PB & J for Grown Ups


PB & J sandwich is a very popular lunch box or snacks for the little ones that most likely most American kids has eaten this in one point in their life. It’s a sandwich layered with peanut butter and either a jam or a jelly. In Canada, UK and Australia it’s more popularly known as peanut butter and jam sandwich. In Manila being a former American colony, it’s peanut butter and jelly or PB &J, though these are not as widely popular snack item here. Here the most popular breakfast or snack items are hotdogs, every kid loves their hotdogs. Like a typical Filipino-Chinese kid, I grew up eating lots of hotdogs not PB&J. However, now as I grew wiser, I discovered my love affair with PB&J, it might because I love how the peanut butter greatly compliments the sweet jelly. My favorite combination is the uber traditional PB & grape jelly, it just has this perfect sweetness.
When I saw Sherry Yard’s PB&J Cookies I knew I have to give it a shot. The ingredients are easy to find and most of it I have on stock. I just have to but a jelly or jam. Guess what flavor I chose? Yep you guess it! I chose grape jelly  this is a fairly easy weekend project, the only thing I found difficult about this is the rolling part, the dough was very sticky. Even with the help of my newly purchased a Joseph Joseph adjustable rolling pin, I still had a hard time rolling it out. Got fed up with it, I rolled it between two pieces of cling wrap and freeze it for 5-10 minutes before cutting out the round shapes to get that perfect round shaped cookies. I used 3 inches cookie cutter which roughly got me 6 pairs of cookies top and  bottom. The  scraps, I made them into two mini versions and a little plain peanut butter cookies. I actually like the smaller sized cookies, it has more body on it. The big size cookies are fun to eat however they are quite soft and very fragile.

JAM FILLED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
Adapted from Desserts by the Yard by Sherry Yard
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown
  • 1 cup smooth peanut butter, at room temperature
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup grape jelly
  1. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  3. Scrape down the bowl. Beat in the peanut butter. Scrape down the bowl. Add the egg, and beat in. Beat in the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
  4. Dust an approximately 12-by-17-inch sheet of parchment paper with flour, place the dough on it, and dust the top of the dough. Top with another sheet of parchment and roll out to about ¼-inch thickness. Place with the parchment on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes.
  5. Place racks in the middle and upper third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper.
  6. Remove the top sheet of parchment from the dough, and using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut 3-inch circles of dough. Top 1 circle with 1 tsp. of the jelly and cover with another circle. Pinch the edges together and place on one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining circles, placing the cookies 1 inch apart.
  7. Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom and from front to back, and bake for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the cookies are nicely browned. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets, on racks. Do not handle the cookies until cool – they’re very crumbly and could easily fall apart. (The cookies can be stored airtight for 2 days.)

nikcreate

I'm a nine to five pencil pusher who loves to play with flour and paper during my free time. Dreams of going to Europe and eat croissants and make pastries all day long!

4 comments:

  1. Very cool. I love this idea.

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  2. hi, came across a link to your blog through one of ur posts in a forum, must say your blog is indeed informative! lots of interesting recipes to try for a person who's a first time baker like me! :) btw, do you use an SLR for your food shots?

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  3. Anonymous11:42 PM

    PB and J. a classic combination. In a cookie form no less!

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  4. these look so good and soft! yum. thanks for the recipe!

    ReplyDelete