Peanut Butter Blossoms feature a chewy peanut butter base stuffed with a chocolate kiss. The secret to the best blossoms? Keeping the cookies small and rolling them in sugar before baking!
If you’re going to serve these on a platter with other cookies, consider presenting them alongside this Snickerdoodle Recipe (RAVE reviews!), Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Brownie Cookies!
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Welcome to Day #2 of Christmas cookie recipes! These peanut butter blossoms are a Christmas classic at my home. My boys love peanut butter cookies and are obsessed with chocolate, so these are definitely a no-brainer to make! 🙂 Today I’m going to share all my tips and tricks for making truly delicious Peanut Butter Blossoms and some fun variations to try!
While I do truly love these cookies, I prefer having the chocolate more evenly spread throughout the cookie. This problem can be solved by smaller cookie dough balls and/or using alternate chocolates. Try switching out the chocolate kisses on top for Dove® chocolates, Rolos®, or (for the truly peanut butter-crazed) miniature peanut butter cups. (The last photo in this post shows a stack of peanut butter blossom with Dove chocolates on top).
Read on to learn my tips and tricks for perfect chewy Peanut Butter Blossoms!
How to make Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Cream together butter and sugar: Creaming simply means mixing butter and sugar(s) together until well blended(creamy–get it?). You’ll have a fluffy and pale brown mixture.
- Why is it important to cream the butter and sugar? By creaming the two together you’re creating air pockets in the dough. The air will then mix with leavening agent(s) and expand, making the cookies rise and giving them a great texture!
- Mix in the peanut butter, followed by the egg and extracts: One of my “secrets” to great peanut butter cookies is almond extract. Just a tiny bit intensifies the nutty flavor of the cookie!
- Whisk together dry ingredients: We’re using both baking soda and baking powder in these cookies, salt to intensify all the flavors, and cornstarch to keep these cookies soft and chewy!
- Add dry ingredients to wet: Mix in the dry ingredients until *just* incorporated, making sure to not overmix the dough. Overmixing will yield dense cookies as the gluten is activated in the flour.
- Chill the dough: This is essential to keep the cookies from spreading and gives them the best texture and flavor possible — the sugars absorb, the dough becomes more flavorful, and the butter solidifies again with a quick chill in the fridge.
- Roll the balls in the sugar: Another secret to delicious blossoms is rolling them in granulated sugar before baking. I’ve found the best size for a Peanut Butter Blossom cookie is exactly 1 tablespoon. Use a measuring spoon to measure out each dough ball, roll it in sugar, and bake!
- Add chocolate of choice: Once the cookies are baked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for a few minutes before pressing a chocolate into the center.
My top tips for these Peanut Butter Blossoms:
- Spoon and level the flour: Instead of pressing a measuring cup into a bag/container of flour (which PACKS in the flour, giving you too much), use another measuring cup to spoon flour into your measuring cup. Use the back of a table knife to scrape the measurement to the top of the measuring cup. This ensures you get the right amount of flour.
- Use high-quality butter and peanut butter: A good, high-quality creamy peanut butter makes a huge difference flavor-wise in these cookies. (I love Land O Lakes® unsalted butter and Kroger® creamy peanut butter — not sponsored just a fan!)
- Get creative! Chocolate kisses are the quintessential Peanut Butter Blossom cookie addition, but try adding a Dove chocolate, a mini peanut butter cup, or even a Rolo! Our favorite? Dove milk chocolates.
Peanut Butter Blossoms FAQS:
Can you freeze these cookies?
While you CAN freeze these cookies, I don’t recommend it. Sometimes a white filmy residue forms on the chocolate kiss (they are still safe to eat; this residue is just from cocoa butter in the chocolate separating from the cocoa solids) and the overall peanut butter cookie does lose some texture.
Instead of freezing already baked cookies, try freezing the dough! Drop the formed balls on a large sheet pan and freeze until solid. Once solid, transfer the frozen cookie dough balls into an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. You can bake them straight from the freezer; just add 1-3 minutes onto the cooking time. Alternatively, thaw the dough in the fridge and bake according to directions.
More delicious cookie recipes:
- Thumbprint Cookies (raspberry-almond flavored)
- Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
- No-Bake Oreo Truffle Cookies (SO easy!)
- Almond Joy Cookies
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Equipment
- Sheet pan
- Silicone baking mat or parchment paper
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar light brown works too, lightly packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract optional
- 1/2 teaspoon salt I use fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour measure by spooning flour into a measuring cup and leveling it off with a butter knife
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 40 to 45 chocolate kisses or dove milk chocolates, miniature Reese’s cups, or Rolos, unwrapped
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes. Beat in the peanut butter until smooth. Add in the egg, vanilla, and optional almond extract.
- In another bowl, whisk together the salt, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and flour.
- Add dry to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour. (If you chill longer than a few hours or overnight, let the dough sit out at room temperature for 10 minutes.)
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a sheet pan with a silicone liner or parchment paper. Add remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar to a shallow bowl or plate.
- Use a 1-tablespoon measuring spoon to lightly pack in the dough and level it off. This is the exact dough ball size you need! Roll that dough in a ball, then roll to coat in the sugar. If the dough is starting to get too warm from rolling, chill the dough balls on the sheet pan for 5–10 minutes before baking to avoid spread.
- Place on prepared sheet pan and bake 8–10 minutes. I recommend baking 9 cookies at a time.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1 and 1/2 minutes before pressing an unwrapped candy into the cookie. Let stand to finish cooling and for the chocolate to set.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I make this batch up, bake half the same day and leave the rest of dough in fridge for two additional days and then bake the rest? Have 2 parties two days apart and don’t want to make the cookies up and bake them way ahead for the second one , im afraid they’ll be unfresh
thanks
how far ahead can i make this dough and leave in fridge chilled before baking and cookies still turn out?
Thanks 🙂
That should be fine! Cover it tightly and maybe let it sit out a little bit longer so the dough isn’t impossible to roll! Happy holidays 🙂