Peanut Butter Blossoms
by Sommer Collier — on Oct 14, 2026 You’ve seen them, you’ve tried them, you know you love them… Now I’m showing you how to make your very own perfect Peanut Butter Blossoms! My easy peanut butter kiss cookie recipe starts with a rich peanut butter cookie dough made with just a handful of pantry staples. I roll the dough balls in sugar, quickly bake them, then press a single Hershey’s Kiss into the center of each soft, slightly chewy cookie. I’m also sharing my expert tips for making peanut butter cookies that are never dry or crumbly, with chocolate kisses that melt just enough to become perfectly soft!
I’ve never met a peanut butter cookie I didn’t like. I have several variations on the site, with my absolute favorite being my classic best peanut butter cookie recipe; they are very peanutty, and perfectly balanced with a delicate crumbly chewy texture. However, sometimes you want a little variation, something simple to make that’s fun for the whole family to bake together. That’s where peanut butter blossoms come in… Here I’m sharing my fool-proof recipe that includes a very smooth fluffy peanut butter cookie base, perfect to press a little Hershey’s kiss down in the middle. They’re so quick and so fun to make, and they disappear incredibly fast!
Table of Contents
Sommer’s Recipe Highlights
Yes, THOSE Cookie – While you can change things up with different textures and flavors, the basic beloved concept stays the same. These are the instantly recognizable peanut butter cookies with the Hershey’s kiss in the middle. They’re unbelievably soft and thick, with the chocolate barely melted.
Great to Share – Maybe. You could count on my family to take down an entire batch of scrumptious PB cookies by ourselves within a matter of days. But if you are feeling generous, my peanut butter blossom cookie recipe is always great for office and holiday parties, to bring to school events, and include in Christmas cookie boxes. (But for Halloween you need to make the spider cookie version!) They even freeze well after baking, so you can enjoy a few now and keep a batch in the freezer for sharing later.
My No-Fail Tips – Peanut butter cookies sometimes get a bad rep, and people think they are either too crumbly or too dense and oily. But I’ve been testing and tweaking my recipe over the years, and with my helpful tips, you are about to make the perfect peanut butter kiss cookies!
Key Ingredients and Tips
- Peanut butter – You know I’m usually one that likes ingredients to be as wholesome as possible… But now’s not the time. Like I discovered when perfecting my air fryer peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies recipe, you need to use traditional no-stir creamy peanut butter. This means don’t use “natural” peanut butter where the oil has separated.
- Butter – I always use unsalted butter my recipes, so I have total control over the amount of salt in the dish.
- Hershey’s Kisses – I’m using traditional milk chocolate kisses. But feel free to try Hershey’s kisses with dark chocolate, hugs with white chocolate and milk chocolate, chocolate mocha, or any fun novelty flavors you like.
- Sugars – I use granulated white sugar and light brown sugar to make the cookies more warmly sweet versus straight-up sugary sweet.
- Dry ingredients – This recipe uses all of the typical ingredients to make nearly any cookie: flour, baking powder, and salt. The proportions are just slightly different when they’re used to make these cookies.
- Egg – I use a large eggs that has come to room temperature, or at least isn’t super cold. Cold eggs slow down the baking process and can throw off the cooking times.
- Vanilla extract – For the best tasting cookies you must use the best, most high-quality vanilla you can. It seriously makes a huge difference compared to cheaper imitation extracts that sometimes aren’t even made with vanilla!
How to Make
Find the full ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, storage tips, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Prep – I start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and get out the egg and butter from the refrigerator. I let them come to room temperature as I prep the baking sheets with parchment paper, get out my standing mixer (or hand mixer), and gather the rest of the ingredients. To get the chocolate cold (and therefore less melty) I place the kisses in a bowl as I unwrap each one, then pop the bowl in the freezer.
Combine and Mix – Next, I add the peanut butter and softened butter to the standing mixer bowl. Beat these together on high for at least a minute or two, until they combine into a smooth mixture.
Add Sugars and Beat on High – I use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bowl and pour in both the white granulated and light brown sugar. Then beat the sugars, butter, and peanut butter on high for several minutes, at least 3-5. I know that feels like for.ev.er when you’re using a standing mixer but trust me, you’ve got to be patient here and don’t try to rush the process… It’ll be well worth it!
Scrape and Mix – I turn the mixer off and scrape the bowl down again with the rubber spatula. Then turn the speed to low and add the egg, followed by the vanilla, salt, and baking powder. As soon as the egg has combined in the peanut butter base, I turn the mixer off and scrape the bowl down once more. Back up to a low speed goes the mixer, and I slowly add in the flour, little by little, so there are no big clumps in there. Turn off the mixer as soon as the last bit of flour has been added and is no longer visible… Over mixing the dough will cause the cookies to be dense and dry.
Scoop and Roll – Now I get out a small bowl with a flat bottom to make it easy for rolling the cookie dough balls. Add a bit of the granulated white sugar to the bowl, and set it next to the baking sheet. I use a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop to portion out a dozen peanut butter cookie dough balls, and roll each one in a bit of the sugar before placing it on the baking sheet. You can either bake one sheet of 12-13 at a time, or use two baking sheets to make all 25-27 cookies at once.
