These cookies start with a fairly standard peanut butter cookie dough: softened butter, creamy peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar are creamed together until light and fluffy, then enriched with an egg and vanilla.
Flour, baking soda, and salt are mixed in to form a soft but scoopable dough that’s rolled into balls, coated in granulated sugar for sparkle and a bit of crunch, and baked until just set and crackly on top. Immediately after baking, a Hershey’s Kiss is pressed into the center of each cookie; the warm cookie softens the chocolate just enough so it adheres and loses its sharp point slightly as it cools, creating that signature blossom look with a fudgy center.
The texture is key: most modern recipes emphasize a soft, tender crumb and slightly underbaked centers so the cookies stay chewy instead of dry. Rolling in sugar adds a subtle crunch to the outside and helps the tops crack attractively as the dough puffs and sets in the oven. The chocolate‑kiss topper can be classic milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or any seasonal Hershey’s flavor, which makes these cookies easy to adapt to different holidays and themes.
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl for creaming butter, peanut butter, and sugars
- Hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment to beat the dough until light and smooth
- Medium bowl for whisking together flour, baking soda, and salt
- Measuring cups and spoons for dry and wet ingredients
- Cookie scoop or tablespoon for portioning even dough balls
- Small shallow bowl or plate for rolling dough balls in granulated sugar
- Baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats
- Wire cooling racks to cool cookies and help the chocolate set
Ingredients
A classic peanut butter kiss cookie recipe, based on several soft‑and‑chewy “blossom” formulas, looks like this.
For the cookies:
- 1½ cups (190 g) all‑purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (some recipes use ½ cup butter plus ½ cup shortening for extra tenderness)
- ¾ cup (180–190 g) creamy peanut butter (not natural separated peanut butter)
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100–110 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (50 g) additional granulated sugar, for rolling dough balls (some recipes use up to ½ cup for rolling)
For the toppings:
This yields about 24–36 cookies, depending on how large you roll the dough balls and how generously you portion the dough.
Instructions and steps
The dough begins with combining the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, the flour, baking soda, and salt are whisked together until evenly distributed; this prevents pockets of leavening and ensures the cookies rise uniformly.
In a separate large bowl, softened butter, creamy peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar are added together and beaten with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until the mixture becomes lighter in color and fluffy, usually taking 2–3 minutes. Proper creaming at this stage traps air in the fat, which helps create a soft, tender cookie rather than a dense one.
Once the butter‑peanut‑butter‑sugar mixture is fluffy, the egg and vanilla extract are beaten in just until fully incorporated. Scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl ensures any stubborn peanut butter or sugar streaks are pulled into the mixture.
The dry flour mixture is then added to the wet ingredients, usually in one or two additions, and mixed on low speed until just combined and no dry flour is visible. Overmixing after the flour is added can develop gluten and make the cookies tougher, so recipes emphasize stopping as soon as the dough comes together and looks uniform.
Some bakers like to chill the dough at this point for 30 minutes to an hour, especially if their kitchen is warm or if they want slightly thicker cookies that don’t spread too much. Others bake immediately with no chilling, relying on the dough’s consistency to hold shape.
While the dough rests (or while the oven preheats), the Hershey’s Kisses are unwrapped and set aside in a bowl so they’re ready to press in as soon as the cookies come out of the oven.
The oven is preheated to around 350–375°F (175–190°C), depending on the recipe, and baking sheets are lined with parchment or silicone baking mats. A small bowl or plate is filled with granulated sugar for rolling.
Dough is scooped into heaping teaspoons or about 1‑inch balls using a cookie scoop or spoon, then rolled between the palms to smooth. Each ball is rolled in the bowl of sugar until completely coated, which gives the baked cookies a shimmery surface and helps create a fine crackle pattern as they bake.
The sugared dough balls are spaced on the prepared baking sheets with at least an inch or two in between to allow for slight spreading. The cookies bake for about 8–11 minutes, depending on size and oven. Recipes consistently caution not to overbake; instead of looking browned, the cookies are done when they’ve puffed up, the edges are set, and fine cracks appear on the tops, but they still look pale overall.
Because the dough is brown‑ish from peanut butter, color cues can be subtle, so timing and gentle cracks are better indicators than deep browning.
As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, the chocolate kisses are pressed into the center of each cookie. The candy is pressed down just until the cookie edges start to crack around it, seating the Kiss snugly in the center.
The residual heat of the cookie warms the Kiss enough to soften it, giving it a slightly glossy look; some recipes transfer the trays immediately to a cooling rack or even briefly to the freezer or refrigerator after adding the Kisses to help the chocolate set without fully melting and losing its shape.
After the Kisses are in place, the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes to firm up, then are moved carefully to a wire rack to cool completely. The chocolate will go from soft and shiny to firm again as the cookies reach room temperature.
Once fully cooled, the cookies can be stacked gently in an airtight container; most sources note that they keep well at room temperature for several days and maintain their softness thanks to the peanut butter and brown sugar.
Variations
Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies are easy to customize with different chocolates and dough tweaks. Classic recipes use milk chocolate Hershey’s Kisses, but many bakers like to switch to dark chocolate, Hershey’s Hugs (white‑and‑milk‑chocolate striped), peppermint bark Kisses, or caramel‑filled Kisses for variety.
Seasonal Kisses—like candy cane, hot cocoa, or pumpkin spice—turn the same base dough into a themed holiday cookie simply by changing the candy on top.
Some recipes tint the dough or add cocoa for visual flair. For example, a Christmas version mixes in cocoa powder and red gel food coloring to make red‑tinted peanut butter blossoms rolled in white sprinkles, topped with peppermint bark Kisses for a red‑and‑white holiday look.
Others roll the dough balls in colored sanding sugar or nonpareils instead of plain granulated sugar to coordinate with different occasions.
The peanut butter component can also be adjusted. Most recipes call for regular, no‑stir creamy peanut butter, which gives the best structure and spread. Using natural peanut butter that separates can make the dough oily and lead to spreading, so some bakers slightly increase flour or chill longer when using natural options.
A few recipes add a tablespoon or two of milk to the dough for extra softness, or swap a portion of butter for shortening to help the cookies hold a puffier shape.
Beyond Kisses, some variations press mini peanut butter cups, Rolos, or other small chocolates into the centers instead, creating a different but equally indulgent “blossom” style cookie. Others drizzle melted chocolate over the cooled cookies or sprinkle tops with flaky sea salt to balance the sweetness and highlight the peanut flavor.
Regardless of the tweaks, the core formula remains consistent: a soft, slightly crinkly peanut butter cookie rolled in sugar, baked until just set, and crowned with a chocolate candy. That simple structure is what has made Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies a perennial favorite on holiday platters and a nostalgic classic in home kitchens for decades.