Peanut Butter and Jam Cookies

Now that I am married, my husband and I sometimes do things that married people do such as attend “dinner parties.” Tomorrow we are going over to a friend’s house for dinner and my mother taught me never to go to someone’s house empty handed. With that said, it gives me an excuse to bake today. Before I decided on what to bake, I rummaged through my cupboards to see what I could concoct with supplies that we already had, since we are moving in less than 2 weeks so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to go all wild and crazy purchasing fun stuff for the kitchen… besides we are on a budget too as we are preparing for life once again in North America. Somehow the thought of it is just making us broke!

Today’s recipe…Peanut Butter and Jam Cookies. The idea is a combination of a traditional thumbprint cookie and a peanut butter cookie recipe. I followed the peanut butter cookie recipe which happens to be eggless and when they were finished baking I placed a small amount of jam in the center of the cookie before it cooled. I ran out of jam halfway through the recipe so I placed a small square of chocolate in the center. Score.. I used up 4 things in my pantry today making this recipe. Less to throw away next week before the move! I was very impressed with these cookies and I have a feeling that they might be my “signature” cookie for awhile. There is no way one can go wrong with a combination such as peanut butter and jam or even peanut butter and chocolate.


Peanut Butter and Jam Cookies
Recipe from: Cooks.com
Makes: 6 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
3c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 c. butter, room temp.
1 c. peanut butter
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. sugar
4 TBS cornstarch
4 TBS water
2/3 c. chocolate chips (optional)


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Combine cornstarch and water with a fork. Mix well and set aside.
3. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder.
4. Using electric mixer, beat butter, peanut butter, and vanilla. Beat in both sugars. Beat in half of dry ingredients into mixture. Add cornstarch and continue mixing. Add the rest of the dry ingredients.
5. Roll into a ball and press down with a fork. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 14 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes,