Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
If you want to bake some super easy cookies that have written Christmas season all over them you need to bake these peanut butter blossom cookies with chocolate kisses. These are made in 35 minutes, and that’s including baking and freezing times my friends! Yes, flash freezing the cookie dough balls is how you prevent cookies from spreading, making sure you end up with puff and tall cookies that when you press the chocolate kiss on them they look like they’re hugging the kiss instead of the kiss just sitting on top of them. To make things fun, I used dark chocolate and hugs kisses instead o the traditional milk chocolate. They come together so quickly you’ll want to bake them the whole holiday season!
I know Christmas cookies can be intimidating. I know they’re for me, especially those with intrinsic designs. Hopefully I will do it by next Christmas, but I have been saying that for a few years now, so who knows! But a cookie that’s easy and that I can create a design around pre-made elements like candies, sprinkles, nuts or to be decorated just with a simple glaze? Count me in! Twice! I think that, besides their amazing flavor, the easiness of peanut butter blossom cookies is what a lot of people like me find fascinating, because they always end up so DARN CUTE even with so little effort!
If you want to take things up a notch, do like I did and use different kinds of chocolate kisses. I used dark chocolate and it was the best pairing ever! I also used the huggies because they’re filled with chocolate creme and I thought that would make these cookies even more amazing. I was so right! Can you imagine all the possible flavors?! Kisses with almonds have to be so good and imagine cherry chocolate kisses for Valentine’s. If you have peppermint lovers at home as I do, the perfect Christmas pairing would be these cookies with peppermint kisses. This is the time when those assorted bags come very handy.
How to make the best peanut butter blossom cookies
Ingredient’s temperature is key: work with barely softened, not warm ingredients. That’s why I like to freeze the rolled dough 10 to 15 minutes. Trust me on this! They will look like a ball for most of the baking time and suddenly during the last two minutes they will start to spread, just enough to help us create their blossom shape.
About the sugars: I used both natural granulated sugar and dark brown sugar. If you don’t have dark brown sugar use light brown sugar only, a total of 1 cup. Do not use granulated sugar only because they wont end up chewy.
Creamy peanut butter for the win: Make sure you are using creamy peanut butter and not crunchy or natural that has the oil separated. Peanut pieces will affect how the cookies rise and natural peanut butter that’s oily won’t let the cookies rise at all! If you want to know, I used Smart Balance creamy peanut butter (not sponsored, it’s what I really use at home).
To keep these cookies almost bite size, you need to measure a scant tablespoon of dough and then shape it like a ball as perfect as you can. I used a measuring tablespoon to pick up the dough. And the dough balls should measure 1”. If they measure more than that they will end up a bit bigger than what you want. Of course, nothing happens if you are eye balling and they are a bit bigger! This is just a tip if you want more bite size cookies.
Rolling like a ball: (if you do Pilates, you know what the heck I’m taking about!) Ideally you want to use a decorator’s granulated sugar or at least demerara or turbinado sugar. You need a coarse grain sugar to achieve the crunchy sugary exterior typical on peanut butter blossom cookies. If you don’t have any on hand, use your regular granulated sugar. The texture won’t be as crunchy but they will still be delicious!
Freeze the cookie dough balls: remember this is your key on preventing cookies from spreading. 10 to 15 minutes, depending how soft is the dough should be enough. If you can’t freeze them, at least chill them in the fridge for about 25 minutes. You can also store frozen cookie dough balls and to bake any time.
Baking time: bake the cookies according to recipe. For me 10 minutes was the perfect time, but add one minute if you prefer a crunchier texture.
Putting the chocolate kiss: you need to press the chocolate kiss on the cookie as soon as it is out of the oven so the dough is still soft and will take the kiss indentation, creating that pretty blossom shape. That’s why I like to unwrap the kisses while the cookies are baking so they are ready for them as soon as they’re out of the oven. Transfer cookies immediately to a cooling rack, the heat of the baking sheet can melt the kisses. I placed my rack in front of a cool air draft from my air conditioner for a couple of minutes to force them to cool down.
Don’t you think these would make an adorable Christmas gift? Made by you and your helpers with lots of love? Everyone will love them, I know Santa would! Just try not to eat them all while they are standing in your counter, hehe!
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Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies with Dark Chocolate and Hugs Kisses
Ingredients
◯ Unbleached all-purpose flour - 1 ½ cups (240g)
◯ Baking soda - ¾ Tsp
◯ Fine sea salt - ¼ Tsp
◯ Natural granulated sugar - ½ cup (114g)
◯ Dark brown sugar - ½ cup (102g)
◯ Creamy peanut butter - ½ cup
◯ Unsalted butter, softened - ½ cup (8 TBSP)
◯ Egg, large - 1
◯ Vanilla extract - ½ Tsp
◯ Decorator’s granulated sugar, demerara or turbinado or natural granulated sugar extra to coat the cookies
◯ Dark chocolate and hugs chocolate kisses, or your preferred kisses flavor - about 40 or the amount of the cookies you are planning on baking.
Details
Yield:
about 40 cookies
Total time:
40 minutes
Prep time:
10 minutes to make the dough, 10 minutes to shape the dough
Baking time:
10 minutes
Equipment:
stand mixer or electric hand mixer, baking sheet and a second one or large pan to freeze cookies, parchment paper or silicon mat
Steps
Preheat oven to 375°. Make sure you have space in your freezer for a baking sheet. Line two with parchment papers (if you only have one line it and place a parchment paper over anything you can use as a tray, plate or shallow pan to fit in the freezer, like a large lasagna pan). You may use a silicon mat as well.
In a pasta plate or shallow bowl serve the sugar you will be using for coating.
In a bowl whisk together the 1 ½ cups of flour, the ¾ teaspoon of baking soda and the ¼ teaspoon of salt.
Place the ½ cup of granulated sugar, the ½ cup of dark brown sugar, the ½ cup of creamy peanut butter, the ½ cup of softened butter, the egg and the ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. With a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer beat the ingredients in medium speed (#4 in the Kitchen Aid) until a blended paste forms, about 3 minutes. Dump the flour mixture and mix a dough forms, about less than a minute.
Measure a scant tablespoon of dough. Roll it into a 1” ball (see notes above). Pass it through the coating sugar, making sure all sides are covered. Place it where you are going to freeze the cookies. Repeat with the rest of the dough. If your dough still feels warm, freeze for 10 minutes. If it feels quite soft, freeze for 15. It doesn’t matter if the dough freezes for a longer time.
When ready to bake, arrange cookie dough balls in your baking sheet with 1 ¾” to 2” apart from each other and from the tray edges. I used an 12” x 17” sheet and could arrange 4 rows of 4 cookie dough balls. Bake for 10 minutes, until light golden. While cookies bake, unwrap your chocolate kisses.
Take cookies out and immediately (but carefully) press a chocolate kiss in the middle. Using a thin spatula transfer cookies to a cooling rack and place it in a cool place (preferably in front of a cool air draft) so the cookies cool down faster and don’t melt the chocolate.
Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough balls if doing them all. If you are going to store them, let them freeze for a few hours before transferring them to a freezer bag. They should be good for a couple of months. Bake whenever you want to!
