Whether you need a cookie recipe for a picnic or holiday tray, Peanut Butter Hershey Kiss Cookies fit the bill. They are perfectly soft, packed with peanut butter flavor, and so pretty with a sparkly sugar coating.
PERFECT PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE KISS COOKIES
Who can resist a soft peanut butter cookie cradling a milk chocolate kiss? I know that anywhere I take these cookies, they are gobbled up in a flash!
I made these peanut butter kisses often when I was growing up, so when I left for college I made sure to get the recipe from my mom. I’ve tried a few variations over the years, but none of them beat this recipe!
You don’t need to chill the dough, so they are hot and fresh out of the oven in under 30 minutes. The hardest part is waiting for them to cool off enough that you don’t burn your tongue. 🙂
They always turn out soft and tender, and they taste amazing both warm and after they have cooled. Every bite is a perfect balance of salty peanut butter and sweet milk chocolate.
HOW TO MAKE PEANUT BUTTER KISS COOKIES
Ingredients needed:
- butter (I use salted butter.)
- creamy peanut butter
- granulated sugar (some for the dough, some for rolling the cookie dough balls)
- brown sugar
- eggs (I use large eggs.)
- vanilla extract
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- milk chocolate Hershey kisses
- PREP WORK: Let your butter soften to room temperature. Unwrap the kisses. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- MAKE THE DOUGH: Beat the butter and peanut butter till smooth, then beat in the sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat till combined. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- FORM COOKIES: Roll dough into balls that are about 1″. Roll the balls in sugar. Place on silpat lined or lightly greased baking sheets about two inches apart.
- BAKE: Bake the cookies at 350° for 9-10 minutes, or just until they look set. They will not brown.
- ADD KISSES : As soon as you remove cookies from the oven, place an unwrapped kiss in the middle of each cookie.
- COOL: Carefully remove cookies to wire racks to cool. Be gentle so that the kisses don’t collapse as they are melting.
VARIATIONS:
- Milk chocolate kisses are the standard for peanut blossom cookies, but feel free to experiment. I personally think that the caramel filled kisses would be amazing!
- For extra sparkle, roll the cookie dough balls in coarse sugar instead of plain white sugar. It looks beautiful, and adds a nice crunch.
- Using about tablespoon of dough, you get approximately 4 dozen cookies. But truth be told, I like to make the cookies smaller so the chocolate ratio is higher. Try making 5-6 dozen cookies and decrease the baking time to about 8 minutes.
PRO TIPS:
- Don’t use natural or low fat peanut butter for this recipe. I get the best results with Jif and Skippy peanut butter.
- Creamy peanut butter works best. If you have to use chunky, use an extra 1/4 cup of peanut butter.
- Stir, whisk, or sift your flour before measuring to make sure you don’t pack the measuring cup. If your flour is packed in the measuring cup, your cookies will be dry.
- Don’t over bake! The key to soft cookies is to remove them as soon as they are set. The cookies continue to cook after you remove them from the oven, so err on the side of underbaking them if you aren’t sure.
- Make sure the kisses are unwrapped before you bake the cookies. You want to press them firmly into the cookies when they are hot. If they are too cool, the kisses can fall off.
HOW TO STORE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES WITH HERSHEY KISSES
These cookies store really well. They will keep for 3-5 days at room temperature if stored in an airtight container. To keep the kisses pretty and intact, I like to use waxed paper between layers if I need to stack the cookies.
CAN I FREEZE PEANUT BUTTER KISS COOKIES?
Yes, you can freeze them. I like to place mine in heavy duty ziplock storage bags. They will keep in the freezer for 4-5 months. The kisses will get crumbs on them, so if you want to avoid that, store them in containers with waxed paper between the layers.
When you are ready to serve the cookies, it is best to let them thaw. If heated in the microwave, the chocolate and cookies don’t heat at the same rate, so it doesn’t work as well.
TRY THESE COOKIE RECIPES WITH HERSHEY KISSES:
- Chocolate Kiss Cookies
- Macaroon Kiss Cookies
- Hershey Cookies and Cream Cookies
- Peppermint Kiss Cookies
- Pistachio Cookies
- Red Velvet Kiss Cookies
- Candy Cane Hershey Kisses Cookies
MORE AMAZING HOMEMADE COOKIES:
- Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
- Easy Snickerdoodle Recipe
- Easy Shortbread Cookies
- Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Apple Cookies
- Strawberry Cookies
PEANUT BUTTER BLOSSOMS RECIPE
Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- About 1/3 cup sugar for rolling
- 48 Hershey's kisses more or less depending on cookie size
Instructions
- Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars in a large bowl till creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
- Stir in dry ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and unwrap the kisses.
- Roll dough into approximately 1" balls, then roll in sugar. Place on silpat lined or lightly greased cookie sheets.
- Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and immediately press a Hershey's kiss into the center of each cookie.
- Let sit for about 3 minutes, then carefully remove to cooling racks to cool.
Notes
Nutrition
(originally posted Sep 3, 2010, updated December 2020)
Everyone loves these peanut butter hershey kiss cookies, so if you’re feeding a crowd, you may want to double the recipe. They really are irresistible!
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Waya too much flour
Sorry yours didn’t turn out. I’ve tried them with less flour, and they flattened out. I like my kiss cookies nice and thick!
I made these for the first time today. I got about 60 and still thought I made some too big! I will definitely use this recipe again!
Yay, glad that it was a hit at your house. And I love making smaller cookies – yields more, and you get more chocolate in every bite!
Can these be frozen for later ?
Yes, under the section about pro tips, you can see my instructions for freezing them. 🙂
Absolutely a Christmas favorite. I rolled in gold glitter sugar sprinkles to make even more festive.
What a fun idea!
Wow!!! Delish! Thank you for this recipe and I’m thrilled it has butter in the ingredients instead of Crisco. Just made these peanut butter cookies and by far are the best!! Didn’t have Kisses, so I used the small Reese’s cups, cut them in half for each cookie’s center….yum! 🙂
I really loved this recipe. They came out perfect! I got 4 dozen out of mine and omitted the sugar around the outside. Can’t wait to make them again.
Thanks for this recipe. Can you tell me how many does this recipe yield and how long will they last. I am going overseas and wanted to make some and take them with me.
Thank You
Mmmm. Making me crave these, or the rolo version. Hungry now!
I haven’t had the Rolo version for awhile. Now I’m craving those too! 🙂
Ohhhhhhhh, serious yum!
Thanks for sharing Kellie! Anything with sweetened condensed milk is a winner in my book. 🙂
Another great peanut butter idea for me. Thanks!
ohhhhhh scrumptious! My Grandmother used to make these and they were my absolute favorite! Filing it to make soon! Safe travels!
Looking yummy.
These are some of my favorite cookies of all time! I think I need to make more.