Christmas Tree Peanut Butter Blossoms
Festive Christmas Tree Peanut Butter Blossoms are a fun spin on the classic, making them the perfect holiday treat! This is a super easy recipe that the kids will love to help with.
Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies are one of those Christmas cookies that I always reach for on a cookie tray. I love the combination of peanut butter and chocolate, and these are just always so good!
So when we saw Santa last week and Mrs. Claus was telling us about how she decorates the Hershey's kisses with green frosting and sprinkles to make it look like a Christmas tree. I immediately added Christmas Tree Peanut Butter Blossoms to my weekend to do list and they turned out so cute!
Looking for other easy holiday treats? Check out my Christmas Peanut Butter M&M Cookies and Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy - this peanut butter blossom recipe is super easy to make and so fun for the kids to help.
- Delicious - this is my absolute favorite peanut butter blossoms recipe.
- Festive - the Christmas tree decoration makes it so festive!
Ingredients
Vegetable Shortening - this keeps the cookies chewy.
Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar - this combination sweetens the cookies and the brown sugar adds a depth of flavor.
Peanut Butter - I use regular, non-natural creamy peanut butter in these cookies.
Eggs - eggs act as a binder and make the cookies chewy.
Vanilla Extract - I love the warm flavor that vanilla adds.
Baking Soda and Salt - baking soda is the leavener in the cookies and salt enhances the flavors.
Flour - I always use unbleached all-purpose flour when I'm baking cookies.
Hershey Kisses - milk chocolate kisses are perfect for making the Christmas trees in the middle of the peanut butter cookies.
Green Decorating Frosting - I bought the kind that you can snip the end off and make it as big or small as you want, since I wanted a fairly small frosting size.
Sprinkles - any kind of holiday sprinkles will work!
Please refer to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and quantities.
Variations
Chocolate Stars - some people are very opinionated about Hershey Kisses vs chocolate stars and you can definitely use the stars in this recipe, too! I think you could do a wreath instead of a tree with the green frosting.
Butter - I like that shortening keeps these peanut butter blossoms chewy, but many recipes call for butter, which works, too.
Step by Step Instructions
Photo 1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer (I like to use a stand mixer but a hand mixer works too), beat together the shortening, brown sugar, and white sugar until well combined, about 1 minute.
Photo 2. Add the peanut butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and milk, and beat to combine.
Photo 3. Add the baking soda, salt, and flour to the wet ingredients, and beat until well combined.
Photo 4. Roll the cookie dough balls into ~2 tablespoon sized balls, roll in granulated sugar, and place on a greased baking sheet. I like to line my baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Photo 5. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees F for 8-9 minutes, until slightly golden around the edges.
Photo 6. Immediately place a Hersheys kiss on the top of each cookie. Let cool completely on a wire rack. I like to stick them outside or in the fridge so the Hersheys kisses don't melt.
Photo 7. Using green decorative frosting, make a swirl around each Hersheys kiss.
Photo 8. Decorate with sprinkles. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
Storage - store these cookies in an airtight container for 3-4 days. You an also freeze them for 2-3 months, although sometimes the chocolate kisses come off once they are frozen.
No Melted Hershey Kisses! To prevent the Hershey kisses from melting, place the cookies in the fridge or outside if it's cold to keep them cold!
Stand Mixer - I love using my KitchenAid Stand Mixer with the paddle attachment for making cookies.
Recipe FAQs
That will work! Just make the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate. When you are ready to bake, set the dough out for about 30 minutes to let it warm up a bit.
Sure! You can make the stars into wreaths or just decorate with some festive frosting and sprinkles.
Other Holiday Recipes To Consider
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #greensnchocolate
Christmas Tree Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- additional sugar, for rolling
- 10 ounce bag Hershey kisses
- green decorating frosting
- holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, beat together the shortening, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the peanut butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined.
- Add the baking soda, salt, and flour, beating to combine.
- Place about ½ cup of granulated sugar in a shallow bowl.
- Form the dough into approximately 2 tablespoon-sized dough balls. Roll the cookies in the granulated sugar.
- Place on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes. The edges will be slightly golden.
- Immediately out of the oven, place a Hersheys kiss in the center of each cookie. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. I like to place the cookies in the fridge or outside when it's cold to cool completely and make it easier to decorate.
- Use the green frosting to pipe a green swirl around each Hershey's kiss.
- Sprinkle the holiday sprinkles on the frosting. Once it has set up, you can gently tap the excess sprinkles off.
- Enjoy!
