First, I know chocolate is supposed to be “the best” with PB, but give me raspberry jam and peanut butter any time of day, any day of the year. (No offense peanut butter brownies and peanut butter filled brownie cookies.) And second, this recipe is from my cookbook Sally’s Cookie Addiction! Easily one of the best cookies in the book, these peanut butter & jelly thumbprint cookies are extra soft with mega peanut butter flavor. Have you tried them yet? I didn’t stray from the recipe much, but I did add a white chocolate peanut butter drizzle because why not… 😉
Why You’ll Love These Peanut Butter Jam Thumbprints
Today’s recipe is my super soft peanut butter cookies recipe only with jam in the center. (Note that the plain version uses slightly more flour.) They’re melt-in-your-mouth soft and what I use when making peanut butter blossoms, and peanut butter chocolate swirl cookies, too. Here’s why you’ll love them:
Extremely soft Irresistible peanut butter flavor Sweet jam filling Salty crushed peanuts Peanut butter white chocolate topping that sets
How to Make Peanut Butter Jam Thumbprints
Chill the Cookie Dough for 3 Hours
I wrote a post on how to prevent cookies from spreading. If you have trouble with your cookies spreading, I highly recommend reviewing it. My #1 tip is to chill the cookie dough. This is imperative with many of my cookie recipes, like chocolate chip cookies. Since this cookie dough (and the baked cookies) is so soft, you actually need to chill the cookie dough twice. It sounds more dreadful than it actually is. 3 hours total chill time isn’t so bad, it’s just that you need to break it up. I’ve tested this cookie recipe numerous times, both when I was writing my manuscript and again last month. At least three hours of chilling is the ONLY WAY to guarantee your beautiful PB&J thumbprint cookies hold their shape. If you’re making multiple batches of Christmas cookies this season, you can use this time to make a quick no-chill recipe like shortbread cookies or spritz cookies.
Best Peanut Butter & Jam to Use
PB: The best peanut butter to use is processed peanut butter, Jif or Skippy are my preferred brands for baking, just like when you make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. It’s dessert, you’re allowed to use the processed stuff. Natural-style is my choice for eating, but it doesn’t produce the same type of cookie as its processed counterpart. Natural peanut butter lends dry, crumbly cookies. Jam: No rules here! Use your favorite flavor jam, jelly, or preserves. I usually use raspberry preserves and/or strawberry jelly because we always have both on hand. Anything goes—grape, blueberry, blackberry, peach, you name it.
Peanut Butter White Chocolate Topping
This is totally optional, but if you want to dress up your peanut butter jam thumbprints, add a drizzle of peanut butter white chocolate. Melt 4 ounces of pure white chocolate, then stir in a heaping Tablespoon of creamy peanut butter. Drizzle all over the cookies. I always use a squeeze bottle for drizzling, but a spoon or fork works, too. ‘Tis the season to be… jelly! This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
Lemon Thumbprint Cookies Peanut Butter Snickerdoodles Christmas Sugar Cookies Hot Cocoa Cookies Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches
and here are my top 10 cookie baking tools if you’re looking for recommendations!
