PB&J: Not Just a Sandwich

Well folks? Spring break is here! Woohooo!

It started a little rough because I had to see one of my students go through a difficult situation and it was truly heart breaking. But, he is one tough and courageous young man and is hanging in while some things are being placed in motion to help him out. Ugh! The nausea I have felt all weekend. As I told my mom, now I know what she means when she says she worries about me all the time.

I am also so excited. It?s a weird combo to be balancing. But, my mom is here! She came to visit for a couple of days and I am excited to have girl-time. And, it is apropos that she is here at the same time I made Jam-Filled Peanut Butter Cookies. First, she?s the one who made my lunches growing up (as described below) and she was able to try the cookies when she got to my house. Pretty cool.

Now, lunches growing up...

I don?t know which lunch sandwich I liked better growing up, cream cheese and jelly or peanut butter and jelly. Call me goofy, but I loved how the bread kind of mushed into with the jelly, got soft, and then stuck to the roof of your mouth.

While I do sneak one in once in a blue moon, neither sandwich makes it in my lunch box very often. So, when I saw these Jam-Filled Peanut Butter Cookies on one of my favorite sites, Culinate, I thought, ?Why didn?t I think of that?? How fun! I knew they were a must-try.

I tried different ways to seal the cookies and am still not convinced I know how I will complete the task next time around. But as far as the cookie? Holy moly! They are truly peanut butter and jelly cookies. My favorite sandwich as a dessert? I am sold!

Jam-Filled Peanut Butter Cookies
From the book Desserts by the Yard by Sherry Yard via Culinate

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup grape jelly (I used Sarabeth?s Blueberry Cherry Preserves)

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Beat in the peanut butter. Scrape down the bowl. Add the egg, and beat in. Beat in the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Dust an approximately 12-by-17-inch sheet of parchment paper with flour, place the dough on it, and dust the top of the dough. Top with another sheet of parchment and roll out to about ¼-inch thickness. Place with the parchment on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Place racks in the middle and upper third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper. Remove the top sheet of parchment from the dough, and using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut 3-inch circles of dough. (I used a 2-inch square cutter.)

Top 1 circle with 1 tsp. of the jelly

and cover with another circle.

Pinch the edges together and place on one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining circles, placing the cookies 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and from front to back, and bake for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the cookies are nicely browned. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets, on racks. Do not handle the cookies until cool ? they?re very crumbly and could easily fall apart. (The cookies can be stored airtight for 2 days.)

Culinate editor?s notes: You can, of course, use any kind of jam or jelly you like, not just grape jelly. For cutting out the cookie circles, you may want to use a smaller cookie cutter or juice glass that?s about 1 ½ inches in diameter. And for the leftover cookie dough, try turning it into simple thumbprint cookies: small circles of dough with thumbprint impressions in the centers, filled with small dabs of jam just before baking.

Yum...Yum...Yum! PBJ, a wonderful thing...

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A special thanks to Helen...Helen asked me to be her guest blogger this week. Helen is a such special girl, I truly enjoyed writing the post, and am honored I was able to contribute to her blog.

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Deadline - April 29th