Peanut butter blossoms are soft brown sugar peanut butter cookies dented while hot, filled with jelly and topped with a chocolate kiss. That makes them a classic Christmas cookie for a cookie exchange or a kids baking afternoon, and the jelly layer is the twist. Makes 4 to 5 dozen.
Scoop two tablespoons of dough per cookie, not the level tablespoon the recipe asks for. This dough weighs about 1.6 kilos. Single tablespoons would give you close to a hundred cookies and leave you fifty kisses short.
The optional jelly is thinned with liqueur and spooned into the dent after baking. Nothing goes back in the oven at that point. The alcohol stays in the cookie, which is worth knowing if children are eating them.
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalPeanut butter beaten with butter, shortening and brown sugar, loaded with peanut butter chips and baked just until the edges set. Each warm cookie gets a dent, a spoon of jelly and a chocolate kiss.
Ingredients
- For the Cookies:
Nonstick cooking spray
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup smooth peanut butter (not natural)
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups peanut butter chips
- To Finish:
Your favorite jelly, thinned with a splash of liqueur or water (optional)
48 to 60 chocolate kiss candies
Directions
- Heat the oven: Set oven racks in the upper and lower thirds and heat to 375 degrees F. Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set it aside.
- Make the dough: Beat the peanut butter, butter and shortening on medium high until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat 4 minutes more, until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in two batches and mix until incorporated, then fold in the peanut butter chips.
- Scoop generously: Roll the dough into balls of about two tablespoons each and space them 2 inches apart. One level tablespoon, as the original says, gives nearly a hundred cookies and leaves you short of kisses. Work in batches and let the sheets cool between rounds.
- Bake: Bake about 10 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are golden but the middles still look soft. They carry on cooking on the hot tray, so pull them before the centers firm up.
- Dent and top: Press the rounded back of a teaspoon into each warm cookie to make a dent. Spoon in a little thinned jelly if you are using it, then press a chocolate kiss on top. Rest them a few minutes on the sheet before moving them to a rack.
Notes
- The dough weighs about 1.6 kilos, so level tablespoons give close to 100 cookies rather than the 4 to 5 dozen stated. Scoop two tablespoons. The jelly goes on after baking, so any liqueur in it stays in the cookie.
FAQs
Why not natural peanut butter?
Natural peanut butter separates and carries no stabilizers, so the dough turns greasy and crumbles when you roll it. A standard smooth jar behaves predictably every time. If natural is all you have, stir it thoroughly and chill the dough first.
Why is there no sugar roll?
Most blossoms are rolled in granulated sugar before baking, and this one skips it entirely, with brown sugar doing all the sweetening. The result is softer and chewier with no crackle on top. Roll them in granulated sugar yourself if you want the classic look.
How do I stop the kisses melting?
Press them in when the cookie is warm rather than straight out of the oven. The kiss softens at the base but keeps its point. Chilling the kisses beforehand buys a few more minutes, and a cool spot helps.
Can I make them ahead?
The dough keeps three days in the fridge and the balls freeze for three months, baked from frozen with an extra minute. Add the kisses only after baking, never before. The same holds for these chocolate peanut butter cup cookies.
What else can go on top instead of a kiss?
A peanut butter cup, a Rolo or a square of dark chocolate all press in the same way while the cookie is warm. Keep it small or it slides off as it softens. These macaroon blossoms use the same finish.
