I’ve been looking forward to writing you all a little note about these No Shortening Peanut Butter Blossoms just as soon as I got the boys off to school and had a quiet moment to sit down. And that moment has come… Christmas music playing (this is the coziest Christmas music ever) and coffee cup in hand so here we go!
Well, surely these cookies are a classic and a traditional part of the Christmas cookie platter for many families. I love them too, but I really wanted to see if I could make them with coconut oil instead of shortening. If there’s one thing I am not afraid of, it’s fat. Take a peek in my fridge at any time and you will find whole milk, whole milk Greek yogurt, pounds of butter, and a carton of heavy cream. I bake and cook with them all the time. But one thing I am afraid of is shortening. I really try not to bake with it, but there are some classics that call for it, and we really just don’t want to mess with a good thing, right?
I’ve played with a lot of recipes, subbing coconut oil for various fats, and it can be a little tricky because it’s not always a 1:1 ratio swap. In this case, I subbed the same amount of coconut oil for the shortening in the recipe my family has always used, and then played with the amount of flour to get them just right. I love how these Peanut Butter Blossoms are super puffy! They just must hug that Hershey’s kiss for all they are worth, and a flat cookie just won’t do it. So I found the perfect balance that makes a nice stiff dough so the cookies will be puffy without being too crumbly.
Be careful not to over bake, these should be nice and soft. Thanks for the chat friends. Now go make some Peanut Butter Blossoms and share the love!
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No Shortening Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 3 dozen 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
That classic Christmas cookie we love, made with coconut oil instead of shortening!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, in liquid form
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 36 Hershey’s Kisses, unwrapped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream oil, sugars, and peanut butter together until smooth. Add egg, vanilla extract, and milk and mix.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt and baking soda.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until a smooth dough forms.
- Scoop the dough into 1 inch balls, and place on a baking sheet. I like to line my baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat liners.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes, and then remove from the oven and press a Hershey’s Kiss on top. Allow the cookies to cool for 3-5 minutes on the cookie sheet, and then transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes
*** If you find that your dough is crumbly, just add a little more milk by the tablespoon until your dough holds together.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cookie
- Calories: 119
- Sugar: 6.4g
- Sodium: 97mg
- Fat: 7.2g
- Saturated Fat: 3.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 12g
- Fiber: 0.6g
- Protein: 2.3g
- Cholesterol: 6.3mg
edee says
Couldn’t you use butter instead of lard or coconut oil?
Julie says
I’m sure there are recipes that use butter also. I just wanted to try with coconut oil 🙂
Anita Ruiz says
Thank you,, thank you for giving us a recipe that uses healthy coconut oil instead of shortening! I was actually on Pinterest looking for this recipe that didn’t use shortening, so I’m very excited to try it!
Julie says
Hope you enjoy!!!
Gail says
Can you melt solid coconut oil and substitute for liquid oil?
Julie says
Yes, if your coconut oil is solid, melt to measure. My coconut oil is a soft solid right now, but it all depends on the temperature of your kitchen.
Ana says
How much butter should I use if I don’t use coconut? And can u taste the coconut?
Dusty says
We didn’t have shortening and I didn’t want to buy some just to make these cookies. But we always have coconut oil. So I decided to give this recipe a shot. They turned out amazing. You couldn’t tell the difference. Even used almost nothing but fresh ground peanut butter and it didn’t diminish the flavor by losing that bit of added sugar.
Julie says
So happy to hear that Dusty! Good to know about the homemade peanut butter too.
Pat says
Loved these cookies…much better than the tried and true ones I have made fo years. Made three batches and each one turned out perfectly! I have been trying to cook more with coconut oil. Is there a secret for substituting coconut oil for butter. I have been making my banana bread recipe and replacing the butter with coconut oil. It turns out very tasty but the outer edges get too crispy. Any hints you can offer?
Ann says
These are nice and soft but I found the coconut taste overwhelmed the peanut butter flavor. Also, the chocolate kisses melted when I left them on the cookie sheet for a few minutes. If you’re used to baking with coconut oil, these would be a winner.