The Story Behind the Iconic Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie

A couple of months ago, I was writing content for a food website. I no longer write for them but a couple of pieces that I had already worked on still remain unpublished. So, I’m sharing them on my blog for your benefit.

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Most Americans would consider the humble spread known as peanut butter, an all-round pantry staple that can also be easily made at home. From slathering it on sandwiches along with jelly, to adding it to smoothies, there are a number of things you can do with peanut butter that you may not even have known about. One thing, however, that most people enjoy and recreate at home are the easy to make and delicious peanut butter cookies.

Come Christmastime, this simple cookie is often elevated to the tasty and iconic treat known as the peanut butter blossom. All it takes to make this delightful dessert is topping the original cookie with a Hershey’s Kisses chocolate. The end result is a pretty looking confection that offers the delicious combination of chocolate and peanut butter. You may have been enjoying these cookies for as far back as you can remember, but do you know their origin story? It all began in 1957 when an enterprising home baker took matters in her own hands.

The story of how peanut butter blossom cookies came about

Though it may seem as if peanut butter blossom cookies are the handiwork of a very talented professional chef or baker on the basis of the way they look and taste, the reality is different. These little cookies were invented quite by accident. A home baker named Freda Smith from Gibsonburg, Ohio, had just baked a fresh batch of peanut butter cookies for her grandsons, when she realised that she was out of chocolate chips. Digging through her pantry, she decided to use Hershey’s Kisses candies as a substitute, hoping perhaps that they would melt and perform a similar function to the chocolate chips.

That didn’t happen but when the Kisses were placed on top of the soft and freshly baked cookie, they made interesting cracks and curls in the cookie, giving it a flower-like appearance. Immensely pleased with the results, Smith decided to enter this unique take on peanut butter cookies to the Pillsbury’s Bake-Off competition in the year 1957. Sadly, she didn’t win, but her unique recipe has stood the test of time and made her work go down in history as a baking legend!

The most popular cookie ever?

This ordinary origin story doesn’t let on how extraordinarily popular the peanut butter blossom cookies would eventually become. In fact, their popularity also led to their being included in the Pillsbury Bake-Off Hall of Fame in 1999, enduring over decades. This could be because the aesthetics of the cookie and the ease of baking it, made it ideal for gifting and for serving on special occasions. Exactly when it leaped to being a Christmas time staple is a bit unclear, but it seems to go back a long way.

If you too are planning to make your peanut butter blossom cookies, do keep certain things in mind. Don’t feel restricted to using only traditional Hershey’s Chocolate Kisses – other kinds of Kisses or candies also work. Using sparkling sugar to roll the dough balls in adds an interesting sheen to the final product. Flat aluminium sheets are your best bet for evenly baked cookies. Finally, when the cookies are ready, get the family together for the best part – topping them up with Kisses!

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This post is part of #BlogchatterFoodFest hosted by BlogChatter.

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**Copyright in pictures and content belongs to nooranandchawla.com and cannot be republished or repurposed without express permission of the author. As I am a copyright lawyer by profession, infringement of any kind will invite strict legal action.

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This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’  hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.