peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookies (2024)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies taste like your childhood favorite peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, in sophisticated cookie form! The peanut butter cookies are classic – soft, and thick – with raspberry preserve filled centers. These cookies require no chill time, but can also be prepped ahead. They’ll be a hit everywhere you take them!

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This is the best way to enjoy your favorite childhood sandwich! Easy peanut butter cookies are soft baked with raspberry preserves in the center.

Why you’ll love these Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies:

• Soft, Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies – These are soft, thick peanut butter cookies – basically the stuff of childhood nostalgia dreams!
• Raspberry Preserves – Delicious raspberry preserves fill the center of these cookies.
• No Chill – This dough doesn’t require any chilling, but can be stored in the fridge if needed.

Ingredient Overview:

• Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
• Raspberry Preserves – Use raspberry preserves, not raspberry jam, as I’ve found that the preserves are more flavorful, at least when it comes to raspberries.
• All-purpose flour – Spoon & level your flour for best results. Scooping the measuring cup directly in will lead to too much flour. Or use a scale, and weigh 135 grams of all-purpose flour per cup.

Ingredient Substitutions:

• Dairy-free – Use your favorite dairy-free butter sticks to make this recipe dairy-free.
• Different Jam – You can use other flavors of preserves or jam if you prefer – like strawberry jam!

How to Make this Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookie Recipe Step-by-Step:

Step 1: Make the Cookie Dough. In a large or medium bowl, cream together the butter and peanut butter, then mix in the sugars. Mix in your eggs and vanilla then add the dry ingredients last, mixing until a cohesive dough forms.

Step 2: Shape & Fill the Cookie Dough Balls. Roll balls about 1 and 1/2 tbsp (40 grams) in size. Roll each ball in granulated sugar, then press the classic peanut butter cookie criss cross design on top of each dough ball with a fork. (Notice that I forgot to roll the balls pictured below in the sugar this time, haha).

Press down into the center of the cookie lightly with a teaspoon to make an indent. Fill with the raspberry preserves.

Step 3: Bake the Cookies. Bake the cookies as directed in the recipe card below for best results. Cool on a wire rack.

Once your PB&J Cookies are done, let them cool for a bit, then dig in! I like these perfectly soft and chewy cookies with a tall glass of cold milk – such a classic combo! These are the perfect cookies to add to your holiday cookie plates this year – they’ve become one of our favorites over the past few year and are the best peanut butter cookies! I know these delicious cookies will quickly become your new favorite, too.

Expert Success Tips:

• Dough Chilling- I find that these don’t need chill time, but they do hold their shapes just a bit better if you chill them first. It’s completely up to you! I usually pop one pan in the oven, and stick the second in the fridge while the first bakes.
• Don’t Over Fill – 1 tsp jam may not sound like much, but it’s the right amount for a cookie this size. If you add more, the cookie may not turn out. You can always dollop a bit more on top of the baked, cooled cookies.

FAQs:

Recipe Variations:

• Jam – Try different flavors of fruit preserves, if desired!
• Nut Butter – If you can’t have nut butter, something like sun butter should work in these cookies, although I to give the disclaimer that I haven’t tried it myself.

Serving + Storing this Recipe:

Enjoy these peanut butter thumbprint cookies while they’re warm, or once they’ve cooled a bit. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Special Tools:

• Baking Sheets– These are my favoritecookie sheets!
• Silicone Baking Mat– This is my favoritesilicone baking mat. It reduces waste because it’s washable!

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More Cookie Recipes to Love:

• Bakery-Style Peanut Butter Chip Chocolate Cookies
• Blueberry Lemon Cookies
• Funfetti Cake Batter Cookies
• Cherry Pie Cookies
• Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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