My Grandma’s Peanut Blossoms

Written by Indy Patchske

Have you ever had the perfect cookie? Perfectly baked, perfectly warm, perfectly moist, and perfect flavor? Well, I have with my grandma's peanut blossom cookies. 

When I was little, my grandma would always make the entire family Christmas cookies. She would make enough that there would be so many extra cookies that each household would take an entire plate home. She would make cookies such as meringues, sugar cookies, heath bar cookies, lemon cookies, molasses cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and, of course, peanut blossoms. When I was old enough, around age four or five, I began to help my grandma in her extravagant cookie endeavors. Then my brother followed suit a few years later. Making these cookies with my grandma are some of my fondest memories with her. 

This past year, in 2025, my grandma had to move into a nursing home due to her ongoing struggle with dementia and difficulty getting around. Since she was in a nursing home for Christmas last year, she couldn’t make cookies anymore, and it would have been the first Christmas without any cookies that the whole family could remember. I decided to take over for my grandma and make some of her famous cookies for the family.

Although I did not make all one million of her cookie flavors, I did make three. I made chocolate chip, molasses, and peanut blossom cookies. This was my first time doing this by myself. I don’t know how my grandma did it all! It took all day to make the cookies. I made double batches of each to make sure everyone got to take home a few. Eventually, I will make more than three flavors, but three flavors were the perfect amount for my first time doing it by myself. 

I am so thankful to my grandma for introducing me to my love of baking. I bake constantly now, and every time I do, I think about her. I am glad that I can continue the tradition of cookie making that my grandma started and keep bringing a bit of her legacy to Christmas. My dad and his sister were able to still have their mother's cookies at Christmas, even if it was not she who made them. I will continue to make cookies every Christmas for my family now and in the future and pass down her recipes to my future children.

Her peanut blossoms are the best cookies you will taste in your lifetime, I promise. They are perfectly moist, they bake each time perfectly, they are even more amazing when warm, and they have the perfect mix of flavors. They are a very addictive cookie to eat, so I try not to make them until Christmas, LOL. 

Chocolate and peanut butter are a classic pairing that is loved by millions, except those with peanut allergies, of course. The sugar coating of the cookies gives them an extra flavor and makes your mouth water at the taste. 

Additionally, remember not to coat your cookie dough balls in coarse sugar, or they will not taste the same and will turn a bit dry in baking. My brother tried to help my grandma make the peanut blossoms one year, and he placed the Hershey Kisses on the cookie dough before baking. Do not do this. The chocolate will become extremely dry and crumbly. Placing them on after baking helps them blend perfectly into the cookie!

With that being said, give this recipe a try. You won't regret it!

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Full Recipe:

Total time: 30 minutes

Yields: 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cups of flour

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• ½ cup of granulated sugar

• ½ cup of brown sugar

• ½ cup of margarine

• 1 large egg

• 2 tablespoons of milk

• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 

• ½ cup of creamy peanut butter

• Hershey Kisses

• A small bowl full of coarse sugar (about 6-12 oz)

  • I use this one from Amazon because I can never find it in my local grocery stores.

Instructions:

1. Take your margarine out of the fridge so that it becomes room temperature. 

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Pour coarse sugar into a bowl and set aside for later.

4. Combine all ingredients in a mixer on low speed except for the coarse sugar and Hershey kisses.

   • I usually add the dry ingredients first and then the wet. 

5. Roll the cookie dough into balls, then roll each one in coarse sugar, making sure each one has an even coat, and then place evenly on a baking sheet.

6. Place your baking sheet of cookies into the oven and bake for 7-8 minutes. 

7. While your cookies are baking, unwrap about 40 Hershey Kisses; it is better to have more than not enough. (I also love to snack on some while I am unwrapping.)

8. Once the cookies are done baking, let them cool for 2-3 minutes and then place an unwrapped Hershey Kiss in the center of each cookie.

Thumbnail Credit:

Indy Patchske