Vegan Peanut Butter Blossoms feature a soft, sugar coated peanut butter cookie and are topped with a chocolate kiss. A go-to holiday cookie!
Peanut butter blossoms are such a classic holiday cookie that have been around a long time. They are super cute, plus is there any combination better than chocolate and peanut butter?
Making them vegan is a bit of a challenge because they are typically topped with a Hershey’s chocolate kiss, which you really can’t find a vegan version of (yet). Hopefully someone will make a dairy free kiss soon, but until then, we have to improvise!
I have a few different options for the chocolate “kiss” topping, so let’s get to it.
The best thing to do is get yourself a kiss mold and make your own vegan kisses! I found this cute little tray from Etsy. It came quick and it works perfectly. I did find a few other molds but I liked the look of this one best, plus it was very inexpensive.
How to make vegan peanut butter blossoms
The full recipe is in the recipe card below, this is a simple overview with photos and tips.
Peanut butter blossoms are basically a soft peanut butter cookie with a chocolate kiss in the center. They are usually enjoyed during the holiday season but you can make them any time of the year! I have kept the recipe as simple as possible.
First, make your own vegan chocolate kisses
Once you have your kiss mold, simply melt about 1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips in the microwave (or stovetop). Carefully spoon in enough to fill each mold, then use a toothpick to gently swirl it around, getting down to the point so your kisses aren’t cut off.
Place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes, until they are hardened, then pop them out. For easier vegan chocolate center options, scroll down and view other options.
Next, make the peanut butter cookies
Make the simple peanut butter cookie dough, roll in sugar and bake for about 10 minutes. The full recipe is in the recipe card below, this is a simple overview with photos and tips.
Let the cookies cool on the pan for about 10 minutes, then push a kiss into the center of each cookies, until it sticks a little bit. Do this carefully so your cookies don’t break apart; a few cracks are perfectly fine though.
Place the pan in the freezer for about 10 minutes. This helps the chocolate not melt immediately. You can skip the freezing part if you want, but your kisses might melt a bit. Remove from the freezer and enjoy!
Chocolate Ganache center
Another option is to use a dollop or swirl of vegan ganache instead of a kiss. The trick here is to use it when it’s at the correct temperature so it’s thick, not too runny but also not too hard. You can pipe it on once it’s cool enough that it’s rather thick. Then it will firm up more as it cools.
So, just like the kiss, let the cookies cool for 10 minutes after baking, pipe on a little ganache (or just spoon some on), then place immediately in the freezer to set, so it doesn’t melt.
Vegan chocolate square or peanut butter cup
The third option is to simple use a chunk or vegan chocolate or a mini vegan peanut butter cup instead of a kiss. This is an easy option, and totally delicious. The instructions are exactly the same as with a kiss.
Want more chocolate + peanut butter desserts?
- Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
- Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
- Vegan Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons almond milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar, for rolling
- 22 vegan chocolate kisses, chocolate chunks or ganache, see Notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add 1/4 cup sugar to a small bowl and set aside (for rolling the cookies in).
- In a large bowl, cream together the vegan butter, peanut butter and sugars. Stir in the almond milk and vanilla until well combined. You can use a hand mixer, stand mixer or just a large wooden spoon.
- Now add the flour to the bowl, and sprinkle the baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch and salt on top of the flour. Stir (or use the mixer) until just combined and a dough is formed. The dough will be thick, yet sticky.
- Roll balls of dough (about 1.5 tablespoons) and then roll in the sugar until coated. Place each one on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until they are lightly golden on top.
- Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then press a kiss (or piece of chocolate, or ganache) into each cookie until it sticks. Immediately place the baking sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes so the chocolate doesn’t melt into the cookie. Only do one baking sheet at a time unless you have a lot of room in your freezer.
- Remove from the freezer, eat and enjoy! Leftover cookies will keep for up to 5 days in a covered container at room temperature, and they can also be frozen.
Notes
- Vegan Chocolate Kisses: I used this kiss mold from Etsy to make chocolate kisses. I simply melted vegan chocolate chips in the microwave (about 1 1/2 cups) then drizzled in the melted chocolate. Use a toothpick to swirl the chocolate down to reach the tip, then stick in the freezer for 30 minutes or so until hardened.
- For other chocolate options, you can use a little chocolate ganache, swirled or dolloped in the middle of the cookie, a square of vegan chocolate, or even a vegan peanut butter cup.
- I recommend using regular creamy peanut butter instead of natural if you can, it just works better. But you can use natural if you want.
- Gluten free? Use a gluten free mix instead of all purpose flour.
- Peanut allergy? Use almond butter instead, or possibly even sunflower seed butter.
These are so good! I find I am making cookies a lot these days (your cookies, of course!)…they do a disappearing act in this house!
Isn’t it amazing how that happens!? Thanks for your wonderful feedback, Moira! I’m thrilled you guys are loving my cookies!
Hi Nora! I would love to make these, but not sure to use peanut butter with salt or no salt? Thank you!
Both will do just fine! If you use peanut butter with salt, be sure to reduce the added salt to 1/8 teaspoon (or leave it out if the peanut butter already tastes pretty salty).
These are so good!! They disappear very quickly in this house….:-)
I’m so glad the blossoms are a hit! Thanks for sharing your feedback!
Welp, you’ve done it again, Nora. Made these tonight for Christmas (I will be cooking all the sides tomorrow, so I had to make the cookies tonight). They’re delicious! Just like the old school non-vegan ones. I used semisweet chunks (by Enjoy Life) and Justin’s peanut butter cups. The cups were a little too big for the cookies, so they don’t look pretty, but they taste so good. Also, I don’t have room in my freezer, so I set them in the fridge for a bit…worked great. Thanks for another fabulous recipe!
Made these cookies and they were fantastic! Â The kids and hubby gobbled them up, so now to make another batch!
It is definitely easy to go through batches of these cookies! Thank you for sharing your fantastic review and comments! Happy cooking!
Amazing!
First, love your recipes Nora. We made these during our holiday baking day and they are delicious.
We used 3 Enjoy Life mega chunks in place of the the kiss.
Do you think this batter could be used to make chocolate topped peanut butter bars? I am not a fan of no-bake peanut butter bars.
I haven’t tried it so it’s hard for me to say for sure, but I think it could work. They would be like cookie bars! 🙂
These are absolutely amazing!
Thanks!
These are delicious! They totally satisfied my peanut butter, sugar cookie, and chocolate craving and were perfect for a holiday dinner with my family.
What kind of peanut butter do you use – the hydrogenated kind or natural? Does it matter?
It works better with the non-natural kind. Natural peanut butter can be very runny or too thick, depending on the brand, so you will have the best results with regular creamy peanut butter. Thanks!
Nora, is there a substitute for vegan butter?
I haven’t tried it with anything else, but coconut oil might work.