Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
The comfort of a classic PB&J sandwich transformed into the perfect cookie! Our Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies are soft, chewy, and bursting with rich peanut butter flavor and pockets of strawberry jam throughout. You don't even need a mixer for this quick and easy recipe, full of nostalgic flavors.
Servings 21 cookies
Ingredients
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (270 grams) creamy natural peanut butter*, very well stirred
- 1 cup (200 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 ¾ cups (349 grams)
bleached all-purpose flour** - ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (240 grams) strawberry jam or jelly, chilled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter in 20-second bursts until melted. Add the peanut butter and stir until well combined. Add in the sugars and whisk together. Set aside to cool until just warm.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- To the butter mixture, add the eggs, milk, and vanilla and whisk very well until thoroughly combined. Add the flour mixture and stir with a sturdy spatula until combined.
- Using a large spring-loaded cookie scoop, form the dough into 3-tablespoon rounds. Roll between your palms to smooth. Using your thumb, create a well in the center. Add 1 heaping teaspoon of preserves and partially seal it with dough. Keep some of the jam peeking out as you lightly roll it back into a ball between your palms. This process is a bit messy, but have fun with it! Place on baking sheet with the visible jam facing up. Repeat with remaining dough balls, spacing about 3 inches apart.
- Bake for about 14 minutes, or until puffed up and lightly brown at the edges.
- Let cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before removing them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to two days. The longer they sit, the softer they’ll become.
Notes
*I recommend using natural peanut butter, as it will yield a much bolder peanut butter flavor. Be sure to stir it very well, so there are no oily pockets or dry bits, for best results. Conventional peanut butter (Skippy and Jif) works just fine too.
**It's important to use bleached all-purpose flour in this recipe. Unbleached flour will cause the dough to be dry and crumbly. Also, be sure to measure your flour correctly. More info on this in the Sprinkle of Science tip box, above the recipe. We haven't tested this, but if you only have unbleached flour, try using slightly less flour (a tablespoon or two) to achieve a less dry, crumbly texture. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!