Baking Peanut Butter Blossoms is one of my favorite holiday cookie traditions. I started making these when I was a teenager, and the original Jif recipe still holds up, with a few tweaks of course! This recipe produces soft, chewy cookies every time, and they usually stay fresh for 4-5 days after baking! A couple of simple tricks (found below) really make all the difference when baking Peanut Butter Blossoms.
To begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cream together shortening, Jif peanut butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar.
Next, add egg, milk, and vanilla and beat until incorporated.
Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. This step is crucial for the Peanut Butter Blossoms to have a consistent soft, light, and chewy texture.
Add sifted mixture to creamed mixture and beat until a stiff dough forms.
Next, pull the dough apart by small sections, just enough to roll each piece into a 1-inch ball. Roll dough balls in granulated sugar to coat. Arrange on prepared baking sheets roughly 2 inches apart.
Bake for 9-10 minutes until cookies are set, and just begin to crack.
Tempering the Chocolate
Now, lightly press Hershey Kisses into the surface of each cookie, the edges will crack as you do this. Be careful not to press too hard.
Return the cookies to the oven and bake for 1 more minute to temper the chocolate. This step makes such a big difference with this recipe! Who hasn’t bitten into a cookie, and had the chocolate be rock hard and fall right off the cookie? Not with this method for tempering the chocolate! Perfectly soft cookies and chocolate, every time.
To finish, transfer the cookies to cooling racks immediately after baking, and be sure to let the chocolate set. Store in an air tight container, cookies will stay fresh for 4-5 days.
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Crisco Shortening
- 1/2 cup Jif Peanut Butter
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 2 Tbsp Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 3/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar to coat before baking
- 42-48 Hershey Kisses ,unwrapped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat baking mats.
- In a large bowl, cream together shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat well.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add sifted flour mixture to creamed mixture in mixing bowl. Beat on low speed until a stiff dough forms.
- Pull apart small sections of dough, and roll individually into 1 inch balls. Roll in granualted sugar, and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake 9-10 minutes, until cookies start to set and have cracks in the surface.
- Lightly press Hershey's kisses into the surface of each cookie, which will give the cookie perfect little cracks around the edges.
- Return cookies to the oven for 1 minute to temper the chocolate.
- Transfer cookies to cooling racks and let chocolate set. Cookies (and the Hershey's Kisses) will stay soft for 4-5 days after baking.
Notes
The original recipe from Jif: https://www.jif.com/recipes/evening/peanut-butter-blossoms
Liked this recipe, and looking for more? Check out my Very Best M&M Cookies Recipe:
The Very Best M&M Cookies
One of my favorite’s, I can’t resist them.