The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms: 36 Treats

If you’re looking for that quintessential holiday treat—that perfectly chewy, crackly cookie topped with a melty chocolate centerpiece—then you’ve landed on the right page for The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms. Seriously, these are the cookies everyone begs for at parties, and they come together faster than you think!

I’m Daniel, and I started Reciqa because I believe that the best food doesn’t need to be complicated. For me, cooking is all about gathering people close, sharing comfort, and building traditions around the table. While I love a complicated bake, sometimes you just need something reliable and joyful, like these classic peanut butter cookies.

This recipe manages to capture that nostalgic charm while being incredibly simple to execute. We’re talking about a dough that mixes up in minutes, a quick chill, and then you’re rewarded with that iconic chocolate kiss right in the middle. Trust me, these blossoms are pure, unadulterated happiness baked into a cookie shape.

Why You Will Love Making The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms

These cookies are a baker’s dream because they are quick! Prep time is minimal, and they bake up fast, making them perfect for last-minute cookie swaps. You get that satisfying sugary crunch on the outside, a soft middle, and that burst of milk chocolate. They are simple, classic, and basically impossible to mess up if you follow the steps.

Essential Ingredients for The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms

You don’t need a pantry full of specialty items for these blossoms to shine. In fact, most of what you need is probably already sitting in your kitchen cabinets right now. The success of these cookies really hinges on getting the butter and peanut butter creamy, and making sure your flour is measured correctly. Don’t skip the chilling step later, but for now, let’s just look at what we need to grab.

Here is the lineup for making approximately 36 perfect cookies:

Ingredient	Amount	Preparation
Light Brown Sugar	1/2 cup	Packed
Granulated Sugar (For Dough)	1/2 cup	—
Unsalted Butter	1/2 cup	Softened
Creamy Peanut Butter	1/2 cup	—
Large Egg	1	—
Vanilla Extract	1 teaspoon	—
All-Purpose Flour	1 3/4 cup	—
Baking Soda	1 teaspoon	—
Kosher Salt	1/4 teaspoon	—
Granulated Sugar (For Rolling)	1/2 cup	For coating
Chocolate Kisses	40	Unwrapped

Clarifying Ingredient Measurements for The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms

Let’s talk about the sugars and the star of the show—the chocolate. You need that light brown sugar packed firmly into the measuring cup; it brings moisture and that slight molasses flavor that white sugar just can’t touch. We use two separate measurements of granulated sugar, so keep them separate!

The peanut butter must be creamy here; crunchy might work in a pinch, but it messes up the smooth texture we are aiming for when we cream it with the butter. Natural peanut butter is also a no-go here—the oil separation makes the dough too greasy and causes major spreading. Peanut butter is a fantastic source of protein, but for this recipe, texture is key!

Finally, the chocolate kisses—they absolutely have to be unwrapped before you start baking, or you’ll end up with a sticky mess and sad, foil-wrapped cookies. Trust me on that one; I’ve learned the hard way!

Gathering Your Equipment

Before you even touch the mixer, having your tools ready makes this process so much smoother. You’ll definitely want a sturdy mixing bowl—nothing flimsy! A good hand mixer is a lifesaver for creaming the butter and sugars properly. Make sure you have your baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat ready to go. A small bowl for rolling the dough balls is also essential for coating them evenly in sugar.

Step-by-Step Instructions for The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms

Alright, now for the fun part! These instructions are straightforward, but paying attention to the timing—especially the chilling and the post-bake kiss pressing—is what makes these cookies truly fantastic. We’re moving fast but precisely here, so let’s get mixing!

Mixing the Dough Base for The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms

Grab your large bowl and your hand mixer. First up, we need to cream the fats and sugars together. Throw in that softened butter, the half cup of brown sugar, the half cup of white sugar, and all that creamy peanut butter. Mix this on medium speed until it looks genuinely light and fluffy—this usually takes about two good minutes. Don’t rush this; this is where we build air into the cookie!

Once you have that lovely fluffy base, drop in that single egg and the vanilla extract. Beat it just until everything looks incorporated and smooth. Now, switch your mixer speed down to low—this is important so you don’t end up with a flour cloud in your kitchen! Gently add the flour, baking soda, and salt mixture. You only want to mix this until you see no more dry streaks of flour. Stop right there as soon as it comes together.

Chilling and Preparing the Dough for Baking

This step is non-negotiable, folks! Cover that bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and I mean tightly. Pop it into the refrigerator for a solid 30 minutes. Chilling the dough prevents these cookies from spreading out into flat pancakes when they hit the heat, which we absolutely don’t want for a proper blossom shape.

