The Holiday Cookie My Family Begs for Every Year

I look forward to countless holiday activities every year—decorating the house, gift exchanges, watching holiday movies… I could go on and on. But maybe one of my favorite holiday pastimes is making cookies for holidays swaps, parties, and my annual ‘thank you’ to my mailman.

Over the years I’ve tried several different cookie recipes—some I go back to year after year while others are one-hit wonders. Among the cookies that I make every single year are Giada De Laurentiis' Peanut Butter Cookies With Blackberry Jam. 

How I Make Peanut Butter Cookies With Blackberry Jam

This cookie recipe is the perfect blend of classic thumbprint cookies and peanut butter blossoms. The cookies themselves are peanut butter chocolate, rolled in granulated sugar, and dolloped with blackberry jam in the center. The result has brownie, peanut butter and jelly, and crinkle cookie notes—I absolutely love it and so do my loved ones.

To make these cookies, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar using a stand mixer. (A hand mixer also works perfectly, which is what I use.) Next, add the vanilla and egg, then slowly incorporate the dry ingredients—flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.

Then I form the dough into one-quarter cup portions, roll each in granulated sugar and place them on a cookie sheet spread evenly apart. To get that classic thumbprint shape, I use the bottom of a 1/2-teaspoon measuring spoon to make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Fill each indentation with a nice dollop of blackberry jam. I like to bake these cookies until chewy and slightly gooey.

Tips for Making Peanut Butter Cookies With Blackberry Jam at Home

• Chilling is a must: De Laurentiis’ recipe doesn’t instruct you to chill the dough, but I’ve found this is absolutely essential to keep the cookies from spreading and losing their shape completely during baking. I usually prep the recipe right up until they’re ready to bake and chill the cookie sheets in the fridge for at least an hour before baking.
• Choose high-quality ingredients: Since peanut butter and jam are the predominant flavors in these cookies, I always make sure to choose high-quality, delicious brands. For the peanut butter, I love Once Again Organic Peanut Butter in the creamy, unsweetened variety. For blackberry jam, I always grab Bonne Maman Blackberry Preserves—it’s not too sweet and I like the texture it provides.
• Don’t overbake: As with most cookies, it’s often just a minute or two that differentiates a perfectly chewy cookie from one that’s overbaked. The recipe calls for a bake time of 11 to 14 minutes, but since every oven behaves a little differently, I usually err on the earlier side—they’ll continue to cook slightly once out of the oven.