Peanut Butter and Jelly Shortbread Cookies

Peanut butter and jelly is, by far, my favorite sandwich. I do not allow myself to eat it for lunch everyday any more, because that would lead to a less-than-balanced diet, but on the days that I do have it, I look forward to it all morning. These cookies take that wonderful sandwich combination, and make it dessert! They are very rich, but oh so delicious. If you are a PBJ fan, you must try these:

Here is what you will need:
2 sticks of Butter
1/2 C Sugar
1/4 C Brown Sugar
2/3 C Peanut Butter
1 tsp Vanilla
3/4 tsp Salt
2 C Flour
3/4 C Raspberry Jam

Beat butter on Medium speed, 1 minute. Gradually add the sugars beating til well blended.

















Add Peanut Butter, Vanilla, and Salt. You can use creamy or chunky peanut butter. I use chunky, because I like it better, and also because it adds more texture. Lower speed to medium-low and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in flour until just blended.

















Now you have your dough. Refrigerate it for at least 2 hours. This will make it a lot easier to roll-out and cut into circles for the "sandwiches". It is nearly impossible to roll-out/cut-out cookie dough that has just been prepared, so make sure that you leave time for this step.

Once the 2 hours is up, heat the oven to 300 degrees. Roll the dough out to less than 1/4 in. thick. Cut out dough with round cookie cutter. If you don't have a round cookie cutter, you can use the top of a glass. This is just to make sure that all of the circles are the same size, since you will be stacking them.


















Transfer to baking sheets. I used a stone, so I did not grease it, but if you are using a regular cookie sheet make sure to grease it. Bake 18-20 Minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.


























Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack and allow them to cool completely. Make sure that you wait until they are cool before handling them, or they will break apart. Because these are shortbread cookies, they are very fragile. Once they are cool, spread half of the cookies with the jam.



















Make sure not to put too much on or it will be a huge mess. I love my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to be dripping with jelly, but here, moderation is best. Trust me on this, I am not a fan of moderation in most things that relate to food but it is good here.

Top the jelly covered cookies with the remaining plain cookies, and you are all set. Here is what they look like when they are done:


































Is your mouth watering yet? The jelly is a great addition to the shortbread, because shortbread has a tendency to be a bit dry. The jelly adds moisture, and a wonderful flavor combination. Go make them now! Your husband/boyfriend/roommate/dog will thank you! (our dog always gets a little peanut butter as treat when I make anything with it, so he likes this recipe too!)