Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

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These peanut butter blossoms are soft, chewy peanut butter cookies rolled in sugar and pressed with a chocolate kiss the minute they come out of the oven. They’re one of the easiest Christmas cookies you can make, and one of the first to disappear from any cookie tray.

For me, they’re more than a recipe. The smell of these cookies baking takes me straight back to Christmas as a kid.

We made peanut butter blossoms every single year without fail. Every December, the ladies in my family would get together for a big day of baking. The kitchen would be full of flour, sugar, laughter, and cooling racks covering every flat surface we could find.

At the end of the day, everyone swapped cookies. We’d mix and match, fill up our tins, and take a little bit of everyone’s baking home. I remember having so many different kinds of cookies that we couldn’t possibly eat them all, so we froze some to pull out later in the season.

From my box of handwritten recipes

This recipe comes from my collection of old handwritten recipe cards. The card is worn soft at the edges, faded in spots, and hard to read in places. There’s even old cookie batter smudged right on it, proof of how many Christmas seasons it has been through.

Here’s what the card says, as best I can read it:

• Peanut Butter Cookies
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup melted shortening ( I use butter instead)
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups flour (more or less)
• salt
• 2 teas. B. powder
• Stir it up into stiff batter. Take out pieces in hand size of walnut and flatten with a fork. Bake in a moderate oven.

That’s it. No oven temperature, no bake time, just “a moderate oven” and a pinch of trust. The card is for classic fork-pressed peanut butter cookies, and we turned that same dough into blossoms by rolling it in sugar and pressing a chocolate kiss on top. I’ve written it out below with the details filled in, plus a few notes I’ve picked up along the way. But I’ll always keep the original card, smudges and all.

Do you have a recipe card like this in your family? I’d love to hear about it!

Why you’ll love these peanut butter blossoms

• Simple pantry ingredients. No chilling required for the classic version, and nothing fancy to buy.
• Perfect for cookie swaps. They hold their shape, stack well in tins, and travel without crumbling.
• Freezer friendly. Bake ahead in November and you’ll have Christmas cookies ready to go.
• Kid friendly. Little hands love rolling the dough balls in sugar and pressing in the kisses.❤️

Ingredients you’ll need

• Creamy peanut butter. Use a regular brand like Jif or Skippy. Natural peanut butter separates and can make the cookies greasy and crumbly.
• Melted shortening. That’s what the card calls for, and it makes a soft, tender cookie. BUT, like to use melted butter instead.
• White and brown sugar. A full cup of each. The brown sugar keeps them chewy.
• Eggs and vanilla.
• Flour, baking powder, and salt. The card just says “salt,” so I use 1/2 teaspoon. It also says “3 cups flour (more or less),” so add a little extra if the dough isn’t stiff.
• Granulated sugar for rolling. This is our blossom addition. It gives that sparkly, crackly outside.
• Chocolate kisses. Unwrap them before you start baking so they’re ready the moment the cookies come out of the oven.

Full amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to make peanut butter blossoms

Prep. Heat the oven to 350°F, which is what old recipes meant by “a moderate oven.” Line your baking sheets with parchment. Unwrap all the chocolate kisses and set them aside.

Mix the sugars and fats. Stir together the melted butter, peanut butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Let it cool for a few minutes if the butter is hot.

Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat them in until well combined.

Add the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together, then stir them in. As the card says, stir it up into a stiff batter. If it still feels soft, add flour a tablespoon at a time.

Roll in sugar. The card says to take out pieces “the size of a walnut,” which is about a 1-inch ball. Roll each one in granulated sugar and place them 2 inches apart. Don’t flatten them with a fork like the original; leave them round for blossoms. (I actually skipped rolling them in sugar, but I wanted to include it in this recipe because most people like to do this.)

Bake. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops have little cracks.

Press in the kisses. Right away, press a chocolate kiss into the center of each warm cookie. The cookie will crack around the edges, and that’s exactly what you want.

Cool. Let them sit on the pan for a few minutes, then move them to a wire rack. Let the kisses firm up completely before stacking or storing.

Tips for perfect peanut butter blossoms

• Chill the kisses. Pop the unwrapped kisses in the fridge while the cookies bake. Cold kisses hold their pointy tips instead of melting into a puddle.
• Don’t overbake. Pull them when the centers still look a little soft. They firm up as they cool and stay chewy for days.
• Work fast. Press the kisses in within the first minute out of the oven, before the cookies set.
• Mix up the toppings. Try candy cane kisses, caramel-filled kisses, or mini peanut butter cups for a fun twist on your cookie tray.

Make ahead and freezing

Just like we did growing up, these freeze beautifully.

• Dough: Roll the dough into balls, coat in sugar, and freeze on a sheet pan. Move to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
• Baked cookies: Let the kisses set completely, then freeze in a single layer before packing into a tin or container with parchment between layers. They keep up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
• At room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Hosting a Christmas cookie swap

If my family’s tradition sounds like fun, start your own. Invite a few friends or family members, have everyone bake a big batch of one cookie, and bring empty tins to fill. Peanut butter blossoms are a great choice to bring because they’re easy to make in large batches and everyone recognizes them.

🎄❄️🍪❤️🎄❄️🍪❤️🎄❄️🍪❤️🎄❄️

Merry Christmas from my kitchen to yours

I hope these peanut butter blossoms find a spot on your Christmas cookie tray this year, and maybe start a tradition of your own. If you make them, leave a comment and tell me about your family’s favorite holiday cookie. Enjoy!