These peanut blossom cookies have intense peanut flavor with a delightful chewy, sturdy cookie base and a Hershey Kiss to top it all off.

I scanned through my cookie section a while back and was shocked to find I didn’t have a recipe posted for the popular and classic Peanut Blossom Cookies (you know, the peanutty cookie base topped with a Hershey Kiss?).

White plate with Hershey's kiss topped peanut butter cookies lined up in a row.

I grew up eating these babies and they were some of my favorite cookies of all-time. I’m pretty sure they’ve been around a long time. I figured in my little brain that it wouldn’t be hard to come across a great recipe and post them for you. Simple, right?

Uh, ok, so either I have some serious issues in the kitchen (could be a very possible option) or else the four recipes (no kidding, four!) I tried were lacking in what I ultimately wanted because these cookies failed on me every time I tried them with several popular recipes out there – one time flat, one time dry and tasteless, another time completely lacy and burned, and the fourth, well, ok, I’ll admit that was probably my fault because I had run out of peanut butter at this point and subbed nutella and while nutella is divine on it’s own – it made a terrible substitution in these cookies.

All of this is to tell you that I finally turned to the America’s Test Kitchen for their version. I had actually seen it before but wasn’t sure I wanted to go through the extra work of grinding up the peanuts.

I wish I would have been a bit less lazy and tried them sooner. This time, I bit the bullet and added the 3-second step into my day and seriously came out with the best Peanut Blossom Cookies in the universe. No lie.

Intense peanut flavor with a delightful chewy, sturdy cookie base and the cute, little, delicious Hershey Kiss to top it all off. What’s not to love?

Phew. I’m so happy to have conquered the Peanut Blossom Cookie quest. I will now sleep better at night knowing I have a go-to recipe resting in my archives. I hope you will, too.

White plate with three Hershey Kiss topped peanut butter cookies.

One Year Ago: Buttery Cornmeal Crescent Rolls
Two Years Ago: Schoolyard Cupcakes
Three Years Ago: Garlic Chicken Pasta with Spinach

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Peanut Blossom Cookies

4.57 stars (39 ratings)

Ingredients

  • 2 ¾ cups (391 g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup roasted salted peanuts
  • 1 cup (227 g) butter, softened but still cool
  • ¾ cup (159 g) packed dark brown sugar
  • ¾ cup (159 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (255 g) creamy peanut butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1-2 bags of Hershey's Chocolate Kisses, any variety, wrappers removed

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and make sure an oven rack is positioned in the middle of the oven. Line two aluminum rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, silpat liners or lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together, 1 ¾ cups flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In a food processor or blender, process the remaining 1 cup flour and 1 cup peanuts together until finely ground and well-combined. Stir the peanut flour mixture into the bowl with the flour, salt and baking soda/powder.
  • In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars together with an electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer), until the mixture is light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add the peanut butter and continue to beat until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition, until incorporated, about 30 seconds, then beat in the vanilla, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl, if necessary. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in two batches, mixing until incorporated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes until it is fairly stiff.
  • Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and space 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, until the outsides are set and the edges are just barely beginning to crack. Working quickly, remove the sheet from the oven and press one Hershey Kiss into the center of each cookie. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake for another 1-2 minutes, until the cookies are lightly golden and the Hershey Kiss is glistening (but not melted into a puddle).
  • Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes before removing the cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough and Hershey Kisses.

Notes

Cookie Size: the original recipe says they got about 4-8 dozen cookies. Dude, I don’t know what I did wrong, but I ended up with 30 of the beauties, which is just fine with me. I suppose I like a more substantial peanut butter base, so just be aware that if you make the dough balls smaller, you’ll get more cookies than I did and will need more Hershey’s Kisses.
Serving: 1 Cookie, Calories: 298kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 37mg, Sodium: 210mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 17g

Recipe Source: adapted slightly from America’s Test Kitchen