Yield: 10 peanut butter blossoms // Total Time: 20 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. //
Soft, chewy, full of peanut butter flavor & topped with a Hershey’s kiss — these small batch peanut butter blossoms are the *perfect* holiday cookie. They also come together in one bowl, with no mixer, and in just 20 minutes!
Small batch peanut butter blossoms
When I think of holiday cookies, peanut butter blossoms are definitely the first that come to mind. I mean, they’re so delicious, full of peanut butter flavor and they have the classic hershey kiss right in the center of each of them – what’s NOT to love?! I took these a step further than your classic recipe by using dark brown sugar for some deeper molasses flavor and a pinch of nutmeg for extra holiday flavor. They are also small batch (of course), yielding 10 small delicious cookies.
Why do you post small batch recipes?
I love making small batch bakes because they are the perfect size myself and others who don’t have a lot of people to bake for in their home. Small batch helps cut down on waste and eliminates the feeling that all that excess dessert MUST be eaten. Here on my blog I post a lot of small batch bakes with a mix of some 8-10″ single layer cakes from time to time. All my recipes can easily be doubled or tripled to fit your need, so long as you use grams to measure!
Recipe tips
Weigh your ingredients
Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient and can easily throw off a recipe. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale. This one is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out!
Mix the dough carefully
When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Overmixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies super tough and chewy.
Under bake for perfect cookies
Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. It’s a little hard to tell when these peanut butter blossoms are done since they don’t flatten out much, but as long as your oven is at the right temperature and you used a 1.5 tbsp. cookie scoop, these are perfectly done at 8 minutes!
Work fast, then chill:
Once these cookies come out of the oven, it’s go time! Immediately start pressing a hershey’s kiss in the middle of each cookie. If you wait any longer, the cookies will firm up and you won’t be able to press the candy in that well. Once each cookie has a kiss, immediately put the cookies in the fridge to chill for 10-15 minutes, just until the cookies are room temperature. This ensures that your chocolate won’t melt into a puddle in the cookie (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing of course.)
Ingredients and substitutions
For the peanut butter blossoms:
All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness.
Baking soda: for helping the cookies rise and giving them crisp edges.
Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
Ground nutmeg: a touch of nutmeg for some extra holiday flavor. You can easily omit this, or add in cinnamon or your favorite holiday spice in it’s place!
Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies. I highly recommend splurging a little and using European style butter here for the best flavor.
Creamy peanut butter: for flavor, texture & sweetness. I’m a big fan of natural peanut butter, but unfortunately that won’t work in this recipe. For baking, you’re going to want to make sure you have thick creamy peanut butter like Jif or Skippy’s.
Dark brown sugar: for sweetness, flavor and for moisture. I do highly recommend using dark brown sugar because it helps make the cookies super soft and chewy and gives more of that classic gingerbread molasses flavor. However, in a pinch you can substitute in light brown sugar.
Egg yolk: for binding and richness.
Milk: for moisture. You only need a tiny amount of milk, so feel free to use your favorite dairy or non-dairy alternative milk here.
Vanilla: for flavor.
Hershey’s Kisses: it wouldn’t be a peanut butter blossom without a hershey’s kiss! You only need 10 for this recipe, which leaves plenty for snacking on while you’re waiting for these to bake up.
For the coating:
Granulated sugar & ground nutmeg: like listed above, feel free to omit the nutmeg or replace it with cinnamon or your favorite holiday spice if desired!
How to: small batch peanut butter blossoms
Here are the steps to follow to make these cookies. You can find the complete recipe (which is printable!) at the end of this blog post.
1. Melt the butter. Add the butter to a small mixing bowl that is microwave safe and microwave it until it’s fully melted. Immediately whisk in the peanut butter until it’s completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
2. Add in the sugar, egg yolk, milk, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.
3. Fold in the dry ingredients. To the bowl, add in the flour, baking soda and salt. Fold the mixture together just until no more flour streaks remain. Overmixing will lead you to a super tough and chewy cookie.
4. Scoop and coat the cookie dough. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and nutmeg. Use a 1.5 tbsp. cookie scoop to dish out the dough, then roll each cookie in the nutmeg sugar.
5. Bake the cookies. Evenly space out the coated scoops of the cookie dough on a cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes at 350°F / 175°C. While the cookies are baking, unwrap 10 hershey’s kisses so that they are ready when the cookies come out of the oven.
6. Press a kiss into each cookie. IMMEDIATELY after the cookies come out of the oven, press a kiss into the center of each one. Once all the cookies have a kiss, place them in the fridge to chill for 10-15 minutes or until the cookies are no longer warm.
7. Serve and enjoy!
Small batch peanut butter blossoms Q & A
Can I double this recipe?
- Of course! Obviously they will not be small batch anymore but small batch isn’t always what we need! I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results.
Can I make these cookies ahead of time?
- I probably wouldn’t recommend making this cookie dough any more than 1 day in advance. The dough isn’t super hydrated, so it will dry out if left to sit for too long in the fridge. To prep the dough ahead of time, just cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge overnight. You will probably need to let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking, or just until it’s scoop-able!
How should I store these cookies?
- These cookies will taste the best on the day that they are baked, but can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Why do you measure in grams?
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale, and here’s an article about why I use a kitchen scale, and why you should too!
A note on oven temperature
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature. For example, I always have to set my oven to 330°F if I want it to bake at 350°F. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
Tools and ingredients
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
Did you make these small batch peanut butter blossoms?
If you made these small batch peanut butter blossoms I would love to see them and know your thoughts! Please leave a comment and review down below, and tag me on Instagram @freshbeanbakery. If you have any questions about the recipe I will gladly do my best to answer them in the comments below!
Small Batch Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Blossoms
- 50 g unsalted butter (3 ½ tbsp.)
- 60 g creamy peanut butter (¼ c.)
- 90 g dark brown sugar (¼ c. + 3 tbsp.)
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ tbsp. milk
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 85 g all purpose flour (¾ c.)
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
Coating
- 50 g granulated sugar (¼ c.)
- ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Add the butter to a small mixing bowl that is microwave safe and microwave it until it's fully melted. Immediately whisk in the peanut butter until it's completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Add in the brown sugar, egg yolk, milk and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.
- Add in the flour, baking soda and salt. Fold the mixture together just until no more flour streaks remain.
- Make the coating by mixing the sugar and nutmeg together in a small bowl.
- Use a 1.5 tbsp. cookie scoop to dish out the dough, then roll each cookie in the nutmeg sugar.
- Evenly space out the coated scoops of the cookie dough on the cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. While the cookies are baking, unwrap 10 hershey's kisses so that they are ready when the cookies come out of the oven.
- IMMEDIATELY after the cookies come out of the oven, press a kiss into the center of each one. Once all the cookies have a kiss, place them in the fridge to chill for 10-15 minutes or until the cookies are no longer warm.
- Serve and enjoy!
I think I made this recipe four times in December, it was that good! Also really fun to try with different Hershey kiss flavors!
Ah thank you so much, I’m so happy & honored you like them enough to make them so many times! Also that sounds so fun with other flavors! I’m planning on making them with almond butter & almond Hershey kisses this holiday season!
What is the shelf life of these cookies? Is it only 3 days or more than that. Pls let me know.
Hi, I recommend a max of 3 days on most baked goods. It’s not that they “go bad / expire” but more that they will start to stale. I always recommend making recipes as close as you can to the serving date for the best freshness but these would keep up to 7 days as long as they are stored in an airtight container. Hope this helps!