Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms are the ultimate Christmas dessert recipe! They are made with 7 ingredients in one bowl and are ready in 20 minutes! Dress them up by making your own holiday shaped chocolates and they’ll be the first to disappear from your cookie tray!
Do you have a cookie recipe that you absolutely have to make every year?! For me, it’s these Flourless Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies! One bite of these beauties instantly transports me back to my childhood. They make me feel warm and fuzzy and it just wouldn’t be Christmas without a batch {or three} of them!
These Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms are made with only 7 ingredients, in one bowl and are ready from start to finish in 20 minutes! They’re perfect for surprise holiday guests, and are guaranteed to be everyone’s favorite variety on your cookie trays! Plus, they are gluten and dairy-free which means that even loved ones with special dietary needs can enjoy every last chocolate and peanut buttery bite!
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms: Method
These are literally the easiest cookies in the world to make!
- Mixing. I mix them by hand but you could use a standing mixer if you like! Just be careful not to over-beat the ingredients! Beat until they are just combined!
- Making Fun Chocolate Shapes. I used these silicone molds (these Christmas molds are also fun with more shapes)! to make fun Christmas shapes out of chocolate! I simply melted 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 1 TBS peanut butter, poured it into the mold and popped it into the freezer to harden. You can use any chocolate variety you love, and skip the peanut butter if you want! But I enjoyed the extra peanut butter flavor {because you can never have too much of that} and the way it made the chocolate a little softer.
- Freeze the chocolate! Wether you use homemade chocolate candies or store bought varieties like the traditional Hershey’s kisses, they absolutely must be frozen if you don’t want a melty chocolate mess! If you make your own chocolates, remove them from the molds and place them in a cold container in the freezer before baking your cookies. Even though they’re frozen they’ll get softer when you handle them. And if you go through the trouble of making cute shapes you want them to keep their form when they come into contact with the warm cookies!
- Freeze the cookies! If you are using fun shapes I recommend placing the warm cookies with the chocolate on them in the freezer immediately to slow the melting process and keep them from losing their shapes! But just keep them in there for 15 or so minutes until the have cooled enough for the chocolate to hold its shape!
- These cookies don’t spread. They will come out of the oven in the shape you put them in! So keep that in mind as you make your balls!
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms: Substitutions
There are only 7 ingredients in these cookies, and I haven’t tried making many substitutions because they are simply perfect as-is! But here are a few possibilities!
- Peanut Butter. Readers have reported that Sunflower Seed Butter works great in this recipe! I do not recommend using almond butter, as I have tried it and it didn’t taste nearly as good as peanut butter. If you’re looking for a paleo blossom cookie check out my Paleo Almond Butter Blossom recipe {which is also vegan}.
- Granulated Sugar. I use Organic Cane Sugar in this recipe! Brown sugar is a delicious substitution in this recipe. I tried coconut sugar as a refined-sugar free variety and I can’t say that I loved it. If you try another sugar option let me know!
- Mini Chocolate Chips. I highly recommend adding mini chocolate chips to this recipe to add extra chocolate flavor throughout your cookies! Feel free to omit if you’d like! I don’t recommend using regular chocolate chips because they might get in the way when you add the chocolate on top!
- Chocolate Candies. See “method” section for how I made these fun Christmas shaped candies If you’d like to use store bought candy that’s obviously totally great too! Hershey Kisses, Dove Dark Chocolate Promises, and peanut butter cups are all great choices.
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Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp sea salt*
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- 12 pieces of chocolate candy* (frozen)
Homemade Chocolate Candies
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 TBS Creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Place chocolate candies in the freezer at least 1 hour before making cookies!
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- In a large bowl, mix together peanut butter and sugar.
- Add egg, vanilla and salt and stir until combined.
- Mix in chocolate chips until evenly combined.
- Roll 2 TBS portions of dough into balls or use a small cookie scoop and on baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 1” apart (these cookies do not spread at all).
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are just barely browned.
- As soon as you remove the pan from the oven, remove chocolate candy from the freezer and gently press one into the center of each cookie.
- Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking pan, then carefully transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- If you choose to make chocolate shapes, you may need to put the cookies on the pan in the freezer to prevent the shapes from melting!
Homemade Chocolate Candies
- In a microwave-safe bowl melt together chocolate chips and peanut butter and stir until combined and smooth.
- Place a silicone mold on a baking sheet and fill it with the prepared chocolate peanut butter mixture.
- Place filled mold in the freezer until chocolate has hardened (about 1-2 hours).
- Once hardened, remove from mold and place back in the freezer until cookies are ready, then use them as the frozen chocolate in the recipe!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Maggie G
I use soy nut butter for nut allergies and turns out to be a great gluten AND nut free blossom!
Anne
Not sure why you don’t recommend using seed butter. I’ve been making these with peanut-free sun butter for years!
Laura
Hey Anne! I just had never tried it before and didn’t want to lead anyone astray! But I will add that sun butter works great! 🙂
Margaret Clegg
Oh my goodness. I LOVE the idea of the chocolate shapes on top! A bit more work, but definitely a show stopper!
Laura
They’re actually super easy to make! Just a mold and some melted chocolate! 😉 But they definitely make them even more fun!
Liz
Ohhmyygoodnesss I totally need these in my life! Those chocolates are too cute! Must try ASAP
Rachel
I’m making these. I love that they’re flourless. Now I just have to find cute little chocolate toppings like yours!
Laura
I just made them myself!
Alisa Fleming
OMG, I was working on a recipe just like this! Great minds bake a like 🙂 These look fabulous Laura!!!
Lorie
Confession: I love the kids cookies like these but have never made them. I would have gone in without freezing the chocolate and it would not have been good. Can’t wait to try!!