Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Peanut Butter and Jelly. Is there a more comforting or nostalgic sweet-salty combination out there? Still, at age 26, I get regular cravings for PB&J sandwiches, especially on white bread (as opposed to the sprouted whole grain stuff I usually eat). They remind me of elementary school lunches and simpler times. And they taste good. Obviously. As a connoisseur of peanut butter and jelly desserts, I’ve long been searching for a recipe that would combine peanut butter and jelly in cookie form, but all of them were never quite right. Either the cookie itself was too crumbly (as peanut butter cookies can often be), or the jelly flavor just wasn’t there at the forefront enough. What I was ultimately looking for was a soft, chewy cookie (think about your favorite chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe, because that’s where I’m going with this), and even jelly distribution. I eventually came up with a peanut butter cookie recipe that would—instead of the traditionally dry, crumbly peanut butter cookie texture—have that slight chew that one can only get from brown sugar. It would also have peanut butter chips, for an added peanutty punch and creaminess. And finally, there would be jelly (jam works too) swirled into the top. I think this peanut butter and jelly cookies recipe is pretty much perfect, but try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Recipe Instructions

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, blend the sugars and butter until you get a grainy consistency. Add the eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla, and beat until fluffy.   On low speed, add the flour mixture and peanut butter chips, and mix until barely combined. Fold the dough together a bit with a spatula, and drop heaping tablespoons onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Add a small spoonful of jam on top of each cookie… And use a toothpick to swirl the jam into the dough. You can also dot the tops of the cookies with extra peanut butter chips, if desired.  Bake each batch for 18 to 20 minutes, or just until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned.