These Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies are a delicious classic cookie. With the addition of drizzled melted chocolate, they are even tastier!
I know there are many different recipes for Kiss Cookies…this recipe is the one my mom has made for years and now the one that I make for my family.
For a few years I could not find this recipe card that my mom had written out and given to me. So I would look up a different recipe for these cookies since it is one of my family’s favorite cookies to make at Christmas time. But for some reason it just didn’t taste the same to me.
So recently I was cleaning out the top shelf of my pantry and I found the recipe card from my mom in a old recipe box. I found it now and was thrilled to make them again!
Grocery Shopping List:
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- salt
- butter
- creamy peanut butter
- brown sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- Hershey kisses
- Baker's chocolate, optional
The Baker's chocolate is optional because you can make the cookies without the extra chocolate. This extra step is for all the chocolate lovers out there (like me)!
How to make these Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies:
How to make the dough:
To make the dough, combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set that aside.
Using a mixer, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add brown sugar and mix well. Next, add in the eggs, one at a time beating after each one. Add in the vanilla and mix well.
Slowly add in the dry ingredients on low speed. Mix until ingredients are combined, scraping the sides of the bowl down. Chill the dough at least one hour or overnight.
How to bake the cookies:
Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cover your cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Make dough balls that are about one tablespoon in size. I use my one tablespoon cookie scoop to make the dough balls. By using the cookie scoop, it makes measuring the dough easier and also gives me cookies that are the same size each time.
Put some brown sugar into a small bowl (about one half cup or so). Roll the dough balls in the brown sugar until they are covered with the brown sugar. If you want more perfectly shaped cookie balls, roll them in your hand to form rounded balls.
Place them on your prepared cookie sheet (covered with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat) about two inches apart.
Bake them at 350°F for eight minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and gently place a Hershey kiss in the middle of each one.
Then place them back into the oven and bake them an additional two minutes. This will help the kisses stay on the cookies.
Let them cool completely before storing them. The kisses will be a little soft so make sure they are cool and hardened up before storing them.
How to drizzle chocolate over the Peanut Butter Kiss cookies:
My son suggested adding more chocolate to these cookies...he loves chocolate as much as I do! So we decided to drizzle some melted Baker's Chocolate Bars over the cookies once they were cooled. This step is optional, but highly recommended as they were so good!
Before you start, make sure the cookies are cooled. Then melt some Baker's Chocolate Bars (I use the semi-sweet chocolate bars).
How to melt the chocolate:
Break the chocolate bar into pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds and stir. If the chocolate is not completely melted, heat for 10 second increments, stirring after each one, until the chocolate is completely melted.
Recipe Tip: Line your cookies on parchment paper before you drizzle the chocolate for easy clean up. Parchment paper is optional, but is nice because you can just throw it out once you are done making the cookies.
Place the melted chocolate into frosting bag with a fine tip or use a plastic sandwich bag and cut a small amount of the corner off. Just a little though so you just get a little chocolate out at a time. If you cut too much off the corner, too much chocolate will come out at once.
Using back and forth motions, go over the cookies a few times or until you have enough chocolate for you. Let them sit until the chocolate sets.
Store the cookies in an airtight container.
Why Chill the Dough?
The cookie dough will spread less when the dough is chilled. You will have thicker, more solid cookies.
Your cookies will have more flavor. While the dough is being chilled, the flavors mingle and that will give you a more flavorful cookie.
Recipe Tip: While the dough is chilling, it is the perfect time to unwrap all the Hershey kisses. This is a job I like to give my kids. They unwrap for me and have a couple while doing it. It’s a win win for all of us.
Why use parchment paper or silicone mats?
Here are few reasons to use parchment paper or silicone mats:
- More even baking
- Reduces spreading of the cookie dough while baking
- Eliminates cookies sticking to the pan
- Easy clean up
Silicone mats are nice because they are reusable. Use which ever works best for you.
Recipe Tips:
- Make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature. Room temperature ingredients incorporate together with the other ingredients better since they are warm.
- To bring the butter to room temperature, let it sit out on the counter for an hour before you begin. It is best to not warm up the butter in the microwave as it can melt it too much and it can ruin the creaming process.
