Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

5 from 1 vote

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies are a classic Christmas cookie. It has perfect soft and tender peanut-buttery base to hold the chocolate Hershey's kiss in the center.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Chill Time and Rest Time1

Total Time1 25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cookies

Calories: 139kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup creamy peanut butter JIF brand used
½ cup unsalted butter very soft room temperature
⅓ cup + ½ cup granulated sugar ⅓ cup for the cookie dough and ½ cup for rolling the cookie dough balls in to coat
⅓ cup light brown sugar packed
1 large egg room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
28 Hershey’s Kiss candies unwrapped and frozen

Instructions

In a medium bowl add the all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
1½ cups all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
In a large mixing bowl, add the creamy peanut butter, softened unsalted butter, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, and light brown sugar. Using a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat until fully combined and smooth.
¾ cup creamy peanut butter, ½ cup unsalted butter, ⅓ cup + ½ cup granulated sugar, ⅓ cup light brown sugar
Add the large egg and vanilla extract to the large mixing bowl. Beat again until the egg is fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
1 large egg, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined. Be sure to scrape the sides, and bottom, of the bowl as needed to ensure the cookie dough is evenly combined.
Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the peanut butter cookie dough for at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.
Once the cookie dough has chilled, line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
Add the remaining ½ cup granulated sugar to a small bowl.
Using a 1 ½ tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, scoop out a level amount of peanut butter cookie dough and gently roll it in the palm of your hand to create a smooth ball. Roll the cookie dough ball in the bowl of granulated sugar, then place it onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat until all the cookies have been rolled in the granulated sugar and placed on the prepared baking sheets.
Preheat oven to 350* F. Place the prepared cookie dough balls in the refrigerator to stay chilled while the oven preheats. This will help keep the cookies from spreading too much when baked.
Place 9-12 prepared cookie dough balls, 2 inches apart, onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Bake the peanut butter blossom cookies in the center of the oven for 10-12 minutes, or just until pale golden brown around the edges and the centers are set. The cookies will start to have a cracked look to them from the sugar coating.
Remove the baked cookies from the oven. Gently press a frozen Hershey’s Kiss candy into the center of each cookie.
28 Hershey’s Kiss candies
Allow the peanut butter blossom cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely at room temperature.
Repeat steps 10 and 11 until all the cookies have baked and cooled.

Notes

Storage:

To Store: Stored cooled peanut butter cookies in an airtight container, in a single layer, for up to 3 days for best results.
To Freeze: Unbaked, sugar-coated cookie dough balls can be frozen for up to 2 months if stored in an airtight container. You can bake them from frozen however, you may need to add an extra minute or two to the total bake time if baking from frozen.

Tips:

Be sure that your unsalted butter is at a very soft room temperature. It should be the same consistency as your room temperature creamy peanut butter.
I highly recommend using a commercial brand of creamy peanut butter for these cookies (such as JIF, Peter Pan or Skippy) for best results. Natural peanut butters, or nut butters, tend to have a lot more nut oils in them and will alter the final results for this recipe.
You can bake your cookies in batches if needed however, I suggest keeping the prepared cookie dough balls in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
I like to unwrap all my Hershey’s Kiss candies and place them onto a freezer safe plate to place into the freezer until ready to top each of the baked cookies. This helps keep the chocolate candies from melting too much when placed onto the warm cookies.

Nutrition