Soft sugar coated peanut butter blossoms topped with a chocolate Hershey’s kisses. Perfectly soft and chewy and perfect for a holiday cookie exchange.
Love Christmas cookies? Try my snickerdoodle cookies, thumbprint cookie recipe or chocolate crinkle cookies.
Table of Contents
Homemade Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Peanut butter blossoms (also known as peanut butter kiss cookies or Hershey kiss cookies) are such a classic and delicious cookie recipe. The sugar coated peanut butter dough paired with the chocolate Hershey’s kiss is the absolute best combo.
If you’re looking for a traditional cookie recipe, these peanut butter blossoms are perfect for you. For more festive Christmas treats that satisfy peanut butter and chocolate cravings, try chocolate peanut butter balls or no bake cookies!
Recipe Ingredients
Most of these ingredients are in your pantry or refrigerator already. These easy peanut butter blossom cookies are always a family favorite for a holiday cookie tray.
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Butter: This is usually a number one ingredient that helps add in air and makes the cookies more creamy and chewy.
- Baking staples: Sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, eggs, milk and vanilla extract.
- Peanut butter: Creamy peanut butter is best. This will add the peanut butter flavor as well as a creamy texture.
- Hershey’s Kisses: Unwrap each of the chocolate kiss candies. You can use either milk or dark chocolate.
Substitutions and Variations
- Flavored Hershey’s kisses. Suite your taste or the season with one of their fun varieties like Hershey’s Hugs or hot cocoa flavored.
- Coating. To make them extra festive, try rolling them in colored sanding sugar instead of granulated sugar.
- Drizzle. After the cookies have cooled drizzle with some icing or chocolate.
- Other candy. Add a miniature Reese’s cup on top instead of a chocolate kiss to make a peanut butter cup cookie instead of a chocolate kiss.
How to Make Peanut Butter Blossoms
You will love how easy this peanut butter blossoms cookie recipe is to make. The best part is they are ready to bake in 30 minutes!
- Dough. Cream together butter and sugars, then add peanut butter and blend until the dough forms are smooth. Add egg, milk and vanilla and stir.
- Combine. Add dry ingredients flour, baking soda and salt to the glass bowl of wet ingerdients. If dough is too sticky, chill for 10-20 minutes.
- Roll. Shape dough into 1-inch balls (I used a small cookie scoop) and then roll in additional granulated sugar until fully coated. Place on a lined cookie sheet.
- Bake. Bake at 350°F until very light golden brown on bottoms, about 7 to 9 minutes. Immediately after the cookies come out of oven, press Hershey’s kiss into the center and transfer to a wire rack.
Expert Tips
- Peanut butter. Make sure to use the creamy kind (I prefer Jif or Skippy). The natural drippy type won’t give you the same soft texture.
- Avoid dry cookies. If your cookie blossoms are dry and crumbly, there may be too much flour and not enough liquid. These cookies are best when soft and chewy, add a Tablespoon or two of milk to the dough.
- Firm chocolate. If you are worried about the chocolate melting too much when pressing it into the cookie, you can chill the kisses. I have never had an issue but it may help.
- Perfect ratio of kiss to cookie. Keep your cookie dough balls on the smaller size, I like around one Tablespoon to one Tablespoon and half, for a perfectly balanced Hershey’s kiss cookie.
- Adding Hershey kiss. The cookies should be warm when you press the chocolate candies on top. If they have cooled, add kisses to tops and place back in oven for a minute. This will ensure that the kisses stay in the center of each cookie.
Recipe FAQs
The recipe was developed by a contestant in the Pillsbury Bake-Off circa 1950’s. He developed a peanut butter cookie and pressed a Hershey kiss on top. As they say the rest is history. These have been a classic cookie ever since!
To avoid flat peanut butter blossoms, don’t skip chilling the dough for 20 to 30 minutes up to overnight. This helps the cookie dough from spreading too much while baking.
Yes! Make dough according to instructions, then shape and roll the cookies. Place on a baking sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until the dough has hardened. Then transfer to a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw on a baking sheet while the oven warms, then bake as directed.
