These Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies hold a fun surprise inside! Soft peanut butter cookie dough is stuffed with creamy peanut butter and grape jelly then topped with crunchy sugar and baked until puffy and golden.
Peanut butter and jelly… but make it a cookie!
I don’t know if there’s another universal flavor pairing that carries so much nostalgia. Most of us share the childhood memory of eating it between slices of white bread. Growing up, I was a latchkey kid and it was something I could easily make for myself. I still love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a side of salty potato chips. It’s just as good now as it was then. These cookies turn those classic flavors into something even better, if you ask me.
On the outside these look like big, puffy peanut butter cookies with crunchy sugar on top. But when you break one open, you’ll find a gooey center filled with peanut butter and grape jelly.
Make the Peanut Butter Cookie Dough
The cookie dough is super easy to whip up. It starts with butter and brown sugar, one whole egg and two egg yolks. And while you’re separating yolks from whites, be sure to save one of the egg whites for brushing the cookies with later. Add a little maple syrup to the dough for extra sweetness and browning. If you don’t have maple syrup on hand, honey or even corn syrup will work in equal amounts.
For this recipe, the consistency of shelf-stable peanut butter is important. Most commercial brands are very similar in texture and oil content. Natural and stir-style peanut butters can vary quite a bit from brand to brand. If the separated oils aren’t thoroughly mixed back in, the texture of both the dough and filling can be affected. So for this recipe, embrace the Jif, embrace the Skippy, or whatever shelf-stable variety you have on hand.
Once the dry ingredients are added to the wet, mix until just combined. Chill the dough for 30 minutes, which helps make portioning, rolling, and filling a much easier task.
Fill the Cookies with Peanut Butter and Jelly
Divide the dough into 36 equal portions to make 18 cookies. I did this using a small trigger cookie scoop, which equals about 1 1/4 tablespoons. Each finished cookie uses two pieces of dough: one for the bottom and one for the top.
Roll the portions into balls and flatten them into small disks. (See the video before the recipe card for action.) Spoon 1 teaspoon of creamy peanut butter into the center of one disk. Top with 1 teaspoon of grape jelly. If you need a recommendation, I used Welch’s grape jelly, which baked up perfectly.
Place a second disk of dough over the filling and press together with your fingertips to seal everything inside.
Bake the Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
Before baking, brush the tops of the cookies with lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle them generously with coarse sugar. Turbinado or demerara sugar works especially well because the larger crystals stay crunchy in the oven. Turbinado will have a lighter flavor. Demerara will have a slightly stronger molasses note.
Once assembled, chill the cookies on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes. This extra little rest helps the dough firm up and keeps the cookies from spreading or bursting open during baking. Bake until the cookies are slightly puffed and the tops have lost their shine. They don’t need to become deeply browned.
IMPORTANT >>Let the cookies cool completely on the baking pans. They are quite tender while they’re warm, and moving them too soon can cause them to break. As they cool, they’ll become sturdy enough to pick up while the center stays soft and gooey inside.
Tips for Success
- Don’t overfill the cookies. A teaspoon each of peanut butter and jelly is plenty. Adding more makes it difficult to seal the dough and increases the chance that the filling will flood out during baking.
- Use shelf-stable peanut butter. Natural peanut butter can vary considerably in consistency and oil content, which may affect both the dough and the filling.
- Seal the edges well. After placing the second disk of dough on top, press all the way around the cookie so there are no openings for the jelly to escape.
- Chill before baking. That final 10-minute chill helps the assembled cookies hold their shape in the oven.
- Let them cool on the pans. Fresh from the oven, the cookies are very soft and delicate. Give them time to cool completely before transferring or storing them.
These Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies have everything I love about the classic sandwich, but better. It’s an evergreen flavor pairing, however, I have a feeling these will make it on my holiday cookie trays!
Related recipe: Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cake
Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
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baking sheets
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parchment paper
Peanut butter cookie dough
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 large beaten egg at room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks at room temperature
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter shelf stable such as Jif
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup honey, or corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch fine grain sea salt
Peanut butter and jelly filling
- 6 tablespoons creamy peanut butter shelf stable such as Jif
- 6 tablespoons grape jelly such as Welch’s
Topping
- 1 large egg white lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup coarse cane sugar such as turbinado or demerara
Peanut butter cookie dough
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until well combined, about 3 minutes. With the mixer running, add the beaten egg and egg yolks. Next, add the peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Beat until well incorporated.
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In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and pinch of fine grain salt. Whisk to combine.
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Add the flour mixture to the creamed peanut butter mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 325°F. Cover two or more large baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Scoop the dough into 36 equal portions for 18 cookies total. This is approximately 1 1/4 tablespoons (level) or use a small cookie scoop.
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Roll each dough portion into a ball and flatten to about 1/4-inch thickness (approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter).
Fillings
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Spoon 1 teaspoon of creamy peanut butter onto the center of a dough disk. Place 1 teaspoon of grape jelly on top of the peanut butter. Cover with a second dough disk and press the edges together with your fingertips to seal in the fillings. Repeat with the remaining dough.
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Transfer the cookies to the parchment lined baking sheets, well-spaced, about six cookies to a pan.
Toppings
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Use a pastry brush to coat the cookies with the beaten egg white. Sprinkle generously with the coarse sugar. Chill the cookies on the pans for 10 minutes.
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Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, or until the tops lose their shine and the cookies are slightly puffed.
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Allow the cookies to cool completely on the pans. Store the cookies at room temperature in airtight containers or zip-top storage bags for up to 3 days. Refrigerate for longevity, up to 5 days.
Helpful Tips
- Don’t overfill the cookies. A teaspoon each of peanut butter and jelly is enough. Adding more makes it difficult to seal the dough and increases the chance that the filling will flood out during baking.
- Use shelf-stable peanut butter. Natural peanut butter can vary in consistency and oil content, which may affect both the dough and the filling.
- Seal the edges well. After placing the second disk of dough on top, press all the way around the cookie so there are no openings for the jelly to escape.
- Chill before baking. That final 10-minute chill helps the assembled cookies hold their shape in the oven.
- Let them cool on the pans. Fresh from the oven, the cookies are very soft and delicate. Give them time to cool completely before transferring or storing them.
This recipe was adapted from Bake from Scratch Magazine.
