Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies

The other night I had a dream about peanut butter and jelly and I woke up with the thought stuck in my head that I absolutely had to make peanut butter and jelly cookies.  Don't ask me where my dream came from, or what else happened in the dream because I have absolutely no idea.  I basically rolled over in bed and told Alex that I had a dream about cookies.  Then I immediately got out of bed and went to look up recipes.  I found the 'wichcraft recipe for Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies and decided to modify the recipe a little and add some jelly

So this might sound like a strange recipe, but these very well might be my new favorite cookies.  The peanut butter cookies themselves are delicious, with a slightly dry and crumbly texture (which is a little like shortbread) and a little crunch/texture from the toasted oats.  The cookies aren't that sweet, and are almost a little salty.  Then you get a mouthful of the creamy peanut butter filling combined with the jelly and it's a total epiphany.  It has that whole salty-sweet thing going on that I love, plus I think the combination is every child's absolute fantasy.  Now if you don't like peanut butter (and I have been informed that some people just don't like it), these are definitely not going to be your new fave cookie recipe.  You might want to stick to chocolate chip.  Or anything else really.  But if you love peanut butter as much as Alex and I do, then you need to try these.  They are fun and totally different from your typical bake-sale cookie selection, but once you try one you will be in love.

Recipe after the jump!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies
Adapted from recipe on MarthaStewart.com 

INGREDIENTS:

For cookies:
1/2 cup (1 stick), plus 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 cup, plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
1/4 cup jelly (I used loganberry, but strawberry, raspberry, or grape would be equally good)

For peanut butter filling:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. 

 

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oats and cook, stirring, until toasted, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together remaining 1/2 cup butter, granulated and brown sugars. Add peanut butter and mix until well combined. Add cooled oat mixture and flour mixture. Mix on low speed until ingredients are just combined. Turn dough out onto a piece of parchment paper that you have sprinkled with flour. Roll dough into a log that is roughly 2-3 inches in diameter and wrap in parchment paper, using rubber bands to secure the ends. Chill dough in the refrigerator at least 45 minutes (I chilled the dough for 2 hours). Remove cookies from refrigerator and allow to warm up for 5-10 minutes. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 1/4-1/2-inch wide slices. Place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Transfer baking sheets to oven and bake until golden, rotating baking sheets halfway through baking, about 10 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on baking sheets.
 

Meanwhile, combine all ingredients for peanut butter filling together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.  Set aside until cookies have cooled.

When cookies have cooled completely, spread half of the cookies with the peanut butter filling and the other half with jelly.  Combine to form sandwich cookies.