Cruising through junk shops, thrift stores and antique malls is one of my favorite pastimes. Do I need more stuff in my life? No. But you never know what you will find that inspires you. I always need more inspiration.
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Cookies Inspiration
I stopped by one of my favorite shops, and was paying for my selection of knicky-knacky finds when I spotted an old recipe box next to the register. Over stuffed with recipes card bundles bound with pink ballet shoe elastic that had been hand sewn into bands, I knew I had to have it. Plus, it was only $1.50, the cheapest thrill I had enjoyed in a long time. Sold.
Once I began to unpack the box, I found a treasure trove of one woman’s important household thoughts. A proven recipe for cocktail meatballs. An advertisment that included a holiday ham meal idea. A clipping for Arabian Hormone Cream that promised to rejuvenate “flaccid, faded skin.” I began to dream about all the ways this box could improve me.
A Recipe Treasure Box
I was searching for a good peanut butter cookie recipe, and voila! The box produced a beautiful hand written recipe that worked. I jazzed it up with a raspberry pastry filling, and soon I had a recipe for Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Cookies. These may be a new favorite, not only because they are delicious, but because the recipe came from my little recipe treasure box.
My advice for this recipe is that you keep the cookie dough balls as uniform as possible when forming them. If one cookie of the sandwich is bigger than the other, you might lose some of your jelly filling, which would be tragic. I used a melon baller as a cookie scoop, and formed dough balls that were exactly 10 grams each.
Also, use the thick commerical pastry filling that I recommend instead of regular jelly or jam which contain too much water. Jam filled pastries hold together better when you use the ingredients that professional bakers use. The thick commercial jam will stay in your sandwich and not absorb into the cookie. Important!
The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies were a big hit, and I know I will make them again soon. Thank you magical recipe trasure box. For $1.50 you really did improve my life.
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Cookies
- Prep Time: 70 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 36 sandwiches 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: US
Ingredients
½ cup butter (57g)
½ cup peanut butter (120g)
½ cup white sugar (100g)
½ cup brown sugar (100g)
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (157g)
1 tsp. baking soda (6g)
½ tsp. baking powder (2g)
¼ tsp. salt (1g)
1 egg, beaten 12oz. can raspberry pastry and pie filling* (340g)
Instructions
Using an electric hand blender, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add the white and brown sugar, and continue to cream until well combined, about 2 minutes.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add a large spoonful of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, along with the beaten egg. Combine well with the mixer and continue to add spoonfuls of the flour mixture until all of the flour is incorporated. Shape the dough into equal sized balls (I used a melon baller to make 10g sized balls). Chill the dough balls in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until ready for use.
Heat your oven to 350°F (176°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place the balls of dough on the prepared pan. Using a fork, flatten the balls of dough by pressing twice with the fork forming a criss-cross pattern on top. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies are firm and golden. Cool the cookies on a cooling rack.
Once the cookies are completely cool, place 1-2 tsp. (6g-12g) of raspberry pastry filling on the flat side of a cookie. Place another cookie on top of the jam to form a sandwich.
Notes
*You will have leftover filling, so you can make a double batch of cookies, or use the leftover filling on cupcakes or on toast.
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