Description
These peanut butter jam thumbprints combine extra soft peanut butter cookies, salty peanuts, and a sweet jam filling. Use your favorite jelly flavor like strawberry, grape, or raspberry. Chilling this cookie dough is imperative, so make sure you follow the recipe closely.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cups (156g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (195g) creamy peanut butter*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup (110g) finely chopped salted peanuts*
- 6 Tablespoons (120g) jam*
Peanut Butter White Chocolate Drizzle
- one 4-ounce quality white chocolate bar (113g), finely chopped*
- 1 heaping Tablespoon creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. On medium-high speed, beat in the peanut butter and vanilla until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Dough will be thick and soft. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour (and up to 2-3 days) in the refrigerator.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll into balls, 1 scant Tablespoon (5/8 ounce or 18g) of dough each. Roll each ball into crushed peanuts. Indent your thumb or the bottom end of a silicone spatula or wooden spoon into the center of each dough ball to make a crevice. Place each on 1 or 2 large plates or a lined large baking sheet. Loosely cover the dough balls and chill for 2 hours (and up to 2 days).
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Remove dough balls from the refrigerator and arrange on the baking sheets 3 inches apart. Spoon heaping 1/2 teaspoon of jam into each indent.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides. The jam won’t look completely set, but will set as the cookies cool. Mine usually take the full 13 minutes.
- Remove from the oven. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Optional White Chocolate Drizzle: You can melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. If using the microwave: place the chopped white chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Melt in 20 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Stir in peanut butter and drizzle lightly over cookies. Allow the drizzle to set completely at room temperature for about 30 minutes or in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Up to 2 days in step 3 and up to 2 days when chilling again in step 4. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then roll in peanuts, make an indent into each, and continue with step 5. Baked cookies, with jam filling and with or without drizzle topping, freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Cooling Rack | Double Boiler (optional for melting chocolate) | Squeeze Bottle (optional for drizzling chocolate)
- Peanut Butter: It’s best to use a processed peanut butter like Jif creamy or Skippy creamy. I do not suggest using natural style, oily peanut butter. Crunchy peanut butter adds peanut chunks as well as a more crumbly texture. I recommend using creamy in this recipe.
- Peanuts: For a salty/sweet cookie, I recommend using roasted salted peanuts. If desired, you can use unsalted or raw (not roasted) peanuts. You can skip the crushed peanut coating if desired, too.
- Jam: Use any jam, jelly, or preserves you enjoy with peanut butter. I usually use strawberry jelly and/or raspberry preserves, whichever I have on hand.
- Optional White Chocolate Drizzle: For the best results, use a 4 ounce “baking chocolate” bar found in the baking aisle. I prefer Bakers or Ghirardelli brands. Do not use white chocolate chips for the drizzle, as they contain stabilizers preventing them from melting into the proper consistency.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.