Name: Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 11 min
Total time: 21 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted; 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 1/2 cup light brown sugar; 1/2 cup peanut butter; 1 egg, at room temperature; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup jam; Peanut butter; Peanuts

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe·★★★★★5 from 2 reviews

These are the BEST peanut butter and jelly cookies - Fudgy, chewy and never dry. We're talking your favorite PB&J flavors but with the texture and chew of a chocolate chip cookie.

Cookie with a bite missing surrounded by other cookies, a bowl of peanuts and a bowl of peanut butter.

Imagine your favorite chocolate chip cookie. Is it gooey, soft and somehow defies the laws of physics by being both chewy in the middle and crispy along the edges?

Guess what: So are these peanut butter and jelly cookies!

No dryness, no unpleasant sandy texture that immediately crumbles through your fingers and onto the floor.

Just that chewy, fudgy texture you know and love; Creamy peanut buttery goodness with a bright burst of jam.

Jump to:

Ingredients
Working ahead
How to make peanut butter and jelly cookies
Expert tips
Scaling
Storage
More delicious cookies
Recipe

Ingredients

Below are helpful tips for key ingredients. A full list of ingredients and measurements is available in the recipe card.

Butter: Provides fat and moisture to the cookies. Melting it makes it easier to mix in, which reduces the chances of overmixing the dough, and it also leads to a slightly fudgy, chewy texture.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness, moisture and creates a chewy texture.
Granulated sugar: Because it tastes sweeter than brown sugar, we're adding just a little bit for an extra pop of sweetness.
Egg: Adds stability and richness.
Peanut butter: I used smooth but any kind will work. And if you're wondering what makes peanut butter cookies dry and crumbly, it's too much peanut butter. I recipe-tested these until I found the sweet spot at a ½ cup. Don't worry, we'll add a drizzle of peanut butter post-baking for more flavor.

All ingredients should be room temperature to prevent the dough from seizing.

Working ahead

Close up of orange-y jam filled cookies on a parchment paper lined cooling rack.

Want to mix up these cookies now for easy baking later?

Cover and refrigerate the bowl of dough for 3-5 days. You can also bake, wrap and freeze them for up to six months.

If you're working ahead for a cookie platter, a few of my other favorite cookie recipes that prep well include pepperkake (Norwegian gingerbread), chocolate malt cookies and maple cookies.

And if you like peanut butter, salted caramel peanut butter blondies can be frozen for up to two months.

How to make peanut butter and jelly cookies

Overhead view of peanut butter cookie dough in a clear bowl with a white spatula.

First, make the dough.

Stir the sugars and melted butter until combined. Add the peanut butter and stir until smooth.

Stir in the egg and vanilla. Fold in the flour, baking soda and salt.

Second, scoop onto the baking sheet.

Scoop 3-tablespoon balls of dough (leaving two inches between each) onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Press to ½" thickness.

Close up of unbaked peanut butter cookie with a big dollop of red jam on top.

Third, add jam.

Scooping a heaping teaspoon of jam onto the top of each cookie.

Make sure none runs down the sides or it'll make a sticky, gummy mess on the bottom of the cookies.

Overhead view of peanut butter cookies on parchment paper with red jam in the center and peanuts sprinkled around the edges.

Finally, bake.

Bake the cookies at 350F for 10-11 minutes or until you can see the edges just starting to brown.

Drizzle with melted peanut butter and chopped peanuts.

Expert tips

The importance of leaving cookies on the baking sheet: To prevent the cookies from getting too brown or dry, remove them when the edges are just starting to brown, leaving them slightly undercooked. Cooling them on the baking sheet will finish the baking process.
Fixing cookies that have spread: Place a round cookie cutter or small bowl over each cookie and, using a circular motion, gently swirl it around the edges of the cookies. This works best when the cookies are hot and fresh out of the oven.

Peanut butter and jelly cookies stacked against a small bottle of milk with other cookies and bowls in the background.

Scaling

While this recipe can easily be doubled or tripled, I don't recommend halving it; The ratio of egg to other ingredients will be off (since there's only one egg), which will result in a cakey cookie.

Storage

These cookies will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.

They can also be individually wrapped and frozen for up to six months.

More delicious cookies

Need more cookie recipes to satisfy those sweet cravings? Here are a few more favorites:

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below! I regularly update these posts and feedback from wonderful readers like you help me improve them.

Recipe