These Classic Christmas Cookies Are Chocolate and Peanut Butter Perfection
Chocolate and peanut butter lovers, these peanut butter blossoms are for you! Perfect for the holidays, they're festive, delicious, and easy to make.
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (plus ½ cup for rolling)
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter*
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 36 Hershey’s Kisses (or other chocolate candies, unwrapped)
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and ¼ cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter, egg, milk, and vanilla and mix until creamy. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined.
- Scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough, then use your hands to roll it into balls. Roll the dough balls in the remaining ½ cup granulated sugar and arrange them on the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 1 inch between balls.
- Bake, one sheet at a time, for 8 minutes, or until fine cracks start to form on the tops of the balls. Remove from the oven and press a chocolate kiss into the top of each cookie until the edges start to crack. Use a spatula to immediately transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Who else loves peanut butter blossoms?! These classic Christmas cookies have a peanut butter cookie base with a chocolate Hershey’s Kiss on top. I love how the rich chocolate melds into the soft, nutty, sugar-crusted cookies. I mean, nothing bad ever happens when peanut butter and chocolate team up.
I’m sharing my go-to peanut butter blossoms recipe below. Easy and delicious, it’s one of my family’s favorite holiday treats.
Why You’ll Love These Peanut Butter Blossoms
- They have an amazing chocolate and peanut butter flavor. Using natural peanut butter deepens the nutty flavor.
- They’re easy to make with basic ingredients. You don’t even have to chill the cookie dough!
- You can customize them with different toppings. Keep things classic with Hershey’s Kisses, or try mini peanut butter cups, other chocolate candies, or nuts.
L&L reader Michelle wrote, “Our favorite peanut butter blossom recipe. Love making these cookies with the kids.” I hope you love them too!
Peanut Butter Blossoms Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this peanut butter blossoms recipe:
- Peanut butter, of course! I use natural creamy peanut butter to make this recipe. Make sure that it’s smooth and well-stirred. Avoid the dry, stiff stuff that you might find at the bottom of a jar.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon and level it to avoid packing too much into your measuring cup.
- Baking soda – It helps the cookies rise.
- Unsalted butter – It should be soft, but not melted. I let a stick sit at room temperature for about an hour before making this recipe.
- Light brown sugar and granulated sugar – They sweeten the dough. The granulated sugar also creates a sparkly crust on the outside of the cookies.
- An egg – It binds the cookie dough together and helps the cookies puff up as they bake.
- Milk – For moisture. Use whatever kind you keep on hand!
- Vanilla extract – For warm depth of flavor.
- Hershey’s Kisses – I personally like the dark chocolate ones, but milk chocolate kisses (or even little peanut butter cups!) are great too.
- And sea salt – To make the sweet, nutty flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Peanut Butter Blossoms
This peanut butter blossoms recipe is so simple to make! Here’s how it goes:
First, make the cookie dough. Stir together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set it aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or using an electric hand mixer, mix together the wet ingredients. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter, egg, milk, and vanilla and mix until creamy.
Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Next, shape the cookies. Use a small cookie scoop or 1-tablespoon measuring spoon to shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the dough balls in 1/2 cup granulated sugar and arrange them on parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving at least an inch between balls.
Then, bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in a 375°F oven, until fine cracks start to form in the tops of the cookies. In my oven, this takes about 8 minutes.
Finally, add the kisses. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, gently press a kiss into the center of each cookie, stopping when the edges start to crack. Use a spatula to immediately transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Unwrap the kisses before you bake the cookies. In order for the chocolate kisses to stick to the cookies, the cookies must be 1) hot and 2) very soft. This means that you need to add the kisses as soon as the cookies come out of the oven. For speedy assembly, make sure to unwrap the kisses ahead of time!
- Bake one sheet at a time to make it easy to add kisses to all the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven. The cookies will bake evenly too.
- Take the cookies off the baking sheet right away. If you don’t, the warmth from the hot cookie sheet will melt the kisses!
- Give them plenty of time to cool. Peanut butter blossom cookies need to cool for several hours to allow the kisses to totally firm up. If you want to speed this process along, you can place the cookies in a single layer on a large plate or rack in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you store peanut butter blossoms?
Once the kisses are firm, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Do they freeze well?
Yes! Seal them in an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let frozen cookies thaw at room temperature for about 1 hour before enjoying.
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
If you love these peanut butter blossoms, try one of these yummy cookie recipes next:
