Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

Peanut butter blossom cookies are a classic for a reason! When you nestle a chocolate kiss into a chewy and soft peanut butter cookie, you create a holiday cookie that's hard not to love.
Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Peanut butter blossom cookies (or peanut butter kiss cookies, as my family calls them) are among the many Christmas cookies my mom and I make every December. Typically, we whip up a double or triple batch because they’re always one of the most popular picks on the platter at our holiday gatherings. Peanut butter and chocolate desserts are beloved across the board for a reason—and in this case, the chocolate kiss is just the “cherry on top” of a deliciously chewy and soft peanut butter cookie.

If peanut butter blossoms are not yet on your lineup of Christmas cookies, here’s your sign! Read on for all the tips and tricks you’ll need to make the perfect batch.

Ingredients

  • Peanut butter: Although crunchy peanut butter will technically work, try to use creamy peanut butter to make peanut butter blossom cookies. I’m a Skippy gal myself, but these are the best peanut butter brands as reviewed by our Test Kitchen pros. Avoid natural peanut butters that may separate.
  • Sugar: A combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar creates a chewy, firm yet soft cookie.
  • Butter: Make sure the butter has softened before you cream it with the peanut butter and sugars.
  • Baking soda and baking powder: These two work together to help the cookie dough rise just enough. Here’s the difference between baking soda and baking powder if you’d like to learn what each does for baked goods.
  • Chocolate kisses: We call for milk chocolate kisses in this peanut butter blossom cookies recipe, but dark chocolate or your favorite variety will be just as delicious.

Directions

Step 1: Cream the butter, sugar and peanut butter

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cream the softened butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, five to seven minutes.

Editor’s Tip: Our guide to how to cream butter and sugar specifies that the mixture should be pale in color and fluffy before moving on with the recipe.

Step 2: Beat in the egg

Beat the egg into the creamed peanut butter mixture.

Editor’s Tip: A room-temperature egg will mix into the other ingredients much better than one pulled straight from the fridge.

Step 3: Add the flour mixture

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beat the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture.

Step 4: Bake the peanut butter cookies

Drop by level tablespoonfuls spaced 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until light brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Editor’s Tip: Instead of measuring out tablespoonfuls, I use a small cookie scoop when making cookies. A cookie scoop is definitely one of the essential baking supplies that every home cook needs.

Step 5: Put the kisses on the cookies

Peanut Butter Blossom cookies on a white marbleTMB Studio

Remove the peanut butter blossom cookies from the oven, and immediately push an unwrapped chocolate kiss into the top of each cookie. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for two minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks, and let cool completely.

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies Variations

Christmas-tree shaped peanut butter cups on top CookiesTMB Studio

If you ask me, peanut butter blossoms are pretty close to perfect, but there are a few ways that you can add a personal touch:

  • Use different types of chocolate kisses: Use whatever type of kiss you like, whether they’re dark chocolate or even a swirl of white chocolate and milk chocolate. I’ve even seen peanut butter cookies with Christmas tree-shaped peanut butter cups on top (although those wouldn’t be “blossoms” anymore).
  • Roll the dough in granulated sugar: Roll each ball of cookie dough in granulated sugar before baking to give each cookie a little sparkle and extra sweetness. If you’re feeling fancy and festive, roll each ball of cookie dough in a coarse colored sanding sugar, such as red or green.
  • Create little Christmas trees on top: Pipe some green frosting on top of the chocolate kisses using a star tip to make Christmas trees. Use a few colorful sprinkles to look like lights, and a star sprinkle for the tree topper.

How to Store Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

Surprisingly, the peanut butter cookie base stays pretty soft for quite a while after Christmas—so you have some time (typically two to three weeks) to put in the work to finish off a big batch. Keep them at room temperature in an airtight container, and don’t forget to let them cool completely before packing them away. If you want more tips for keeping cookies fresh, check out our guide to how to store cookies.

Can you freeze peanut butter blossom cookies?

If you can’t finish off the entire batch within a few weeks, pop the peanut butter blossoms into the freezer, where they’ll last for 8 to 12 months.

To freeze your cookies, let the cookies cool, then pop the baking sheet into the freezer until the cookies are solid. Then transfer the cookies to airtight containers, with parchment separating each layer so that the cookies don’t freeze together.

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies Tips

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies served in a plateTMB Studio

Should you use light or dark brown sugar to make peanut butter blossom cookies?

It’s really a personal preference. Use whichever you have on hand, because using either won’t change the recipe much. If you have brown sugar leftover, there are plenty of brown sugar desserts you can make to use it up before it hardens.

What kind of peanut butter should you use to make peanut butter blossom cookies?

This recipe calls for creamy peanut butter, but if you’re a crunchy peanut butter lover, that will work too. Use up the rest of the jar in other peanut butter cookie recipes.

Watch how to Make Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

Here's proof that peanut butter and chocolate just belong together. These peanut butter blossom cookies are an easy family favorite and never fails to make my children smile. —Tammie Merrill, Wake Forest, North Carolina
Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies Recipe photo by Taste of Home
Total Time

Prep: 15 min. Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling

Makes

3 dozen

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 36 milk chocolate kisses

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter, peanut butter and sugars until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; beat into peanut butter mixture.
  2. Drop by level tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake until light brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven; immediately push a chocolate kiss into the top of each cookie. Cool on pans 2 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

Nutrition Facts

1 cookie: 106 calories, 6g fat (3g saturated fat), 13mg cholesterol, 92mg sodium, 13g carbohydrate (9g sugars, 0 fiber), 2g protein.