The Delicious Origin Story Of Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

In the 1950s, Freda Smith of Gibsonburg, Ohio was baking cookies for her grandchildren when she realized she was out of chocolate chips for the recipe. After improvising with Hershey's Kisses from her pantry, pressing a chocolate candy on top of each warm peanut butter cookie, she shared the creation with her family. Smith entered the Pillsbury Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest each year, and added this recipe to her 1957 submission on a whim. These cookies caught the judges' attention, and Pillsbury flew her to Beverley Hills, California to compete with the top 100 amateur bakers in the U.S. The competition was hosted in California for the first time (it had been hosted in the New York Waldorf Hotel since the beginning), and it was sponsored by General Electric, who brought then-actor Ronald Reagan to host the event.

Smith submitted the cookies as black-eyed Susan cookies — the crinkled texture and the dark center reminded her of the flower — and Pillsbury soon renamed them peanut butter blossoms. The 1957 win wasn't meant to be. A baker named Gerda Roderer won first place for her accordion treats, a banana-shaped cookie from Alsace-Lorraine, earning Roderer the grand prize and $25,000 (money Smith had reportedly hoped to use to remodel her house). Smith still came home as the Senior Winner of the Grand National. She was awarded a new range from General Electric, a new mixer, and $100, and the whole town of Gibsonburg celebrated her win with a gala.

This cookie had both Pillsbury and Hershey's Chocolate behind it, and it was soon a widespread family favorite. Smith's recipe was published in the "9th Grand National Cookbook," and later collections such as "Pillsbury's Best Butter Cookbook" and "Picnics and Potlucks." Since the winning recipes were printed and distributed inside — later, printed on — bags of Pillsbury's Best flour, her recipe circulated across the nation. The Vice President of Hershey's took notice of the recipe, and the chocolate company began printing it on the back of each bag of Hershey's Kisses. It has the benefit of being particularly child-friendly, since the combination of ingredients is simple, and the peanut butter cookies are cooling out of the oven by the time they need chocolate kiss toppers. In 1965, two years after Smith passed away, her daughter JoAnne Lytle and granddaughter Kay Lytle Walter took part in a commercial for Pillsbury demonstrating how to make the beloved family recipe.

In 1999, Smith's peanut butter blossoms were inducted into The Smithsonian as one of 10 highlights from the Pillsbury Bake-Off. Her recipe remains a popular holiday cookie staple. Today Hershey's suggests twists on Smith's clever idea by using a coconut macaroon base or embellishing chocolate cookies with candy cane Kisses. The dough is convenient to refrigerate, though this storage method risks drying out your cookies — rescue them before your peanut butter blossoms fall apart, or include 2 tablespoons of milk to make the dough smooth and pliable.