Peanut butter blossom cookie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Peanut butter blossom cookie

Soft peanut butter cookie dough rolled in sugar, cooked and topped in center with Hershey Kisses milk chocolate
Alternative names	Peanut butter kiss cookie
Type	Peanut butter cookie
Course	Dessert or Snack
Place of origin	United States
Associated national cuisine	North American cuisine
Created by	Freda Strasel Smith
Invented	1957
Cooking time
Serving temperature	48 cookies
Main ingredients	Peanut butter Hershey's Kisses Sugar Flour Brown sugar
Ingredients generally used	Egg Shortening Vanilla extract Milk Baking soda Salt
Variations	Multiple, including using Hershey's Hugs, Candy Cane Kisses, Caramel Kisses, Cocoa for Chocolate Peanut Butter dough
Food energy (per 1 cookie serving)	90 kcal (377 kJ)Fat Secret
Nutritional value (per 1 cookie serving)	Protein 2 g Fat 6 g Carbohydrate 10 g

Get ready to learn about a super popular treat: the peanut butter blossom cookie! This yummy cookie first appeared in 1957. It's made with soft peanut butter dough and has a chocolate candy on top.

People often enjoy these cookies as a snack or dessert. They are especially popular at parties and during holidays in the United States.

The original peanut butter blossom cookie is a soft peanut butter cookie. It's rolled in granulated sugar and topped with a Hershey's Kiss. But guess what? There are now many different versions! Bakers love to try new flavors in the dough or with different toppings.

This classic cookie is easy to change for any special event.

The Story of Peanut Butter Blossoms

How the Cookie Began

The peanut butter blossom cookie started in a small town called Gibsonburg, Ohio. A woman named Freda Strasel Smith created it in 1957. She entered her new cookie into a big cooking contest called the Pillsbury Bake-Off.

Freda first called her cookies "Black-eyed Susans." But after the contest, Pillsbury changed the name to "Peanut Butter Blossom cookie."

You can still find the original recipe! It's often printed on the back of Hershey's Kisses bags. It's also in the cookbook from the 9th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest.

Many people who write cookbooks or run cooking websites have made their own versions of this famous cookie.

Freda Smith's Idea

Freda Strasel Smith came up with the idea by changing a regular peanut butter cookie recipe. Instead of mixing chocolate chips into the dough, she used Hershey's Kisses.

Because Hershey's Kisses are bigger than chocolate chips, she placed them on top of the cookies. She did this right after the cookies finished baking, while they were still warm.

In 1957, Freda entered her "Black-eyed Susans" into the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest. The cookies were a big hit! Pillsbury then renamed them "Peanut Butter Blossom."

The peanut butter blossom cookie made it to the final round of the contest. This big event was held in Beverly Hills, California. Freda's cookie won third place!

The Cookie's Fame Grows

The peanut butter blossom cookie became very well-known across the United States. This happened because Pillsbury and The Hershey Company helped make it famous. They used the recipe to promote their own brands after the contest.

In 1965, Pillsbury even made a TV commercial in New York City. It showed Freda Smith's daughter, Jo Anne Smith Lytle, making the famous cookies.

The Pillsbury Company has said that the Peanut Butter Blossom is one of the most famous recipes from their bake-off contest. This is true even though it didn't win first prize!

In 1999, the Peanut Butter Blossom cookie was honored in a special way. It was one of ten recipes chosen for the Pillsbury Bake-Off Hall of Fame. This special hall is at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Hershey's Helps Spread the Word

The Hershey Company quickly saw how popular Freda Smith's cookie was. After she placed in the 1957 contest, Hershey's started printing the recipe on every bag of Hershey's Kisses.

This helped the peanut butter blossom cookie become super popular. Today, you'll often see these cookies on Christmas dessert tables. They are also a favorite choice for "cookie tables" at weddings.

Making the Original Peanut Butter Blossom

You can find the original recipe created by Freda Smith on Pillsbury's website. It's the same recipe that Hershey still shares today.

To make the Hershey's Kiss stick, you need to press it into the center of the cookie. Do this as soon as the cookies come out of the oven, while they are still hot. It's a good idea to take off the paper plume and foil from the Kiss before you bake the cookies.

Quick Facts About Nutrition

One peanut butter blossom cookie has about 90 calories. It also has 6 grams of fat, 10 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 grams of protein.

Fun Variations to Try

There are many ways to change up this classic cookie! Cookbooks, cooking blogs, and websites have shared lots of fun twists on this easy recipe.

For holidays, bakers sometimes add colorful sugar crystals to the dough. If you love peanut butter, you can even use a peanut butter cup instead of a Hershey's Kiss! Some versions of the cookie use Hershey's Hugs to add white chocolate.

Another idea is to make the cookie more chocolatey. You can do this by adding cocoa powder to the dough.