Michelle Darmody: How to bake peanut butter and jelly cookies

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches once held a fairytale like aura, far removed from 1980s Ireland.

The combination does take a little getting used to in a sandwich but works very well in baking when you expect a sweet flavour hit

PB+J is an Americanism that has travelled across the Atlantic. Hearing about, and seeing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on television programmes as a child gave them the air of exotic mystery.

In the same mystified way that Enid Blyton’s characters tucked into ginger beer and jam tart picnics on forest floors and on craggy beaches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches held a fairytale like aura, far removed from 1980s Ireland.

The combination does take a little getting used to in a sandwich but works very well in baking when you expect a sweet flavour hit. I use smooth peanut butter in this recipe as I find it results in a chewier smoother cookie. There are a lot of great Irish peanut butter brands to choose from, I particularly like Harry’s peanut butter and also Nutshed, but there are many more.

These brands tend to use a very high quantity of peanuts and do not contain the palm oil that large American brands use to bulk up their product. If you are lucky enough to live near a health food shop which makes pure peanut butter, it is great to use this. The shop near us has an old crank-like machine where you tip peanuts in at the top, hold a jar under a spout, and peanut butter oozes out. It is simply crushed peanuts and nothing else.

PB+J Cookies

recipe by:Michelle Darmody

PB+J is an Americanism that has travelled across the Atlantic. Hearing about, and seeing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on television programmes as a child gave them the air of exotic mystery.

Servings

12

Preparation Time

 25 mins

Cooking Time

 12 mins

Total Time

 37 mins

Course

 Dessert

Ingredients

• 50g smooth peanut butter

• 70g soft butter

• 150g soft muscovado sugar

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 180g plain flour

• ½ tsp bread soda

• 20g chopped salted peanuts

• 6 tsp strawberry jam

Method

1. Beat the peanut butter, butter and sugar until light and creamy.

2. Slowly add in the egg.

3. Sieve the flour and bread soda together and stir them into the butter and egg mixture.

4. Stir in the chopped peanuts.

5. Place the dough into the fridge to firm up.

6. Preheat your oven to 180 ºC/gas mark 4.

7. Line a large flat baking tray with parchment.

8. Remove the dough from the fridge.

9. Roll the dough into 12 balls.

10. Place them onto the baking tray and press each one down with the back of a spoon then press with your thumb to make an indent in the centre of each cookie.

11. Spoon the jam into the indent.

12. Bake for about 12 minutes until golden.

13. Once cool enough to handle, place onto a wire rack to cool.

Baker's Tips:

The recipe suggests that you beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy rather than light and fluffy. There is a reason for this. If you beat the mixture until fluffy, the cookies will spread more as they bake; the sugar and butter just need to be creamed together. The paddle attachment to your mixer is ideal or it can be done by hand.

It is best to have your egg at room temperature so it combines well with the butter and sugar mixture, this will prevent curdling.

It is vital to sieve the bread soda into the flour. It is very unpleasant to find a lump of bread soda in any baking. Sieving it will break any clumps and also combine it with the flour. Bread soda is prone to clumping as it absorbs moisture very easily.

Sieving the flour will also add a lightness to the cookies and allow for a smoother dough.

The salted peanuts add to the cookies as salt brings out all of the other flavours as well as the nuts.

Roll the dough well to ensure the cookies do not crack too much when pressed down. If you find the cookies spread a lot, you can chill the balls of dough before placing them into the oven. It firms the dough up a second time and allows them to keep their shape a little better.

If you are an avid peanut butter fan, you can also put a small teaspoon of peanut butter on top of each cookie along with the jam if you would like.

The cookies will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for about three days and they can also be frozen.

Three delicious variations

Chocolate almond cookies

Use 50g of almond butter and 20g chopped almonds in the dough in place of the peanut varieties.

I also add 60g of dark chocolate pieces when I add the chopped nuts to the dough. I do not use jam in this version.

Hazelnut and chocolate filling

You can use 50g of almond butter and add 30g chopped hazelnuts in place of the peanut butter and salted peanuts. You can press the indent into the cookies but do not fill them until they are baked and cooled.

Once the cookies have completely cooled, fill each indent with a teaspoon of chocolate and hazelnut spread.

Spiced dried fruit

Dried fruit adds a nice bite and flavour to the cookies. Add 30g of dried fruit; apricots and golden raisins work well as do dates.

Add these when combining the chopped nuts. I also add a half a teaspoon of mixed spice when sieving the flour and bread soda and omit the jam.