Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies

It's hot. It's hot and miserable here in California and i'm eagerly counting down the days until Fall. Summer and I have never really been on good terms, even though my birthday is in the Summer... Fall, Spring and even Winter and I are all good friends. Really, we are. We have an understanding and a respect for one another. But, Summer and I just don't see eye to eye. I think it has something to do with all the sweating and discomfort that comes along with the 100+ degree weather we get here. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what it is.

Today, as I was sitting in my nice cool house, away from the summer heat, making cooing noises and talking about pee pee to my 3-month-old, I decided that today would be a day of great accomplishment. Today I would do something very, very productive... So, do you know what I did? I'm sure you've guessed it by now... I baked some cookies! I haven't baked in what feels like ages. I'm usually toting around a pudgy little baby and I typically only have the use of one arm, so baking isn't usually part of the equation. But, today... I did it. I really did it! I made you something delicious that you're going to love, your kids are going to love, your spouses are going to love and your friends, family and neighbors are going to love! It's everyone's favorite childhood sandwich, only in cookie form. Everything is better in cookie form, don't you think?

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookie Recipe: {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• Strawberry jam or preserves
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips or melting disks

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With your mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Mix in egg, peanut butter and vanilla. 

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly beat into wet mixture.

Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball and place on a baking sheet. Use your finger to make an indention in the center. Fill with 1/4 teaspoon strawberry jam or preserves.

Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are golden.

Heat white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30-second intervals until chocolate is smooth. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

Recipe yields about 40 cookies

Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

I have been sick for the past few days and have basically just sat around watching Martha Stewart and Chopped. There is nothing better than watching cooking shows when you're feeling under the weather! The problem is I had so many plans to make wonderful treats this weekend and I was only able to make one. But, it was a good one. It's my favorite homemade Easter candy and if there is any treat that has magical sick healing abilities, peanut butter eggs would be it!

Peanut Butter Eggs: 

{Print Recipe}

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup peanut butter
3 cups confectioners sugar
4 sheets of graham crackers (crushed)
4 tablespoons butter (melted)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 package semisweet chocolate (or white chocolate is really really yummy too!)
1 tablespoon shortening

DIRECTIONS:

Combine peanut butter, confectioners sugar, graham crackers, butter, salt and milk. Mix it together and make sure everything is well combined. It may seem a little dry but it will help to keep the shape of the eggs!

Form into balls about the size of a golf ball and shape it until it starts to look like an egg. You can also make smaller eggs (about the size of a cherry tomato) to put on sticks, if you'd like! If the mixture is cracking while you form it, you can definitely add another tablespoon of milk.

Put them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and place it in the freezer for 45 minutes.

While the eggs are in the freezer, melt your chocolate in a double boiler along with the shortening.

Dip the eggs into the chocolate using either a fork or toothpicks and place on parchment paper.

Before the chocolate sets you can put sprinkles on or you can wait until the chocolate hardens and use some colored chocolate to make pretty designs on the eggs. The designing part is really up to you! I had a little 4 year old begging to put sprinkles on the eggs, so that's the direction we ended up going for the big ones :)

Recipe yields about 14 eggs.

Linked To:
Baked by Joanna, House of Hepworths, Tidy Mom, CraftoManiac, Today's Creative Blog, Mom's Crazy Cooking, 30 Handmade Days, Sun Scholars