Hello readers and bakers! (And I promise you don’t have to be a skilled baker to make these fun cookies!) I’m certainly not an experienced baker myself, but these are easy and yummy, and if you’re looking for a fun indoor activity for this weird, weird summer (or for any time, really) take a page out of Anna and Paisley’s book and bake some Peanut Butter and Jelly cookies!
I loathe blog posts that open with paragraphs upon paragraphs of inspiration and process and photos before you actually get to the recipe, so fear not, this post will get right to the ingredients list and steps! Then you can read all the anecdotal stuff and look at the pretty pictures if you wish!
Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies (modified from my Aunt Marge’s famous Peanut Butter Blossoms recipe)
1/2 C unsalted butter 1/2 C creamy peanut butter 1/2 C granulated sugar 1/2 firmly packed light brown sugar 1 large egg 2 T milk 1 t vanilla extract 1 3/4 C flour 1 t baking soda 1/2 t salt assorted jams, jellies, and/or preserves additional granulated sugar for step 5!
Makes 4 dozen.
Steps:
In I Killed Zoe Spanos, Anna and her eight-year-old nannying charge Paisley bake Peanut Butter and Jelly cookies to take around to their neighbors in Herron Mills Village. The cookies turn out to be a bit more than just a fun rainy day activity–but you’ll have to read the book to get the full scoop! I just baked a batch to bring to my launch party tonight. (For this launch, I’m packaging the cookies on small plastic-wrapped paper plates so bookstore staff and the small group of physically distanced in-person attendees can bring them home as party favors, since we’ll be wearing masks during the event, and eating + masks don’t pair well. Gotta keep things safe during covid!)
Here’s a little peek behind the scenes at the baking fun in my home kitchen!
Gather your ingredients!
Cream together butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar (using a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl + hand mixer).
Add egg, milk, and vanilla and beat well.
In a separate small bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt). Add dry ingredients to creamed ingredients by 1/4 cupfulls and mix well.
Shape dough into 4 dozen balls and roll in sugar.
Place one dozen sugar-coated balls on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 7 minutes.
Remove cookies from oven and use the round end of a tablespoon to press indents into the center of each cookie. They should be puffy and not quite baked through yet. Then return to oven for 2 more minutes baking time.
While cookies are back in the oven, place the first variety of jelly/jam/preserves you’re using in a small saucepan on the stove and heat at low heat for about a minute, stirring, just until jam is loosened. How much jam you’ll need depends on how many varieties you are using for your cookies. (I used about 6-8 ounces of each of 2 types of preserves to make 4 dozen cookies.)
Remove cookies from oven and use the round end of your tablespoon to press those indents back down (they will likely have puffed up a bit back in the oven). Then spoon your jam into the center of each cookie to fill the indentations! Return to oven for 2 minutes longer.
Remove and set cookies on cooling rack. Make sure you let your cookies cool before tasting so you don’t burn your tongue on the hot jam!
Cookies prepped and ready to go for the I Killed Zoe Spanos launch party at Riverstone Books in Pittsburgh!