Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Don’t forget the milk for these sandwich inspired peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookies! Hands down the peanut butter and jelly sandwich is still one of my favorites. A thick and creamy layer of peanut butter meets a sweet fruit jam sandwiched between two fluffy slices of bread, who needs fancy meats and cheeses with a combo like that. Simple, sweet and delicious!

These soft peanut butter cookies capture that feeling with a sweet strawberry jam center melding together with each bite, making that perfect peanut butter and jelly combination.

• 1 and 1/4 cup of all- purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
• 1/2 cup of light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup of creamy peanut butter 
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• a few tablespoons  of your favorite jam (I used strawberry jam for this batch) 

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes. Add the peanut butter and mix until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

With 30 minutes left on the chill time for the dough preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Use a 1 tablespoon sized cookie scoop. Shape the dough into a ball and roll it into a shallow dish with some granulated sugar. Place the cookies about two inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Discard any leftover sugar used for rolling the cookies.

Bake the cookies for 12 -16 minutes and the cookies are golden brown, rotating halfway through. Right after the cookies come out of the oven, make an indent in the center of each cookie using a clean 1 teaspoon measuring spoon. Use caution as the cookies will be very hot. Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to fully cool.

Once the cookies have cooled fill the center with your favorite jam and enjoy! I used a heaping 1/4 teaspoon of jam for each cookie.