These are the best peanut butter and jelly cookies! These chewy peanut butter cookies are easy to make, full of peanut butter flavor and filled with peanut butter ganache and homemade strawberry jam. They might just be better than a PB&J sandwich.
If you're looking for other chewy cookies, check out my chewy chocolate chip cookies, chewy pumpkin cookies, chewy peanut butter cookies, brownie cookies or carrot cake cookies!
Why You'll Love these Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
They're filled with peanut butter ganache and strawberry jam. Seriously chef's kiss on this combo.
They're chewy peanut butter cookies. These delicious cookies have the perfect texture.
They taste just like classic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. These are the classic sandwich in cookie form!
Simple Ingredients for PB&J Cookies
- Butter- make sure it's softened
- Brown Sugar- mostly brown sugar is used to make these cookies extra chewy
- Granulated White Sugar- used along side the brown sugar to sweeten these cookies
- Egg Yolks- make sure they're room temperature
- Vanilla- I always recommend vanilla bean paste for the best flavor, but vanilla extract works just as well
- Creamy Peanut Butter- I recommend using creamy Jif or something similar and NOT natural peanut butter. Natural peanut butter has too much oil and can ruin the texture of these cookies
- Flour- all-purpose flour gives these cookies the best chew
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder- help the cookies to rise slightly
- Salt- helps bring out all the flavors
- Strawberries- used to make the homemade strawberry jam
- Peanut Butter Chips- used to make the delicious peanut butter ganache
- Heavy Cream- used in the peanut butter ganache
Step by Step Instructions
STEP ONE: Puree the strawberries in a food processor, then transfer them to a large pot. Mix in the sugar and vanilla. Let the strawberry puree cook over medium low heat for 20-25 minutes until it has thickened to a jam like consistency and measures out to just about 1 cup. Remove from the heat and allow it to completely cool.
STEP TWO: Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a medium bowl. Mix until combined then set aside the dry ingredients.
STEP THREE: To a large bowl add the softened butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Cream together with an electric mixer on high speed for 1-2 minutes. (You can also use a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment.)
STEP FOUR: Then add in the egg yolks and vanilla. Mix on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
STEP FIVE: Next add in the peanut butter and mix on medium speed until smooth.
STEP SIX: Add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined.
STEP SEVEN: Scoop the cookie dough into 16 portions with a 2 tablespoon capacity cookie scoop. Roll each into a ball and press with a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon to make an indent. Chill the dough for one hour.
STEP EIGHT: Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Bake the cookies six at a time. After baking press the center of each cookie with a ¼ cup measuring cup to make the indent deeper. Scoot a large circular cookie cutter around the cookies to give them a more circular shape. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for five minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to completely cool.
STEP NINE: While the cookies cool make the peanut butter ganache by melting the peanut butter chips and heavy cream together in a double boiler over medium heat. Let the mixture cool to room temperature. Then whip it with an electric mixer on high speed until it is light in color and fluffy.
STEP TEN: When the cookies are completely cooled, fill the center of each cookie with a heaping one teaspoon of peanut butter ganache and heaping one teaspoon of strawberry jam. Drizzle peanut butter over the top and chopped peanuts and serve!
FAQs
Can I use store bought jam? Yes! Feel free to use your favorite jelly or jam. You can even use different jams like raspberry, blackberry or blueberry if you wish!
Does the dough really need to be chilled? Yes, it does. This helps the cookies to keep their shape better while they bake.
How do I store these cookies? Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days.
Pro Tips
For best results, measure your flour properly. This is always my #1 baking tip. Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour. This will always lead to using too much flour. Instead, sprinkle spoonfuls of flour into your measuring cup and swipe excess flour off with the back of a knife. Or better yet, weigh your flour. 1 cup of flour equals 125 grams.
Use creamy Jif peanut butter or something similar. It's tempting to want to use natural peanut butter, or even crunchy peanut butter, but in this case stick with creamy classic Jif for the best peanut butter cookies.
When the cookies are straight out of the oven, scoot a large circular cookie cutter around them. This will help give the cookies a perfect circular shape!
If you make these cookies please leave a review, it's so helpful for me! Tag me on Instagram @inbloombakery_ so I can see as well! Follow me on Pinterest for other dessert ideas!
Other Easy Recipes to Try Next Time
📖 Recipe
Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Jam
- 16 oz (454) strawberries, trimmed
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
For the Peanut Butter Cookies
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (112 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (165 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated white sugar
- 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup (128 g) creamy peanut butter Jif or something similar
For the Peanut Butter Ganache
- ½ cup (100 g) peanut butter chips
- 5 tablespoon (75 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
For the Strawberry Jam
- Puree the strawberries in a food processor, then transfer them to a large pot.16 oz (454) strawberries, trimmed
- Mix in the sugar and vanilla.¾ cup (150 g) granulated white sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
- Let the strawberry puree cook over medium low heat for 20-25 minutes until it has thickened to a jam like consistency and measures out to just about 1 cup. Remove from the heat and allow it to completely cool.
For the Peanut Butter Cookies
- Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt to a medium bowl. Mix until combined then set aside the dry ingredients.1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- To a large bowl add the softened butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Cream together with an electric mixer on high speed for 1-2 minutes. (You can also use a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment.)½ cup (112 g) unsalted butter, softened, ¾ cup (165 g) light brown sugar, packed, ¼ cup (50 g) granulated white sugar
- Then add in the egg yolks and vanilla. Mix on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.2 egg yolks, at room temperature, 2 teaspoon vanilla
- Next add in the peanut butter and mix on medium speed until smooth.½ cup (128 g) creamy peanut butter
- Add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined.
- Scoop the cookie dough into 16 portions with a 2 tablespoon capacity cookie scoop. Roll each into a ball and press with a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon to make an indent. Chill the dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for one hour. (Chill the dough together than seperate out to bake.)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees 15 minutes before you're ready to bake the cookies.
- Arrange 6 cookies per parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 10-11 minutes.
- When the cookies are straight out of the oven press the centers with a ¼ cup measurig cup to make the indent deeper and scoot a large circular cookie cutter around the cookies to give them a more circular shape.
- Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
For the Peanut Butter Ganache
- Melt the peanut butter chips and heavy cream together in a double boiler over medium heat.½ cup (100 g) peanut butter chips, 5 tablespoon (75 ml) heavy cream
- Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, whip the mixture on high speed until light in color and fluffy.
Assembling the Cookies
- When the cookies are completely cooled, fill the center of each cookie with a heaping teaspoon of peanut butter ganache and heaping teaspoon of strawberry jam. Drizzle peanut butter over the top and chopped peanuts and serve!
Leave a Reply