Soft and sweet vegan peanut butter blossoms with a healthy twist that make for the perfect treat at a Christmas cookie exchange! These easy vegan peanut butter cookies are naturally egg free, dairy free,, low in sugar, can be gluten free, and topped with a homemade vegan Hershey kiss! A classic Christmas cookie!
If you want to know the way to my heart, it’s easily through peanut butter and chocolate. I mean, in my mind, there’s just no better combo.
I had to make my favorite cookie growing up: the oh so classic peanut butter blossom, but with a few twists (did you expect anything less?).
These chewy, deliciously soft peanut butter cookies with kisses are going to be the star of any cookie exchange or holiday party, you can bet on that 😉 What’s more, these chewy blossoms happen to be naturally vegan, dairy free, gluten free, and low in sugar…oh, and I even teach you how to make the Hershey kisses on top!
Because homemade Hershey kisses are SO much fun! Also a great activity for the kiddos 🙂
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Why these chewy vegan peanut butter blossoms are the best:
I mean, if you couldn’t tell, I have a thing for peanut butter and chocolate. We go wayyyyy back.
But on the topic of these deliciously healthy peanut butter blossoms! These cookies are soft, chewy, and just the right amount of sweet.
You won’t be overwhelmed by the level of sweetness in these cookies. But the cool thing is that there really isn’t much sugar that goes into them, yet you’d never know!
Healthy peanut butter blossom cookies ingredients:
So what goes into these naturally gluten free and vegan peanut butter blossoms?
- Peanut butter
- Flour (I use all-purpose flour, but I’ve also tested this with gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour and cassava flour for gluten free)
- Coconut sugar (or granulated sugar)
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Coconut oil (or vegan butter, softened!)
- Homemade Hershey’s kisses (I like to use either Lily’s Sweets chocolate chips, which are low in sugar and vegan, or Pascha 100% baking chocolate chips, with are no sugar and Paleo/vegan!)
Simple right? Not a lot of ingredients for the most perfect holiday cookie 🙂
How to make homemade vegan Hershey kisses:
You can’t have peanut butter blossoms without the kisses! Now, you don’t need to make your own Hershey’s kisses, but it’s certainly a fun activity for kids.
To do so, I purchased these Hershey kiss molds and a pouch of one of my favorite vegan chocolate chips (I recommend Lily’s Sweets or Pascha Organics for a low sugar option). First, I melted the chocolate chips over the stovetop (you can also microwave them- about 45 seconds, stir, then another 20 seconds, and stir).
Then, I spooned about 1 tablespoon of chocolate into each mold and froze them for about 15 minutes.
I kept these in the freezer while the cookies were cooling too, and then as soon as they were plopped onto the cookies, I stuck them right back into the freezer! Easy peezy!
Tips & Tricks for these easy vegan peanut butter cookies
- Do I have to chill the dough? Nope! These cookies don’t spread much, which is why we use a spoon right before baking to help them flatten.
- How should I store these vegan peanut butter blossoms? Well the cool thing is that since these blossoms are naturally vegan and dairy free, they’re pretty good to stay at room temperature for the day. However, if the cookies are being used for an exchange a few days ahead, I recommend keeping them in the fridge, or even the freezer!
- What if I don’t want to make my own dairy free Hershey’s kisses? Not a problem! It’s easier to purchase them and just one less thing to make, I get that. You can easily purchase dairy free chocolate drops, such as Hu Gems, to place onto the cookies in place of the homemade vegan chocolate kisses!
- How do I make these classic peanut butter blossoms gluten free? I recommend either gluten free 1:1 baking flour (I’ve tested these with Bob’s Red Mill gluten free 1:1 baking flour) and cassava flour, and both work. I personally love cassava flour, but if you don’t have easy access to it, not a problem! You can also swap in your favorite gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour, or if you’re not gluten free, just use all-purpose flour!
- I have a cookie exchange to go to; what should I do? Well, my dear, double the recipe! People loveeeee classic peanut butter blossoms, so the more you have on hand, the better! If you want some help with how to make these cookies for a cookie exchange, check out our 30+ Vegan Christmas Cookies post, which has all of the tips for baking and gifting cookies! Plus they then make a good trade for another one of my favorite cookies…snickerdoodle cookies!
I hope you love these vegan peanut butter blossoms as much as I do! They’re such a great cookie to bring to a cookie exchange (or leave out for Santa 😉 ).
If you end up giving them a go, let me know in the comments below! And as always, I love to see your beautiful recreations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there!
Happy peanut butter blossoms cookie baking!
More vegan Christmas cookie recipes:
The Best VEGAN Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Easy Vegan Gingerbread Cookies
Grain Free Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
Classic Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Soft and chewy vegan peanut butter blossoms with a healthy twist that make for the perfect treat at a cookie exchange! These easy vegan peanut butter cookies are naturally egg free, dairy free, low in sugar, can be gluten free, and topped with a homemade dairy free kiss! A classic Christmas cookie!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour, or gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour or cassava flour if gluten free
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, slightly softened
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 24 homemade Hershey kisses (see note in the post)
- 1/2 cup decorative sparkling sugar or granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a cookie sheet with coconut oil.
- Cream together the peanut butter, applesauce, coconut oil, and vanilla extract.
- Sift in the flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, and sea salt. Fold together, and mix until it forms a thick dough.
- Place the decorative sugar in a small bowl. Use a cookie scoop or roll dough into small dough balls (about 1 tbsp each) onto the cookie sheet. Dip each cookie dough ball into the decorative sugar, coating it all around.
- Use a spoon to lightly press down onto each cookie to lightly flatten the cookies.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Immediately press one Hershey’s kiss into each cookie lightly and immediately place cookies into the freezer so that the kisses doesn’t melt.
- Enjoy!
Notes
To make homemade Hershey’s kisses: melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a bowl and pipe melted chocolate into Hershey kiss mold. Place the mold into the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.
Keywords: vegan peanut butter blossoms, peanut butter blossoms, healthy peanut butter blossoms, vegan peanut butter cookies
Those homemade Hershey’s kisses are so cute! The perfect topping to a perfect cookie! 🙂
★★★★★
Aw I’m so happy!! Enjoy!! They’re my fave!!