- If you are short on time, here is a post with a great tip and info on softening butter quickly.
- To bring the eggs to room temperature, place them on your counter for 30 minutes. Here is a great post on baking with room temperature eggs including a time saving tip to bringing the eggs to room temperature.
- Chill the dough. Chilling them makes the cookies thicker and more flavorful. The dough should be chilled for at least an hour to overnight. These Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies will be so much better if you chill the dough. Trust me.
- Unwrap the kisses while the dough is chilling so they are good to go when your dough is ready.
- Use parchment paper or silicone mats for easy clean up. Who doesn't want easier clean up?! I use them for when I am baking the cookies and also for when I am drizzling the chocolate over the cookies.
When I made these cookies with the drizzled chocolate for the first time, I made half with the extra chocolate and half without. The plain cookies were the last to go...so I would say the extra chocolate cookies won in our house! Let me know which you prefer in your house.
I have learned some great baking tips from Sally's Baking Addiction. She has a whole section on Baking Tips which is great to read when you have some time.
Looking for more cookie recipes?
Here are a few favorites...Sugar Cookies, Jumbo S'mores Cookies, and Meringue Cookies.
If you make this recipe or another one from my blog, please let me know how you liked it by commenting and rating it below. Thanks so much!
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Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar, plus extra to roll cookies in (about ¾ cup)
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 bag Hershey kisses candy
- 1 4 ounce package Baker's chocolate, optional
Instructions
- Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and peanut butter in a mixing bowl. Add brown sugar and mix well. Add in the eggs, one at a time beating after each one. Add in the vanilla and mix well.
- Slowly add in the dry ingredients on low speed. Mix until ingredients are combined, scraping the sides of the bowl down.
- Chill at least an hour or overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover your cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- Make dough balls about one tablespoon in size. Pour some brown sugar in a small bowl. Roll each dough ball in the brown sugar and place them on your prepared cookie sheet. Space the cookies about two inches apart.
- Bake for eight minutes. Remove from the oven and gently press a kiss in the middle of each cookie. Place back in the oven and bake for an additional two minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack.
- Let them cool completely.
- For adding the melted chocolate over finished cookies: If adding the melted chocolate, break apart the Baker's chocolate pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds and stir. If chocolate is not completely melted, repeat at 10 second increments, stirring after each one, until the chocolate is completely melted.
- Line the cookies up on parchment paper. Pour the chocolate into a frosting bag with a fine tip or a plastic sandwich bag and cut the corner off slightly. Drizzle the cookies with the melted chocolate by going back and forth over the cookies until the desired amount of chocolate is on the cookies.
- Let them sit until the chocolate sets.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Make sure your eggs and butter are at room temperature. Room temperature ingredients incorporate together with the other ingredients better since they are warm.
- To bring the butter to room temperature, let it sit out on the counter for an hour before you begin. It is best to not warm up the butter in the microwave as it can melt it too much and it can ruin the creaming process.
- If you are short on time, here is a post with a great tip and info on softening butter quickly.
- To bring the eggs to room temperature, place them on your counter for 30 minutes. Here is a great post on baking with room temperature eggs including a time saving tip to bringing the eggs to room temperature.
- Chill the dough. Chilling them makes the cookies thicker and more flavorful. The dough should be chilled for at least an hour to overnight. These Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies will be so much better if you chill the dough. Trust me.
- Unwrap the kisses while the dough is chilling so they are good to go when your dough is ready.
- Use parchment paper or silicone mats for easy clean up. Who doesn't want easier clean up?! I use them for when I am baking the cookies and also for when I am drizzling the chocolate over the cookies.
Update Note: This recipe was originally posted earlier, but was published again in 2020 to include step-by-step directions and new photos.
Sue
Love the idea of drizzling chocolate over the cookies. It added just the right amount of chocolate!
Jeannie Z
Thanks Sue!
Jacqueline
How long can these cookies be stored?
Jeannie Z
Hi Jacqueline,
I would say they are best the first week if stored in an airtight container. We have had them for a couple of weeks but they are best within the first week. A little tip to keep cookies soft after the first week is to add a piece of bread to the container with the cookies. The bread will get harder as the cookies stay soft.
Hope this helps.
Jeannie