Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints

Sweet Sunday's Yummy Lit Review:
Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints

I have a confession.
I have never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

It has never sounded, or for that matter looked, appetizing to me. The colour and consistency have put me off countless times - brown paste with something red and sticky? No thank you.

Never having eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (a staple of most children's diets) combined with my intense dislike for meat products means that I spent most of my childhood eating cheese sandwiches. To this day I can't look at cheddar/American cheese between two pieces of untoasted bread without having flashbacks of lunch hours spent in my school's cafeteria room.

Flash-forward a handful of years, and here you have a 20-something year old woman who has never experienced the combined flavours of peanut butter and jelly... until she read about it in a cookie book, that is. I figured there was no time like the present to lose my peanut butter and jelly virginity.


The Cookie Bible (2004, p 260) tells me that to do so I'll need:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon milk
Any flavour jelly

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add peanut butter and butter; mix until crumbly. Stir in honey and milk. Shae into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Press thumb into center of each ball; place 1/2 teaspoon jelly into each thumbprint. Bake at 375*F for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute before removing to wire racks. Store in airtight container.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.


I'll admit that I did change the recipe around a little. Instead of creamy peanut butter I used the chunky kind... which gave the cookie a more nutty, yet crumbly, texture. I also forfeited jelly for natural, wholesome strawberry jam from Krause Farms. I don't know if any of you live in or close to BC, but be sure to check out Krause Farms if you do. I swear it's the homeplace of some of the best fruits and vegetables I've ever tasted. They have these apples that taste better than candy, and that's saying something coming from me... but I digress...

So how did my first time with peanut butter and jelly (well jam) go?

Great! The recipe is super easy to follow... no weird steps, no faulty directions, no need to drastically change anything. Making Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprints is quite rewarding really - spend a short amount of time at an easy task and boom - 1o minutes later really yummy and quite aesthetically pleasing cookies come out of your oven.

I was even pleasantly surprised by the flavour combination. Peanut butter and jelly is good! Who would have thought... well besides all those kids who have spent decades happily munching down on those sandwiches. Maybe they're onto something.

I'll admit though - I am still not ready to try a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The combination of their colour and consistency between two slices of untoasted bread still doesn't look too appetizing to me.

Are there any 'normal' food combinations that you just can't bring yourself to try?

Happy Sweet Sunday!