Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies

"What time is it?" I saidddddd "What time is it???"

 PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME! PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!

What could be better than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Um, a peanut butter and jelly COOKIE sandwich. I have to admit I was wondering how these cookies were going to pull together, but they turned out perfectly, ya know the kind that melt-in-your-mouth and you can't resist having more than one!

I've been so excited to make this cookie all year (Outside of the Game Day Cookies- those were amazing!). If you have poked around my blog you know that I LOVE peanut butter! I took special care in making these to make sure they turned out perfect.

I made this for a fall BBQ we went to a few weeks and they were a HUGE hit. I kept getting compliments on them all night and everyone who had one went for at least one more. Enough of the chit chat though- Lets get baking!

Active Time: 1 hour
Total: 2 hours and 15 minutes
Makes: About 32 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1.5 cups smooth peanut butter (not natural and not chunky)
• 2/3 cup concord grape jelly

Instructions:

1. Whisk the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. 
2. Beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg until combined, then beat in the peanut butter until smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture until just combined. Turn the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and pat into a rectangle. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, preheat to 375 degrees. Trim the edges of the dough and cut into 1.5 inch squares (I used a ruler for this to make sure the lines where even, precise and to make sure the cookies were the same size). Use a butter knife or a knife with a lip on it (think a cake cutter) to pick up the cookies and place them 2 inches apart on 2 unlined nonstick baking sheets. Press each with the back of a fork to make a crisscross pattern, flattening slightly. Gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm, if needed, reroll to cut out more cookies.
4. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are almost set, about 14 minutes.* Let cool for 5 minutes on the pans, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Sandwich the grape jelly (about 1 teaspoon) between the cookies
5. ENJOY!

*I have a gas oven and my cookies were done in about 10 minutes.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! Also, next time I make these I think i'll put more peanut butter in the middle because ya know, why not?!

Peach Pie Cookies

What could possibly be better than fresh peaches from the farmers market on a warm summer day??

Baking those peaches into individual handheld pie cookies!

The original recipe by the Food Network calls for plums, but I am not a fan so I switched it up with a fruit I love. I am sure you could use nectarines, apples, plums, strawberries, or any other fruit of your desire. These were a fun cookie to make because I enjoy making pies, but there were on a smaller scale. However, they did take a good amount of work to put together like a normal pie. The dough needs to chill for an hour in between making the dough and actually baking it. I would set aside an afternoon to make these when you aren't rushed.

I had to bake my cookies in two batches because I had enough dough to re-roll and then put back in the fridge to chill for about 10-15 minutes. Even thought they take a little bit to make they are well worth it! Lets get baking!


Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten, plus 1 beaten egg for brushing
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 small peaches
• Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

1. Pulse 2.5 cups flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and the salt in a food processor (I used my ninja blender) until combined. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks crumbly. Drizzle in 1 beaten egg and pulse until the dough holds together when pinched.
2. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead a few times until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into 2 balls (I used a food scale to get the dough precisely even) and place each ball on a separate piece of parchment paper. Flatten the dough a little with a spatula and then top with another piece of parchment paper. Roll each ball into an 11-12 inch round (about 1/8 inch thick). Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Position racks in the upper and lower third of the oven; preheat to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.* Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Halve, pit and thinly slice the peaches, then cut each slice in half crosswise.
4. Cut out small rounds as close together as possible from 1 piece of dough using a 2.5 inch round cookie cutter (I didn't have one so I used the top of a circular drinking glass). Gather the scraps and refrigerate until firm; re-roll once to cut out more rounds.
5. Meanwhile, arrange 9 rounds on one of the prepared baking sheets and brush the edges with some of the remaining beaten egg. Toss the peaches in the sugar mixture, then arrange about 4 peach pieces in the center of each dough round on the baking sheet, leaving space around the edges. Top each with a second round of dough and press the edges to seal. (If the dough is too stiff to work with, warm the dough briefly between your hands to make it more pliable**) Crimp the edges with a fork and cut 4 small steam vents onto the top of each cookie. 
6. Lightly brush he cookies with the remaining beaten egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are golden brown about 22-25 minutes.*** Let cool completely on the pans. While the cookies are in the oven repeat steps 4 and 5 with the remaining dough.
7. Enjoy!

*I used parchment paper and the cookies stuck to the paper because the middle of the cookie oozed out so I would go without the parchment paper.

**I did not have this problem as the dough warmed up pretty fast just from being out of the fridge. Work quickly, but be careful NOT to press the fork all the way through the bottom layer of dough

*** I have a gas over and my cookies were done in about 18-20 minutes to keep an eye on your cookies!