These peanut butter and jelly cookies are a twist on a classic thumbprint cookie and are made with chocolate peanut butter spread. There’s no flour so the cookie dough is easy to make and instead of regular peanut butter I used a dark chocolate peanut butter spread. Each cookie has a sweet jelly center that complements the rich cookie base.
I had an idea for peanut butter and jelly cookies a while back and my original vision was a thumbprint cookie with a peanut butter cookie base and a jelly filling. But I’ve really enjoyed making flourless cookies lately and after I made flourless peanut butter cookies, I thought I could use it to make these flourless jam filled cookies.
Flourless cookies tend to spread a lot while they bake, so I decided to abandon the thumbprint cookie idea. Also, instead of just peanut butter, I thought chocolate and peanut butter would make these cookies extra rich.
I really liked how these cookies came out. Chocolate peanut butter on the outside with a sweet jelly treat in the middle. Plus, I like how these peanut butter and jelly cookies are easy to make – there’s something about eliminating flour that seems to make the recipe preparation even faster.
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Spread
I really love baking with different kinds of spreads like cookie butter and chocolate spreads. For these chocolate peanut butter cookies, I used a peanut butter chocolate spread called Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter. I’ve seen it at some grocery stores, but I usually order it on Amazon*. I’ve also used it to make my chocolate peanut butter mug cake.
Jelly Filling for the Cookies
I actually used jam instead of jelly because I didn’t have any jelly in the house. We don’t eat a lot of jelly or jam, so I didn’t have a traditional grape or strawberry. Instead, I used some guava jam. The solid texture of the jam made it much easier to scoop and fill the middle of the cookies.
You can use your favorite flavor of jam or jelly for these cookies – either will work well.
Cookie Ingredients
- Chocolate peanut butter
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Baking soda
- Vanilla extract
- Jam or jelly for filling
How to Make the Cookies
Mix everything except the jam in a mixing bowl until smooth.
Drop a generous tablespoon of dough on a baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough spacing each dough mound about two inches apart.
Moisten your hands and shape each dough mound into a ball. Using your thumb, press the center of each one to create a shallow well. Place a half teaspoon of jam in each well.
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes at 350°F. They are done when they are still very soft and not set. Take them out of the oven and cool them on the baking sheet before removing them.
Baking Tips
- The cookie dough, once you mix it, will be very sticky and wet because there isn’t any flour to absorb the moisture. Don’t be concerned because this is the way it should be.
- Since the dough is sticky, I find it works well to moisten my hands before forming the cookie dough balls. This helps make it easier to form the dough into smooth round balls without it all sticking to your hands.
- Once you’ve made the cookie balls, press your thumb in the center of each ball to create a well. Fill the well with some jam or jelly. You don’t need much – ½ teaspoon is plenty.
- When you bake the cookies, they will spread quite a bit. You will want to remove them from the oven when they are still soft. They won’t look set, which is the right time to take them out. They will continue to set while the cool on the baking sheet.
These peanut butter and jelly cookies are definitely a twist on traditional ones and we really enjoyed them. They’re so easy to make I’ll definitely be making them again.
More Cookies to Try
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Chocolate Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup chocolate peanut butter
- 1 cup packed golden brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Jam or jelly for filling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix everything except jam in medium bowl until smooth. Batter will be very sticky and wet.
- Scoop generous 1 tablespoon dough and place onto cookie sheet, space about 2 inches apart. Using moistened hands, shape dough on sheets to form balls. Press thumb in the middle of each ball to form a well. Place a 1/2 tsp of jam in the center of each ball.
- Bake cookies until golden about 10 minutes. Cookies will still be very soft and not set. Leave cookies on sheet to cool and set before removing cookies from sheets.
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Looks yum! How does that dark chocolate peanut butter taste? Is it a different texture/consistency?
The texture is pretty much the same as regular peanut butter. I like the addition of the dark chocolate to the peanut butter. It’s sort of like a reese’s peanut butter cup all blended together.
Looks lke a fun reipe to try! I ust need to get more of the chocolate pb. I found mine at Target a while back. Not sure if it’s still there.
I got a 6 pack on Amazon so I’ve been trying to use them all up!