Peanut Butter Blossoms

Before you start

A peanut butter blossom is a soft peanut butter cookie rolled in sugar, baked until just set, then crowned with a chocolate kiss while it is hot so the cookie cracks around it. The cookie part should be tender and sandy rather than crunchy, with enough baking soda to puff the dough and form the signature fissures when the chocolate goes in.

The common frustration is a kiss that slumps into a shiny puddle. Milk chocolate candies are not tempered for heat, so the residual warmth of the cookie softens them for a long time. The fix is about temperature: chill the unwrapped kisses in the freezer, press them in about two minutes after the cookies leave the oven, and then move the cooled cookies to the refrigerator briefly so the chocolate firms up with its shape and point intact.

Ingredients

• Dough115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter — softened
• 130 g (½ cup) creamy peanut butter — a conventional stabilized brand
• 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
• 110 g (½ cup packed) light brown sugar
• 1 large egg — room temperature
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 220 g (1¾ cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp fine salt
• Coating and topping50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar — for rolling
• 30 milk chocolate kisses — unwrapped and frozen

Method

1. Unwrap the chocolate kisses, spread them on a plate and put them in the freezer. They need at least 30 minutes, so do this first.
2. Beat the butter, peanut butter and both sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes, until creamy and lighter in color. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla, then scrape the bowl.
3. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt, add them to the bowl and mix on low until a soft dough forms with no dry patches. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes so the dough rolls cleanly.
4. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F) and line the sheets with parchment. Roll the dough into 25 g balls, about 1½ tablespoons, then roll each in sugar until coated. Space them 5 cm (2 in) apart, 15 per sheet.
5. Bake one sheet at a time for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cookies have puffed, the tops look dry and lightly cracked, and the edges are just starting to color. They will seem soft; that is correct.
6. Let the cookies stand on the sheet for about 2 minutes, then press a frozen kiss straight down into the center of each one until the cookie cracks around the edges. Pressing immediately out of the oven melts the chocolate; waiting too long stops the cookie from cracking.
7. Leave the cookies on the sheet for 5 more minutes, then move them to a rack. Once they are at room temperature, refrigerate them on a tray for 15 to 20 minutes to firm the chocolate.

Tips for success

• Natural peanut butter that separates gives a greasier, crumblier dough that spreads. A stabilized creamy brand gives the classic shape.
• Take the kisses out of the freezer one sheet at a time. A few minutes on the counter is enough for them to start softening.
• Keep the cookies small and evenly sized so they finish baking at the same moment and are all ready for the kiss together.

Substitutions

Milk chocolate kisses

Dark chocolate kisses, mini peanut butter cups or a square of a chocolate bar all work. Dark chocolate sets a little faster and firmer.

Creamy peanut butter

Crunchy peanut butter adds texture but makes the dough crack unevenly. Almond or sunflower seed butter work; sunflower seed butter can turn faintly green when baked with baking soda, which is harmless.

Granulated sugar coating

Coarse sanding sugar gives a sparkly, crunchy shell and looks festive.

Variations

Peanut butter cup blossoms

Press a frozen mini peanut butter cup into each cookie instead of a kiss.

Salted honey roasted blossoms

Roll the dough balls in a mix of sugar and finely chopped honey roasted peanuts.

Troubleshooting

Kisses melted into puddles

They went in too soon or were not cold. Freeze them first, wait 2 minutes after baking, and refrigerate the cooled cookies so the chocolate firms with its shape.

Cookies did not crack around the kiss

The cookies cooled too long or were overbaked and firm. Press the kiss in within 2 to 3 minutes and pull the cookies while they still look soft.

Cookies are dry and crumbly

Usually extra flour or overbaking. Weigh the flour and stop baking when the tops look dry but the cookies are still pale.

Storage

Store in a single layer, or with parchment between layers, in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 5 days. In a warm kitchen the chocolate can soften, so refrigerate them. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Safety notes

Contains peanuts, wheat, egg and milk; label them clearly when sharing. Do not eat the raw dough, which contains raw egg and flour.