other recipes. Use normal, creamy peanut butter for best results.
I hope you love my version of this classic cookie ❤️
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients
- 10 Tablespoons (141 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ⅔ cup (135 g) light brown sugar tightly packed
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (140 g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 large egg room temperature preferred
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar for rolling
- 24 Milk Chocolate Kisses unwrapped
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Combine butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer (or you may use a large bowl and an electric mixer) and beat until well combined (about 1 minute).10 Tablespoons (141 g) unsalted butter, ⅔ cup (135 g) light brown sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- Add peanut butter and stir well.½ cup (140 g) creamy peanut butter
- Add eggs and vanilla extract and stir until well-combined.1 large egg, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.1 ½ cups (188 g) all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon cornstarch, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Gradually add flour mixture into the peanut butter batter, pausing occasionally to scrape down sides and bottom of bowl so that all ingredients are well-combined.
- Cover dough with plastic wrap and Place in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes to one hour*
- Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Pour remaining ½ cup of sugar into a small bowl and set aside.½ cup granulated sugar for rolling
- Once dough has chilled, remove from refrigerator and roll into 2-teaspoon-sized balls. Roll completely in sugar and place on prepared cookie sheet at least 2″ apart.
- Bake on 375F (190C) for 8 minutes.
- Within a minute or so of removing cookies from oven, gently but firmly press a Hershey Kiss into the center of each cookie. Allow to cool completely on cookie sheet.24 Milk Chocolate Kisses
Notes
*Chilling
Start with 30 minutes, if the dough is too sticky or cookies come out too flat, return for another half an hour. This dough may be chilled overnight if needed.Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
I originally shared this recipe 12/04/2017, post updated to include more tips and information 12/01/2018
Maurine Sommer
I love your recipes, Sam! Any chance you, or anyone else, has ever done these in bar form? I’m on a shorter timeline and need a quicker baking solution. 😊
Sam
Hi Maurine! I have not tried these in a bar. I do have a peanut butter blondie that I would recommend trying. 🙂
Alyssa
Can I make this recipie without the peanut butter??
Sam
Hi Alyssa! The peanut butter is pretty vital here so I don’t recommend omitting it.
Jerri D.
Pro-festive tip: Roll in colored decorating sugar before baking instead of white granulated sugar. Soo pretty & festive!
whit
These are great! The only thing I did differently is unwrap & then freeze my Hershey Kisses for an hour or so, keeps them from melting. Thanks!
mike
i made these cookies but also used raspberry jam i made the hole with a rounded spatula handle it’s lke pbj sandwich
Shrushti Gosar
Perfect recipe with detailed instructions ! Made this 2nd time for a Christmas party at work and everyone relished them.
Pat
Perfection! A couple of hints that may help those with flattening and chocolate melting issues: I chilled the dough per the recipe, AND chilled the unwrapped kisses in the fridge. I then rolled balls of about 20 – 22 grams each and coated in granulated sugar. This yielded 32 dough balls. I noticed that the dough was becoming a bit softer/stickier as I got to the end of rolling, so I chilled the dough balls in the fridge for another 15 minutes; and baked them in batches, keeping the unbaked dough balls in the fridge until needed. 8 minutes of baking time worked perfectly for me for each batch. Delicious cookies!
Isabel
This is the best peanut butter blossom recipe. My friend and I make them every year for Christmas and they are quickly devoured. 10/10 – you’re cookies and recipes are all wonderful!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for the sweet comment, Isabel! These are one of our favorites too 🥰
Heather Boatman
is there a trick for the kisses to not melt? we wait 2 min and they turn to a melted puddle. still best cookie recipe though for blossoms!
Sam
Hi Heather! They should just soften a little bit then resolidify. Are they melting all over the cookie? If so, you may just want to wait another minute before placing them on.
Candice G.
