Peanut Butter Blossoms: A Holiday Treat
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1-stick), softened
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (i use jif)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- additional granulated sugar (for rolling cookie balls in)
- 48 hershey's chocolate kisses unwrapped
- Carbohydrate 6.67721381327138 g
- Cholesterol 10.6025833376348 mg
- Fat 5.16979022394761 g
- Fiber 0.38379675841325 g
- Protein 1.46968315619564 g
- Saturated Fat 2.4684845281818 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (20g)
- Sodium 1300.5604029461 mg
- Sugar 6.29341705485813 g
- Trans Fat 0.361572291252652 g
- Calories 77 calories
Step-by-step
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Remove wrappers from chocolates; set aside. Place about 1/2 cup sugar (for rolling) in an 8-inch cake pan or shallow dish; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until well blended. Beat in granulated and brown sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla, and beat until well blended. Gradually mix reserved dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Using a tablespoon measure or cookie scoop, portion out dough and shape into balls about 1-inch in diameter. Drop balls into pan with sugar and shake (about 4 balls at a time) to roll balls in sugar to coat. Place balls about 2-inches apart, in staggered rows of 3-2-3-2-3, on a large ungreased cookie sheet.
- Place one baking sheet at a time onto center rack of preheated 375 degree F oven. Bake until just starting to turn light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes, rotating baking sheet if needed for even baking. Do not over-bake. Remove from the oven and immediately place one chocolate kiss onto the center of each cookie, pressing down firmly (cookie will crack slightly around edges). Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Cookies freeze well.
- Makes about 48 cookies.
Operating within strict spatial limits requires a standard half-sheet pan and an ungreased surface to prevent excessive spreading. Creamy peanut butter and softened butter demand proper aeration during the creaming stage, otherwise dense fats will yield heavy, greasy cookies that refuse to hold their structural integrity. Sifting the flour, baking soda, and salt together distributes the leavening agent evenly, preventing pockets of metallic flavor or uneven rise across the batch of forty-eight.
Preventing Cracks and Melted Chocolate
Pressing the unwrapped chocolate kiss into the center must happen immediately upon extraction from the 375 degree F oven, while the surface remains pliable. Waiting even two minutes causes the cookie crust to set past its elastic threshold, leading to shattered edges rather than neat structural indentations. Retain the warmth of the baking sheet by loading only one pan at a time onto the center oven rack, baking for eight to ten minutes until the edges show faint golden coloration.
- Use an 8-inch cake pan for rolling dough balls in granulated sugar to contain the mess efficiently.
- Monitor the oven closely around the eight-minute mark; over-baking destroys the soft, tender crumb structure.
- Transfer hot cookies to a wire rack immediately to halt residual bottom cooking from the metal pan.
