Enjoy the perfect mix of peanut butter and jam in our thumbprint cookies! A soft peanut butter cookie is filled with a sweet, fruity jam center, creating a delightful treat in every bite! This is the perfect twist on the classic cookie!
Do you love all things peanut butter? If you do, you are going to love these peanut butter cookies! They are made with your favorite kind of jam and oh-so good!
The peanut butter lover in your love will love these, along with 2 ingredient peanut butter fudge, peanut butter cookies with pancake mix, or peanut butter cake mix cookies!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's a twist on the classic cookie! Thumbprints have been made for so many years and have become a classic holiday cookie. Why not put the delicious flavors of a peanut butter jelly sandwich in a cookie and up your thumbprint cookie game! I love to make Nutella thumbprint cookies and heart jam cookies too!
- They are easy to make! No need to chill this dough, you'll have freshly baked cookies in less than 30 minutes. Just like 5 ingredient raspberry cheesecake thumbprint cookies, a no chill dough is the best!
- They are full of flavor! Peanut butter and jelly have very distinct, delicious flavors that are amazing in cookie form!
Peanut Butter and Jam Thumbprint Cookie Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make these delicious jelly thumbprint cookies!
- Creamy peanut butter. Use your family's favorite variety of peanut butter.
- All purpose flour. This keeps the cookies together.
- Sugar. We will be using ¼ cup brown sugar and ½ cup granulated sugar.
- Baking soda. This will give the cookies their soft texture.
- Butter. One stick, softened.
- Jam. I love raspberry jam in these cookies, but you can use your favorite flavor of jelly or jam. In the grocery store there are tons of different choices. Seedless, sugar free, or regular jam would all work in this recipe.
See printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- To make these gluten free peanut butter thumbprint cookies, use a 1 to 1 gluten free flour in place of the all purpose flour.
- Natural peanut butter is great in a lot of places, but when it comes to baking, classic peanut butter is best. Natural peanut butter tends to separate while regular peanut butter will help give the cookies their peanut butter flavor and keep them from falling apart.
- Honey or coconut sugar can be used in place of granulated sugar in this recipe.
- Before baking the cookies, roll them in sugar, chopped peanuts, or chopped walnuts. You can also drizzle melted chocolate or melted white chocolate on top of the cookies. There's nothing a sprinkle of powdered sugar doesn't make just a little better too!
How To Make Peanut Butter and Jam Thumbprint Cookies
What Type of Jam is Best for Thumbprint Cookies?
You can use your family's favorite jam! Here are a few choices to add to these delicious cookies.
- Raspberry Jam
- Mixed Berry Jam
- Peach Jam
- Apple Butter
- Pear Butter
- Blueberry Jam
- Grape Jelly
- Strawberry Jam
- Apricot Jam
Tips and Tricks
- When using homemade jam, add the jam after the cookies have been baked. Homemade jam tends to be more liquid than a store bought jam. Baking the cookies with the jam in them will cause the jam to overflow the cookies.
- You can add the indent to the cookies with before or after baking. I like using my thumb to make the imprint beforehand, but if you make an indent after they are baked, use a small teaspoon to get the indentation.
- Don't have a stand mixer? No worries! Use an electric hand mixer and a large mixing bowl.
- A small ice cream scoop is very helpful to get even cookies. If you don't have a small ice cream scoop, use a tablespoon and roll the dough balls in your hands.
Storage Instructions
To make the dough ahead of time, make the dough completely and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Keep the dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before you need it. When you are ready to bake it, scoop the dough balls onto a prepared baking sheet and bake.
Keep leftover cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.
These cookies freeze well too! Once they are baked and cooled to room temperature, place them in a Ziploc bag or a freezer safe container. Freeze them for up to 3 months. Defrost them right on your counter and enjoy them when they are fully defrosted.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! You can use almond butter, cashew butter, or even sunflower butter.
If you don't want to, you don't have to! You can dip them in chocolate or enjoy them plain! They are soft and delicious either way!
Yes! This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
Yes! Spread the peanut butter dough into a 9x13 inch baking dish and swirl the jam into the cookie dough. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
More Cookie Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Peanut Butter and Jam Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup Butter Softened
- ½ cup Sugar
- ¼ cup Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Peanut Butter
- 1 Egg
- 1 ½ cup All Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ cup Jam Your favorite flavor
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set that aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix well on medium speed until the ingredients are creamed together.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and peanut butter and mix again.
- Pour the flour and baking soda into the bowl. Mix until a dough forms.
- With a small ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, scoop out the dough and roll it in between your hands. Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet. Do that for the entire bowl of dough.
- Press your thumb into the center of the dough ball. You can also use a teaspoon for a small indentation. Leave a little room between each dough ball as they will spread a little when they are baked.
- Fill the indentation with the jam. You can do this with a spoon of by adding the jam to a Ziploc bag and cut the end of the Ziploc bag off. Squeeze a little jam into each of the cookies.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies are baked. Take the cookies out of the oven when done baking and let them cool on a wire cooling rack.
Notes
- When using homemade jam, add the jam after the cookies have been baked. Homemade jam tends to be more liquid than a store bought jam. Baking the cookies with the jam in them will cause the jam to overflow the cookies.
- You can add the indent to the cookies with before or after baking. I like using my thumb to make the imprint beforehand, but if you make an indent after they are baked, use a small teaspoon to get the indentation.
- Don't have a stand mixer? No worries! Use an electric hand mixer and a large mixing bowl.
- A small ice cream scoop is very helpful to get even cookies. If you don't have a small ice cream scoop, use a tablespoon and roll the dough balls in your hands.
Bonnie says
Definitely bake before filling thumbprint with jelly.
Mine were good but fell apart because I baked with jelly.