I cannot say enough about how much I LOVE this recipe. They are the softest and yummiest PB kiss commodes I’ve ever made. I usually make them once a year but after discovering this recipe, more like once a month!! They are just too good. THANK YOU!!
Barbra-Anne
SO GOOD! I just made my second batch if these – I’m definitely struggling with the blossom aspect – but it got better this round so progress! Always so tasty and soft , just need to active the picture perfect blossom because the taste is 100! I saw someone comment about weighing out 20g balls – I weighed out 29 gram balls because that’s what the recipes weight in grams divided by 24 servings gave me / maybe next time I’ll try smaller balls – because maybe they aren’t flat but just too big? I don’t know yet but I’ll figure it out and my man will be happy to eat as many as it takes I’m sure aha
Siggi
I decided to bake cookies yesterday and chose a total of 6 recipes, including your Peanut Butter Blossoms and your M&M cookies. I baked a total of 197 cookies. Well, I confused the Peanut Butter Blossoms recipe with the M&M cookies recipe 😏 Unfortunately, the “blossoms’ turned out completely flat. Hmmm, I thought, I wonder why they are so flat. Definitely not like a PB Blossom should be…Well, I confused the PB Blossom recipe with the M&M cookie recipe. Not only did I use too much butter, I melted the butter! No wonder they turned out totally flat. However, my husband really likes the flat “blossoms“. They do taste good! And the M&M cookies, for which I used Reese‘s Pieces, are also delicious!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Oh no! Sounds like they were still enjoyed regardless. Thanks so much for trying our recipes, Siggi ❤️
Stacey
These cookies are absolutely perfect! I’ve made some variation of PB blossoms dozens of times over the years, and was never really thrilled with the results. But these are IT. 🙂 Followed the recipe exactly (I weighed out 20g dough balls because I’m one of those people…) and they’re amazing. Dough was fast to come together and easy to work with (even with a 2yr old helper). The end result is so yummy! Thanks for a great recipe!!
Alexis
HELP! So, this is the second recipe for peanut butter blossoms that I have tried. And, each time I have tried, the cookies spread waaaaay too thin, and become crunchy/crispy.
I have followed each recipe word for word. No substitutions. Extra chill time after noticing the first batch was spreading too thin.
I’m starting to think these cookies have a vendetta against me. 🙁
While I think I have tried everything, I welcome any tips!
Sam
O no! I’m so sorry this is happening, Alexis! A few things that may cause this here would be the amount of flour, and the butter being too soft. Did you weigh your flour?
Alexis
I don’t have a kitchen scale, so I didn’t weight the flour. However, I make sure to fluff my flour in its storage container before spooning into the measuring cup and leveling it off.
As far as the butter goes, I let it come to room temperature before starting the recipe, and then let it rest in the fridge for about four hours or so.
I still have a little batter left, so I left it in the fridge for the remainder of the night. I figured I would try again tomorrow after reaching out for help.
Thank you for responding so quickly! 🙂
Lucy Guerriero
Love these simple but rich tasting PB gems! I’ve been a faithful follower , Sugar Spun Run fan for 2 years so noticed something felt off watching the video; Seemed to me like the video presentation was super rushed.
Thank you for this awesome recipe though!
Sam
Thank you so much for following along, Lucy! This was a much much older video when I first started, so I was really trying to figure out what I was doing. 🤣 I hope they’ve gotten much better. 🙂
Breanna Arviso
I thought I read to scoop them into 2 tablespoon balls and was like wow these are way too big 😂 I re-rolled them correctly and they came out perfect!
Sam
Haha! So glad everything ended up working out perfectly, Breanna! Thank you for trying my recipe! 🙂
Satya
Hi! I’ve made these cookies before and they are amazing, but this time I only have dark brown sugar on hand. Would it work okay?
Sam
That will work fine. The cookies may just be a bit richer in flavor. 🙂
Anne
This was the best cookies I ever made. Thanks for the great recipe
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Anne! 🙂