Healthy Peanut Butter Blossoms

These healthy peanut butter blossoms are a healthier take on the original cookie with a Hershey kiss in the middle, but these are made gluten free, vegan and without any refined sugar! They are made with almond flour, natural peanut butter, and maple syrup.

An Easy Healthy Holiday Cookie Recipe

I love baking. But I really love baking cookies that use fresh, whole ingredients. Lots of my recipes are paleo because they use ingredients that are not very processed.

In December 2018, I participated in something called “Cookie Week.” Each day of the week, I posted a new cookie recipe that is perfect for the holidays.

We all like having options for dessert, right? So all you need to do is grab a grocery list, write down what you need to buy, head to the grocery store and get to baking!!

If you love peanut butter and chocolate as much as I do, you have to bake my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free) too.

Holiday Cookie Week Recipes

Here are the other cookie recipes I posted during cookie week in December 2018. I hope you click around and find some new recipes to try.

• Paleo Double Chocolate Mint Cookies
• Paleo Snickerdoodle Cookies
• Healthy Chocolate Truffles

HEALTHY PEANUT BUTTER BLOSSOMS

Yup, I did it. I took one of the most classic Christmas cookies and turned it into a healthier version, and not just any version…one with an actual healthier Hershey kiss in the middle.

I’ve seen several versions of these healthier peanut butter blossoms online, but never any that actually attempted to recreate the Hershey kiss, so I knew I wanted mine to try and do that because that’s what makes it an authentic peanut butter blossom, right?

How I Made My Own Chocolate Kisses

It took a few different tries and a few different mixture of chocolates to create the ultimate center that would stack up and harden like a regular kiss.

If you just use regular melted chocolate, it won’t firm up enough to actually hold shape. You need it to be thick and also the right temperature, but lucky for you guys I did all of that guesswork and found the perfect way to make a Hershey kiss!

This is what I used in my chocolate center:

• Peanut butter
• Coconut Oil
• Chocolate chips
• Cocoa Powder

It’s actually a lot simpler than you think and mine have a slightly peanut butter-y taste to them 🙂

Growing up, my mom would always go to a cookie exchange and I was always sooo excited for when she got home so I could rummage through all of the cookies and count how many peanut butter blossoms she would get. She would always let me eat one or two before she made me put away all of the cookies until Christmas! The torture.

My Favorite Christmas Cookies from Cookie Exchanges

She went to this cookie exchange for ten years in a row and many of the ladies would bring the same cookies over and over again, so I got to know what to expect.

One lady made these oatmeal raisin chocolate chip (only time oatmeal raisin cookies are acceptable is if they have chocolate chips too) with a white chocolate and milk chocolate drizzle on top. I was obsessed.

Other cookies included rugelach, peppermint cookies, biscotti, mexican wedding cookies, lemon ricotta cookies, chocolate covered ritz crackers with peanut butter, oreo truffles, and so many more. With over 20 ladies in attendance, there were always some really delicious cookies.

But I specifically remember the peanut butter blossoms and would even love when they placed a mini Reeses inside instead of a Hershey kiss…that was delicious.

So these healthy Peanut Butter Blossoms are a treat because they combine my favorite cookie with nutrient dense ingredients. I call that a win-win situation if you ask me.

If you’re paleo feel free to replace the peanut butter with almond butter in this recipe! Or any other type of nut butter actually.

Enjoy these healthy peanut butter blossoms!!

How to Make Vegan Peanut Butter Blossoms

It’s really easy to make these vegan cookies. All you need to do is use dairy-free chocolate chips. This recipe doesn’t use any butter or milk or eggs.

Nut-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms

I know, that doesn’t sound right. If you want to make peanut butter blossoms but you have a nut allergy, use sunbutter instead. It’s the same texture and still has the perfect flavor.

Keto Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

These aren’t keto yet. The chocolate chips and maple syrup automatically disqualify them for low-carb. But if you want to make keto peanut butter blossoms, you have to make a few swaps.

Use monk fruit sweetener or erythritol instead of maple syrup. Melt sugar-free chocolate chips. Those two swaps will cut out a lot of carbs.

★★★★★ 5 from 20 reviews

Healthy Peanut Butter Blossoms

These healthy peanut butter blossoms are a healthier take on the original cookie with a Hershey kiss in the middle, but these are made gluten free, vegan and without any refined sugar! They are made with almond flour, natural peanut butter, and maple syrup.

Prep: 30Cook: 10Total: 40 minutes

Yield 14 cookies 1x

1x2x3x

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Ingredients

Cookie

• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter, a drippy brand like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 14 Hershey Kisses

OR – instead of Hershey Kiss

Chocolate Kiss

• 2 Tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (dairy-free if necessary)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl, mix peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla until well combined.
3. In a large bowl, mix almond flour, baking soda and salt.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until fully mixed.
5. Scoop out dough and roll into balls.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Use your finger or the back of a wooden spoon to press down centers after coming out of oven. Or just add a hershey kiss.
7. Let cool on wire rack.
8. In a microwave safe dish, add peanut butter, coconut oil and chocolate chips. Microwave in increments of 30 seconds until completely melted, stirring after each time.
9. Once completely melted, stir in cocoa powder.
10. Pour into ziplock bag (sandwich size or larger) and store in fridge for 20 minutes. You don’t want it to turn solid, but instead cool down and get thick enough to pipe onto cookies. You may need to chill it longer.
11. Once cookies have COMPLETELY cooled, cut little piece off the corner of the ziplock baggie and pipe chocolate mixture into center in the shape of Hershey Kiss.
12. Let set completely before storing.
13. Store on counter in airtight container.

Author: Erin MorrisseyCategory: Dessert, vegan, gluten-free