Full of pure peanut flavor, these little beauties are the epitome of a perfect Peanut Butter Blossom.

There are moments during your lifetime that are etched upon your memory that are razor sharp and help form your adult self. The first milestone accomplishment in school, the watermelon juices dripping down your chin as your brothers pelt you with the seeds, the first time you recognize when someone is being unkind to you. The joy and frustration in discoing the pure love and naughtiness of your first pet, and the triumph of cooking for a picky child that decides they like the meal in that exact moment. These moments, wonderful, humiliating, or filled with peak anger, are learning experiences that may change how you react and treat others in future situations as the experience has altered your perspective in some way.

Ultra thick, soft, and scrumptious, the peanut butter and chocolate are the perfect duo in these Peanut Butter Blossoms.

I do not remember the first time I had the flavor combination of peanut butter and chocolate, but for me, the delicious, sweetly salty and savory combination has seen me through a multitude of incongruous situations. After violin lessons when I was just a tiny one, there was chocolate peanut butter ice cream cones which were a very special treat. My first real heartbreak mended by Reese’s peanut butter Cups. Late night trips to Trader Joe’s for their Dark Chocolate Peanut butter Cups to share with a friend while studying in grad school, scrounging the bottom of our purses for coins to pay the fee. A peanut butter chocolate shake after my first aggressive form of racism. Peanut M&Ms by the handful after I got home from the hospital, navigating my NMO diagnosis. Asking my future husband if he preferred PB Cups or Snickers. Figuring out how to bake these little Peanut Butter Blossoms which were a childhood favorite as it combined the magic of peanut butter and chocolate in cookie form.

Pair these Peanut Butter Blossoms with an ice cold glass of milk for an ideal afternoon (or whenever) snack.

The art form of cookies is always evolving, with new techniques found, or old ones that experience a surge in rediscovery. The Peanut Butter Blossoms of my childhood featured a peanut butter cookie base that tended towards a little over baked, a little crunchier than soft, with smooth peanut butter used and the ever delicious Hershey’s Kiss in the center. They tended towards a little too sweet, and not quite enough salt. Think about an overly sweet peanut butter cup - like the little ones that have the Reese’s pieces imbedded in the peanut butter. The recipe below I found years ago, and I am not sure where I snagged it from - but I’ve tweaked it here and there to my own personal preferences. The cookies are super thick, soft, and deliciously peanutty. There’s the perfect amount of salt, and I love using chunky peanut butter in this cookie recipe because the little nuggets of peanuts that come through in the cookie add a fantastical texture amid the softness of the cookie. The sugar that you roll the cookies in before baking create this lovely little sandy crust, and then the cookies become delightfully cracked when you gently press the chocolate kisses in the center.

These Peanut Butter Blossoms are a quick cookie to throw together, making them a fantastic contender for same day baking. I deeply love my Salted Peanut Butter Cookies, and Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies, but sometimes the 3 day wait for the goods is hard on my need for instant gratification. So for the days that may need a little perk me up, or the ones that have something to celebrate, or even the days that need a “just because” cookie, these are my go to for that peanut butter chocolate fix.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Author: Iris Anna Gohn

Servings: 21-24 Cookies

You can substitute dark chocolate kisses or whatever kind of chocolate kiss is your favorite in the centers of the cookies, but for me, there’s something about the traditional milk chocolate kiss that just perfectly balances with the saltiness, the sweetness, and the pure peanut flavor of the cookie. Once the cookies come out of the oven, immediately crown those little cookies with the chocolate kiss. The chocolate softens and turns into goo if your patience is gone and you dig in almost immediately with a good glass of ice cold milk. I love natural peanut butter to eat, but I have actually found that using Jiff Natural (not sponsored) for baking yields more consistent results due to the oils being already emulsified in the nut butter. This brand is less sweet than other commercial brands that aren’t purely natural peanut butters with no additives.

I’ve also made these as just regular, traditional peanut butter cookies for a niece that claims to “hate chocolate”. Instead of baking the cookies as the sugared dough ball, I would gently press down the cookie with a fork to create a cross hatch pattern. The cookies baked in the same amount of time and were perfect.

Ingredients

1 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour (stir, spoon and level method)
1/4 Tsp Sea Salt
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
8 oz. Butter, softened (1 stick, I use salted butter. If you use unsalted butter, increase the Sea Salt by an additional 1/4 Tsp)
3/4 Cup packed Light Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Granulated White Sugar, divided
1 Cup Chunky Peanut Butter (I use Jiff Natural)
1 Egg, room temperature
3/4 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Hershey Kisses

Directions

Preheat Oven to 375 F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk together until all the dry ingredients are well combined. Set aside
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, light brown sugar, and 1/4 Cup granulated white sugar on medium high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. You want the sugars to become light and fluffy, so this should take about 2 minutes.
Add the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla and mix on medium speed for about 1 to 2 minutes until everything is very well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add 1/2 the dry ingredients and mix on low until most of the flour is absorbed, then add in the remaining dry ingredients. Scrape down the side of the bowl as needed, but this should take about 2 minutes altogether.
Scoop out 1 inch balls of cookie dough (roughly about 1 1/2 TBSP scoop), roll smooth between your hands and then gently roll the cookie dough ball in the remaining 1/4 Cup granulated sugar to evenly coat. Place dough balls 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and while the cookies are warm place a chocolate kiss in the center of the cookies and let cool for 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack. Store leftovers in an airtight container once cool.