Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints

Sooooo, it has been a while hasn't it? Happy new year everyone :)

November and December turned out to be crazy, and I had lots of fun seeing friends and families, travelling, eating lots of good food, receiving Xmas gifts, and drinking way too much. Seriously, FourSquare congratulated me for hitting up bars 10 weeks in a row. And that's not counting the times when I was drinking at home or at someone else's house.

But yeah, I don't have any New Year Resolutions at this time. I had a blast last year and nothing needs to change. Maybe you can check back later?

Anyway, I managed to bake a few things when I was sober. First up- peanut butter cookies with raspberry jam.

I made them fat and rugged because that's how I like them. They were supposed to look like this in Martha Stewart's perfect little world:

But my world is obviously not as perfect as Martha's, and hence the look of my cookies. If you want yours to look perfect, remember that after scooping the dough, use your palm to roll it until it look like a smooth discolored play-doh ball. After that, you can put it onto the baking sheet.

On a more positive note, I loved that the cookies were super flaky and messy to eat. When you take a bite, crumbs will fall off and the cookie kind of slowly melts away in your mouth. It's amazing.


Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup raspberry jam

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

2. In a separate bowl, beat peanut butter and butter with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add sugars, and beat until pale and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Reduce speed to low. 3. Add dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture, and mix until combined.
4. Scoop level tablespoons of dough, and form into balls and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.
5. Bake until cookies are puffy, about 10 minutes. 

6. Remove from oven, and make indentations in centers by pressing with the handle end of a wooden spoon. 

7. Heat jam in a small saucepan, stirring, until loosened, about 30 seconds. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon into each indentation. 

8. Return to oven, and bake until edges are golden, 6 to 7 minutes more. Transfer sheets to wire racks, and let cool completely.