Reasons to Love Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

Perfect texture and flavor. Made with a perfect peanut butter cookie that is soft, yet chewy, bursting with peanut butter flavor, and finished with a sweet chocolate kiss, these Peanut Butter Blossom cookies are absolutely irresistible.

No Chilling Required. Peanut Butter Blossoms are one of the fastest cookie recipes to make thanks to the fact that this dough does not need to be chilled before being baked.

Perfect Year-Round. While you will always find these Peanut Butter Blossom cookies on my Christmas baking list, along with Candy Cane Cookies and Cut-Out Sugar Cookies, these cookies deserve to be enjoyed year-round.

Notes on Ingredients

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Blossoms labeled on counter.

Peanut Butter: For this recipe, I highly recommend using shelf-stable creamy peanut butter. It will yield the best flavor and texture in peanut butter cookies.

Butter: Use unsalted, room-temperature butter for best results.

Brown Sugar: The brown sugar adds a rich undertone to the cookie that not only pairs well with the peanut butter but also adds a nice chewy texture to the cookie itself.

Granulated Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar, along with brown sugar in the cookie dough to create a nice, soft, yet chewy cookie. This recipe also uses granulated sugar to roll the cookie dough in before baking. This creates a nice texture and flavor on the finished peanut butter cookie.

Hershey Kisses: Peanut butter blossoms are classically made with milk chocolate Hershey kisses. That said, you can opt to use an alternative flavor, such as dark chocolate kisses if desired.

Recipe Modifications

While Hershey Kisses are the classic and obvious choice for a Peanut Butter Blossom, there are other delicious ways to top these peanut butter cookies.

In place of a Hershey Kiss, top each cookie with a miniature peanut butter cup.
Chocolate stars are available around the holidays and make a festive alternative to the Hershey Kisses.
For Valentine's Day, use a chocolate-shaped heart candy in place of the Hershey Kiss.
Instead of using milk chocolate kisses, try one of the other flavors, like dark chocolate, or chocolate truffle for a variation on the classic PB Blossom.

Tips for Making Perfect Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Don't overmix the peanut butter cookie dough. Combine the wet and dry ingredients until the batter just comes together and the flour is fully moistened. You don't want to overwork your batter, as this will result in a tough cookie.
Keep the cookies the same size. Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon measuring spoon to portion out the dough before rolling it into balls. This will ensure the cookies are all the same size and bake evenly.
Leave room. Be sure to space the cookie dough 2 inches apart to allow for some spreading of the cookies.
Bake immediately for chewy peanut butter blossom cookies. If you like chewy peanut butter cookies, like my family does, there is absolutely no need to chill the dough before baking.
Chill the dough for softer peanut butter blossom cookies. If you would like a fluffier, softer peanut butter cookie, chill your dough for 30 minutes. This will help the cookies to not spread as much while baking and retain a fluffier texture.
Unwrap your Hershey Kisses before baking the cookies. Once the peanut butter cookies come out of the oven it is best to work quickly to place the kisses onto the cookies. Having them all unwrapped and ready to go will ensure you can move fast.
Partially bake before adding the Hershey Kiss to the cookie. The process for baking the perfect peanut butter blossoms is to MOSTLY bake the peanut butter cookies, add the Hershey Kiss, and then finish baking the cookies. This will allow the chocolate candy to set into the cookie and not fall off the cookie after cooling.
Keep the Hershey Kiss from melting. If your house is on the warmer side and you notice your chocolate kisses quickly melting, transfer the cookies to the freezer or refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to stop the cooking process and set the chocolate.