Bake and Kiss – I place the sheet into the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes. When the timer goes off I remove the bowl of kisses from the freezer, and watch the cookies closely for another 1-3 minutes in the oven before taking the sheet back out. I find around 12 minutes is perfect, but everyone’s oven bakes slightly different. When they’re done, the edges of the peanut butter cookies will be set and look *almost* crisp with a soft, crackly dome.
Next, I immediately start to gently press a frozen Hershey’s kiss directly into the middle of each warm cookie. Push them down so they nicely set into the soft dough, but not so hard that they touch the underside of the cookies. The peanut butter kiss cookies will crack a bit but don’t worry, that’s normal and the cookies will still hold together fine as they cool and firm up. If you see any larger cracks, you can gently press the exterior of each cookie back together. Then allow them to cool completely on the baking sheets.
Expert Tips
The key to making peanut butter cookies with the perfect texture is to make sure the butter is softened before beating it into the peanut butter. You don’t want butter clumps here! The butter and peanut butter need to blend together seamlessly first, then make sure to cream the sugars into the peanut butter mixture on high speed so that it fluffs up and the sugar crystals breakdown. This creates an ultra-light airy texture and a crispy crust, so I cannot stress enough how important it is that you don’t try to take shortcuts!
Why do I freeze the chocolate first? Well, the cookies are extremely hot when you press the Hershey’s kisses down in the center, and sometimes they melt a little bit more than you want. To reduce the chance of this, I like to unwrap them and place all my Hershey kisses in the freezer while I’m making the dough. Then when they come out of the oven, I pop a frozen kiss down in the center for the perfect appearance.
Don’t over mix, and don’t over bake. Peanut butter blossom cookies are quite delicate, and the dough needs to be treated lightly. Creaming the butter and sugars together is as rough as things should get when making this recipe; otherwise, only mix the ingredients as much as necessary. Then take them out of the oven quickly so they don’t dry out… It makes it hard to set the Hershey’s kisses and ruins the soft and chewy textures.
As-is my recipe makes approximately 25-27 cookies. Feel free to halve the ingredients to make a modest dozen cookies, or double the amounts and work in batches. This is a great plan if you want to have plenty of peanut butter cookies with Hershey’s kisses to freeze for later!
Storage Notes
The little beauties will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. I don’t recommend refrigerating them as the cookies are likely to dry out.
But these cookies are great for freezing! I wrap each one individually in plastic wrap, then place them all in a large plastic ziploc bag. Squeeze out as much excess air as you can, and freeze the PB cookies for up to 3 months. Then I take them out one at a time, or however many, and let them come to room temperature on the counter. This usually takes anywhere from 15-20ish minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
You don’t need to chill the dough first to make my peanut butter blossom cookie recipe. We’re moving fast, so the dough doesn’t have too much time to get warm and overly soft. However, you certainly can pop the mixing bowl in the fridge for a few minutes before scooping and rolling if you need more time between the steps.
As I might have mentioned once or twice, peanut butter blossoms are easy to make but they are temperamental. Be sure to follow all of my steps and tips, including notes about not working the cookie dough too much or keeping them in the oven for too long, and I practically guarantee your batches will be perfect!
Be honest here… did you freeze the chocolates first like I suggested? If not sorry folks, I don’t wanna hear any complaints about melted chocolate.
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More Cookie Recipes
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Video
Ingredients
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter traditional, not the kind you have to stir
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar + extra for rolling
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 27 Hershey’s kisses
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set the butter and eggs out to come to room temperature, then set out several baking sheets in line them with parchment paper.
- Unwrap the Hershey’s kisses and place them in a small bowl. Then place the bowl in the freezer so the kisses get cold.
- Set out a stand mixer, or mixing bowl and electric hand mixer. Combine the peanut butter and butter in the bowl. (If the butter isn't fully softened, put it in before the peanut butter and beat it on high to soften it. Then add the peanut butter.) Beat the butter and peanut butter together until light and smooth. Then scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar to the bowl and beat again on high to cream the butter and sugar together until it’s light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Don’t skimp on the time here!
- Scrape the bowl again with a rubber spatula and turn the mixer back on low. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, salt, and baking powder. Scrape the bowl again, then turn back on low and slowly add the flour. Once the dough comes together, immediately stop mixing.
- Set out a small bowl and pour a little bit of white sugar into the bowl for rolling the dough balls. Use a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to portion out equal dough balls. Roll each ball in your hands to tighten it, then roll it around in the sugar before placing on the baking sheet, 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for approximately 12 minutes, until the centers are puffed and the exterior of the cookie looks set.
- Remove them from the oven and immediately press one cold Hershey’s kiss down in the center of each cookie. This will create some cracks, don’t worry about that!
- Once all the Hershey kisses are placed in the center of each cookie, if you see any larger cracks, you can gently press the exterior of each cookie back together. Then allow them to cool completely on the baking sheets.
