One day my youngest son, after baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies (one of his favorites), says to me, “You should make some Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies…”

Whilst I’m not a connoisseur of peanut butter, and/or jam, after having made these cookies, I may have just changed my mind!

I have to admit, I had fun putting this labor of love project together.  The swirling of the jam on top of the cookie dough was my favorite part.  Peeking through the oven door and watching the cookies come together was pure joy.  The jam, as they blended together with the peanut butter dough mix, gave the cookies that nostalgic touch.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks/8 oz./225 grams) butter, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• ⅔ cup jam (you are welcome to use your favorite)  (I used grape for this recipe, per my youngest son’s request)

1. Preheat your oven to **325° F
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, blend the sugars and butter until you get a grainy consistency. Add the eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla, and beat until fluffy. On low speed, add the flour mixture and peanut butter chips, and mix until barely combined.
4. Fold the dough together a bit with a spatula, and drop heaping tablespoon onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Add half a spoonful of jam on top of each cookie, and use a toothpick to swirl the jam into the dough.
5. Bake each batch for up to 25 minutes, or just until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned.
6. Cool for approximately 5 minutes before serving/consuming

**NOTE:  You can lower the temperature of the oven to 300° F