The Best Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie Recipe
These cute peanut butter blossom cookies are also known as Hershey Kiss peanut butter blossom cookies because the “blossom” is a chocolate kiss that goes oh-so-well with peanut butter. Chocolate + PB = happiness.
Want to make this fast & easy?
Here’s our quick-cuisine, almost-homemade secret: start with Reese’s refrigerated peanut butter cookies or cookie dough. Roll them into 1″ balls and continue as directed below. (You’ll only need 24 Hershey Kisses.)
Did you know: the peanut butter blossom cookie is Pillsbury’s most famous bake-off recipe!
The Peanut Blossom Cookie was a runner-up at the Pillsbury Bake-Off in 1957, one of 100 recipes in Pillsbury’s 9th Grand National Cookbook.
First place winner, on the cover, was Gerda Roderer’s “accordion treats”, an Alsatian-type cookie. (See recipe at Pillsbury). She won $25,000.
In 1999, the Peanut Blossom Cookie recipe was one of ten recipes inducted into the Pillsbury Bake-Off Hall of Fame in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
Unfortunately, it’s creator, Freda Strasel Smith, passed away before she could know how honored her creation had become.
This is “the Doughboy’s favorite cookie recipe”.
Pillsbury says, “It was invented by accident when Freda Smith was out of chocolate chips and substituted Hershey’s Kisses. What began as a runner-up in the 1957 Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest has over the years become an American icon.” It’s been said, “necessity is the mother of invention”!
Freda Strasel Smith of Gibsonburg, Ohio, created the cookie using a traditional peanut butter cookie dough, leaving the dough unpressed for baking, and topping the finished cookie with a Hershey’s Kisses candy.
In 1957, Smith entered the cookie, called Black-eyed Susans, into the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest. Pillsbury later named them Peanut Blossoms.
The cookie placed in the top 100 winners, and earned a “Senior” prize: a new mixer, an electric range, and $100 as a top contestant.
After the contest, the recipe was famous because the Hershey Company printed it on their bags of Kisses.
It quickly became a Christmas classic cookie, and today they are available for every calendar holiday topped with specialty chocolate treats.
Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie
48
cookies20
minutes8
minutes90
kcalKeep the screen of your device on while cooking
Ingredients
1/2 c 1/2 sugar (+ 1/4 c for decorating, if using)
1/2 c 1/2 packed light brown sugar
1/2 c 1/2 shortening
1/2 c 1/2 peanut butter
1 1 egg
1 1 ¼ c flour
3/4 tsp 3/4 baking soda
1/2 tsp 1/2 baking powder
1/4 tsp 1/4 salt
48 48 Hershey Chocolate Kisses
Directions
- Cream sugars, shortening, peanut butter and egg until fluffy. (It will appear a lighter color.)
- In a separate bowl or sifter, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, then blend into peanut butter mixture.
- Preheat oven to 375° F
- Scoop dough and roll into a small one-bite sized ball about ½”, then roll in sugar and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8 minutes or until set with the edges just barely browning. (If you cook them too long, they will be too hard.)
- Unwrap Hershey chocolates while cookies are baking.
- As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, press a chocolate (flat side down) into the center of each cookie. DO NOT press them right to the bottom, just enough for them to stay. Cookies will crack around the edges, that’s fine.
- Let them set for a minute. Then lift onto rack to cool completely. (When lifting, make sure you have the cookie spatula under whole cookie. These are top heavy and will tumble off head-first if the spatula isn’t firmly underneath.)
Notes
- We provide nutritional information but these figures should be considered estimates as they are not calculated by a registered dietitian. Please consult a medical professional for any specific nutrition, diet, or allergy advice. Please see our Nutritional Disclaimer for further information.
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Can I freeze Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies?
Yes! First, cool cookies completely, for about 1 hour or until Hershey chocolates are set. Place cookies in an airtight container in single layer between parchment or waxed paper and cover. Freeze for up to 2 months. To thaw, place them on a rack, uncovered at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