They will keep for about a week, if stored in an airtight container or bag at room temperature. Just make sure to let them cool completely before storing. If you find they are getting dry, place a half slice of bread into the container.
Yes, once they have cooled, add to an airtight freezer container. I like to assemble the cookies in layers, with a piece of parchment paper between each layer. They will keep in the freezer for about 3 months.
5 star review
“Such an easy recipe to follow and tastes DELICIOUS! Way better than the recipe on the bag of Christmas Hersey chocolate kisses.”
-Hayley
Do you love classic peanut butter and chocolate recipes? Try peanut butter brownies, Oreo peanut butter pie, or this chocolate peanut butter fudge!
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Peanut Butter Blossoms
Video
Equipment
- Cookie Sheet
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter (or shortening)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (more for rolling)
- ½ cup light brown sugar , packed
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour , spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 36 Hershey’s Kisses (unwrapped)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a baking mat and set aside. Cream butter and sugars. Add peanut butter and blend until smooth. Add egg, milk and vanilla.
- Next add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix just until combined. Refrigerate 10-20 minutes if the dough is too sticky to handle.
- Roll dough into 1″ balls (I use a full small cookie scoop). Roll in sugar and then place onto prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the top no longer looks dough (do not let the bottoms brown or the cookies will be dry instead of soft. Remove from oven and let sit on the pan for a couple minutes.
- Press Hershey's kiss into cookie about a minute after the cookies come out of the oven. If the cookies have cooled slightly, put the cookies back in the oven for 1 minute once the kisses are on top to ensure they stay on top of the cookie.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Chocolate, Christmas, Cookies, Desserts, Freezer-Friendly, Holiday Cookies
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is also the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook. Here you will find easy family-friendly recipes for every occasion.
These are my son’s favorite. Thanks for a fool-proof recipe.
Nothing beats a classic peanut butter blossom cookie! This recipe came out perfect- and I don’t really bake! Thank you.
The peanut butter flavor is amazing, and the Hershey’s Kiss on top adds the perfect finishing touch. So easy and delicious!
These are my boys’ favorite cookies! They come together so quickly and my boys love putting the kisses in at the end. They don’t last long in our house!
So soft. Yummy.
❤️We had a Christmas party for the kids, and of course we had to have these cookies. They were a hit. My 2 year old loved helping me make them, too! ❤️
So fun to see kids in the kitchen! Love it!
Made these as part of a Christmas cookie baking day with friends. They were really good! Used a dairy free dark chocolate gem on some of them for a dairy allergy in the family, and my daughter really loved these (as well as made sure other ingredients used were dairy free etc). Shared some with other friends later, who asked for the recipe. We will be adding these to the holiday baking every year!
I’m so glad to hear that Sara! Thanks for your review :)
Best peanut butter blossom I have made. The cookie was almost creamy. My family loved them!!
So glad to hear that Karen! Thanks for your review :)
oh my goodness, this brought back all the nostalgia from my childhood! thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe!
We made these growing up too! So yummy!
These cookies were absolutely divine! I did substitute peanut butter for sun flower butter since we have allergies, but the cookies still turned out so good! The kids ate them up very quickly and even got to take some to school to share with their friends!
So glad to hear you had success with sun butter as well!
These are one of my absolute favorite cookies!! They are so soft & the peanut butter & chocolate combo is the best!! These are always on my goodie plates!
Agreed! One of our favorites too :)
We love these cookies! My son was moving from Utah to Michigan for grad school and I asked what he wanted me to make him- but I already knew the answer. So I had him make them with me so he knew how. He is my child that hates to do anything in the kitchen but said it was so easy to follow your instructions. I love that they freeze so well – there is usually some in freezer. He is excited to make them and have them in his freezer. Thanks for easy yet super yummy recipes. While we were waiting for them to bake he looked over your site and picked out some recipes to try!
AMAZING!! Love this recipe! We did tweek it to fit us. We used Sunflower Butter instead of peanut butter and used 1/2 cup . SOOO GOOD!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your substitution with sunflower butter. My daughter has a peanut allergy, so I’ll have to give it a try!