While that dough is getting cold, get your oven preheated to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grab your baking sheet and line it with parchment paper or one of those handy silicone baking mats. Now, prepare your rolling station: pour that extra half cup of granulated sugar into a small, shallow bowl. This sugar coating is what gives the outside that signature crackle!

Baking and Finishing The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms

Once chilled, scoop out about a tablespoon and a half of dough. Roll it between your palms to form a nice, even one-inch ball. Now, gently roll that dough ball all over in the sugar until it’s completely coated. Place these sugar-coated beauties about two inches apart on your prepared sheet. They need room to breathe!

Bake them for exactly 9 to 10 minutes. You’re looking for them to be lightly golden around the edges, and the top should show those classic, beautiful cracks. The second they come out of the oven—and I mean *immediately*—take an unwrapped chocolate kiss and gently press it right into the center of each warm cookie. The residual heat melts the bottom of the kiss just enough to stick. Let them set on the sheet for just a minute or two before carefully moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. If you wait too long, the kiss won’t stick, and if you move them too soon, they might break!

Expert Tips for Perfect The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms

Listen, these cookies are easy, but they have a few quirks that separate the good ones from the truly amazing ones. My biggest piece of advice, which I learned after ruining a whole batch one Christmas, is temperature control. Make sure your butter is soft, but not greasy or melted, when you start creaming. That initial fluffiness is crucial for texture.

Also, when rolling them in the final sugar coating, be generous! You want every bit of that dough ball covered so you get that perfect, sugary crust when they bake. Don’t press the chocolate kiss in until they are completely out of the oven—if you try to do it halfway through baking, the dough will puff up around it, and you’ll have a weird, sunken chocolate center.

Troubleshooting Common Issues with Peanut Butter Cookies

If your cookies are spreading way too much, nine times out of ten, your dough wasn’t cold enough. That 30-minute chill is your insurance policy against flat cookies! If they are spreading even after chilling, you might have overworked the flour mixture, developing too much gluten. Next time, mix the dry ingredients in on slow speed and stop immediately when combined. For more on gluten development, check out this baking resource.

Now, about cracking—a little bit of cracking is what you want because that’s how the chocolate sinks down beautifully. But if they are cracking so much that they look dry and crumbly before they even hit the oven, you might have used crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy, or perhaps your butter was too cold when you started mixing. Keep everything at room temperature (except when chilling the dough, of course!) and you’ll see perfect results.

Common Questions About The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms

I get so many questions about these classic Chocolate Kiss Cookies, especially around the holidays when everyone is baking up a storm! It’s natural to wonder about tweaks, so let’s clear up a few things before you dive into your next batch of Holiday Baking. If you are looking for other holiday favorites, check out these Italian Christmas Cakes.

Can I substitute the peanut butter type in The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms?

This is a big one! For these specific Peanut Butter Blossoms, I strongly recommend sticking to creamy peanut butter. When you cream the creamy kind with the butter and sugar, it creates this incredibly smooth base that allows the dough to bake up soft and crackly. If you use crunchy, you’ll end up with a much lumpier texture, and frankly, it doesn’t look as nice when you press the chocolate in. Natural peanut butter is also a no-go here—the oil separation makes the dough too greasy and causes major spreading.

How long should I chill the dough for The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms?

The recipe calls for 30 minutes, and that’s the minimum time I insist on. If you skip this chilling time, your dough balls will be too soft when they go into the oven, and they’ll spread out wide and flat instead of holding that nice rounded shape. If you’re making these ahead of time (which is great for Christmas Cookies!), you can chill the dough for up to three days. If it gets too hard after sitting overnight, just let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before rolling.

Storing and Keeping The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms Fresh

The great thing about these cookies is that they are actually better the next day once the chocolate has fully set up! You want to store them at room temperature, not in the fridge, because the cold can make the cookie part hard. The chocolate kiss is delicate, so you need to be careful when stacking them.

• Store cookies in a single layer in an airtight container for the first day.
• If you must stack them, place a small square of parchment paper between each layer to prevent the chocolate from sticking to the cookie above it.
• They stay wonderfully fresh for about 4 to 5 days. Don’t try to freeze them with the kisses already attached; the chocolate doesn’t handle the freezer well!

Share Your Experience with The Best Peanut Butter Blossoms

I truly hope baking these brought as much joy to your kitchen as they do mine! Now it’s your turn. Did you try the 30-minute chill? How did your chocolate kisses set up? I absolutely love hearing from you all, so drop a comment below with your rating and let me know if they lasted more than an hour in your house!

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