Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

A classic recipe and a family staple that features a peanut butter cookie rolled in sugar and topped with a chocolate kiss! This is the perfect recipe for someone looking for a simple yet delicious dessert, and it is beginner-friendly. Below I have shared a step-by-step walkthrough on how to bake these cookies, along with some tips and tricks I've learned as a baking enthusiast.

This recipes yields about 35 cookies and requires no chill time.

Oven: Preheat to 350F

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 10 - 15 minutes

Note: This recipe is not allergen friendly and contains peanuts.

Below listed are the tools and ingredients needed for this recipe:

Tools:

• Stand mixer (or whisk and bowl if mixing by hand)
• Mixing spatula
• Measuring cups (1/3 c., 1/2 c., 3/4 c., 1c.)
• Measuring spoons (1/2 tsp., 1 tsp.)
• Extra bowl for rolling sugar
• Baking cookie sheet
• Parchment paper, news paper, or cooling rack (optional)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 c. peanut butter
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. butter (room temp.)*
• 1/2 c. brown sugar*
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 3/4 c. flour*
• Additional 1/2 c. sugar for rolling cookies
• Hershey's kisses (about 35)
• (Optional toppings: Reese's mini peanut butter cups, colored sanding sugar)

*Make sure that the butter is room temperature, allowing it to fulling incorporate into the mixture. Margarine also works as a substitute for the butter; this just depends on preference.

*Either light or dark brown sugar works for this recipe; the only different is their molasses content. I've found success with light brown, so this is what I tend to use in my recipes and is what I'll used here.

Prepare Ingredients

Begin by washing your hands and prepping your ingredients. By measuring my ingredients ahead of time, I've found that the process of baking goes smoother, and I am less likely to forget something.

Tips for measuring:

• To measure the flour, level out the flour so that it is equal with the surface edge of the measuring cup. The easiest way to do this is by sliding the flat edge of a butter knife across the surface. Packing down your flour will result in an inaccurate measurement and may be the cause for dense, dry cookies. For this recipe, I find it unnecessary to sift your flour as long as you store it in a dry place and measure it correctly.
• To get a correct measurement of brown sugar, pack down the brown sugar into the measuring cup with the rounded side of a spoon. To ensure that you've packed the brown sugar adequately, the brown sugar should maintain its shape when dumped into the bowl.
• Be generous with the peanut butter measurement. It's often difficult to get out all of the peanut butter remaining in the measuring cup. To account for this, add a little extra so that the amount of peanut butter measures over the rim. This ensures a softer, less dry cookie.

We will first cream together the peanut butter, sugars, and butter. In a medium bowl, add:

• 1/3 c. peanut butter
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. butter (room temp.)
• 1/2 c. brown sugar

Mix these four ingredients on a medium-high speed until well combined. The resulting mixture should be one, uniform texture. While mixing, scrape the side of the bowl with the spatula to ensure everything is incorporated.

Next, we will add vanilla and egg to our mixture:

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 egg

Mix this on a medium speed until just combined, continuing to scrap the sides of the bowl as before. In this step, it is essential not to over-beat the mixture. Over-mixing can result in cookies that are either tough or deflated, so you should mix until the added ingredients are just combined. The mixture should be a batter-like texture at this point.

Now, we will gradually incorporate our dry ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 3/4 c. flour

To add the flour gradually, I first start by incorporating the salt, baking soda, and 1 c. of the 1 3/4 c. total of flour on a low-medium speed. This prevents it from making a mess outside of the bowl. Continue to scrape the sides while mixing. Once the first cup is just combined, I gradually add the remaining 3/4 c. flour. This strategy works well to avoid over-mixing while going slow enough to avoid a mess.

Now that the dough is mixed, we can prepare the cookies to be baked. This is a good point to begin preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a bowl, add approximately 1/2 c. sugar. To form our cookies, we will shape the dough into balls that are about 1 inch in diameter. After shaping a cookie, roll it in sugar so that it is generously coated before placing it on a cookie sheet.

After shaping our cookies, it is time to bake them. Place the cookie sheet into the oven that has been preheated to 350F to begin baking. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes until their tops start to crackle. You will see visible cracks on the top of the surface of the cookie which lets you know they are ready.

In this step, it is crucial not to over bake the cookies so that you can achieve a soft, gooey cookie. Remove the tray from the oven as soon as the tops of the cookies have this crackled texture to prevent over-baking.

Once you take the pan out of the over after the cookies crack, place it on your stove top and quickly begin placing down the unwrapped chocolate kisses.

It is important to do this quickly so that you can get the cookies back into the oven to finish baking. Try to place the chocolate kisses in the center of the cookie for the best looking result, and press down until the chocolate is firmly settled into the cookie.

Once all of the cookies are topped with chocolate, quickly put the tray back into the oven to finish baking. They should bake for 2-5 minutes.

The best way to confirm that the cookies are baked is if either the edges of the cookies start to become slightly tan, or the tip of the chocolate kiss starts to slightly darken. Once you see these indicators, take the pan out of the oven immediately to achieve that soft, gooey texture.

After baking the cookies, you must remove them from the tray. Transfer the cookies onto parchment paper or a cooling tray.

Note: if you don't have parchment paper, a great alternative is a piece of clean newspaper.

I've found that it is best to remove the cookies from the tray while they are still quite warm, about a minute after they are removed from the oven. Leaving the cookies on the pan for longer than this can result in darkened cookie bottoms and a stiffer texture.

Once you become familiar with the process of baking these cookies, you can tailor the recipe to your preferences by changing the toppings.

• If you are a peanut butter lover, try adding a mini Reese's peanut butter cup to the top of the cookie instead of a chocolate kiss.
• If you are making seasonal or holiday cookies, roll the cookie dough in colored sanding sugar for added color

These ideas are a great way to make this recipe more unique depending on your cookie desires.

With the final step completed, you are ready to share and enjoy these cookies! Thanks for following along with these technical instructions, and I hope you now have more experience baking!

Recipe for printing:

Peanut Butter Blossoms:

Oven: Preheat to 350F

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 10 - 15 minutes

Note: This recipe is not allergen friendly and contains peanuts.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 c. peanut butter
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. butter (room temp.)
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 3/4 c. flour
• Additional 1/2 c. sugar for rolling cookies
• Hershey's kisses (about 35)
• (Optional toppings: Reese's mini peanut butter cups, colored sanding sugar)

Cream peanut butter, sugar, butter, and brown sugar.

Mix in egg and vanilla until just combined.

Gradually add salt, baking soda, and flour.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put 1/2 c. white sugar into a bowl. Roll cookies into 1 inch balls and cover in sugar. (opt: substitute for colored sanding sugar)

Bake in the oven for 8 minutes, until crackled appearance.

Top with Hershey's kisses. (opt: substitute for mini Reese's cups)

Place back into oven for 2-5 minutes, until slightly browned.

Remove from pan after sitting for 1 minute.

Enjoy!