The best peanut butter and jelly sandwich? It’s a cookie!

Hi! As the cooking editor of the L.A. Times, I’ve cooked some really fancy dishes. But a PB&J remains one of my favorite things to make. I put so much peanut butter and jam on my soft bread that when I take a bite, they squish out all over the place.

Since I create new recipes for a living (and for fun!), I wanted to figure out a way to make the sandwich even better. Obviously, the answer is cookies! Peanut butter cookies are the first thing I ever baked when I was six years old and here, I’ve turned them into the “bread” that sandwiches jam.

All you need for the cookies is six ingredients, a bowl and a spoon. You can mix the dough, scoop it into balls and smash those balls flat by yourself. You may need an adult to get them in and out of the oven, but you definitely can sandwich in the jam on your own. And if you add so much that it squirts out all over the place? Well, that’s how I do it too.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies

Time 35 minutes

Yields Makes 16 cookie sandwiches.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies

35 minutes. Makes 16.

Use your favorite peanut butter here, but if you are using all-natural peanut butter with no added salt, stir ½ teaspoon salt into the dough as well. In fact, salt brings out the peanutty sweetness of these cookies. Try the salted cookie variation below!

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup fruit jam or jelly

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Put the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl and smash them together with a wooden spoon until you can’t see the butter anymore and the sugar is like the perfect wet sand for building a sandcastle. Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla and mix until the dough is really smooth. If the dough is gloppy, refrigerate it until it’s stiff.

3. Use a small cookie scoop or a measuring teaspoon to scoop a ball of dough. If you’re using a cookie scoop, plop the round onto the pan. If you’re using a teaspoon, roll the dough into a ball then put it on the pan. Put all the dough balls on the pan, spacing them 1 ½ inches apart. Gently smash each ball with your palm so that they’re ⅓-inch thick (2 inches in diameter).

4. Bake until the cookies look dry on top, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on the pan on a wire rack.

5. Turn half of the cookies over so that their bottoms are facing up. Scoop ½ teaspoon jam onto each, then sandwich with the rest of the cookies. Eat!

Variation
Sunflower Seed Butter and Jam Cookie Sandwiches: Substitute sunflower seed butter for the peanut butter. Don’t flatten the cookies before baking.

Make Ahead
The cookie sandwiches will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The cookies by themselves will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.