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–+ servings

Soft Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies (Classic PB&J Thumbprint Cookies)

Soft peanut butter and jelly cookies with extra jam, peanut butter drizzle, and chopped peanuts
Soft peanut butter and jelly cookies with jam centers and peanut drizzle. Classic PB&J thumbprint cookies and nostalgic peanut butter dessert.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Serving Size 24 cookies

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

  • ½ Cup Butter room temperature
  • ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
  • ¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar packed
  • 1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1 ½ Cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • ½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ½ Teaspoon Salt

Finishing and Garnishing

  • ½ Cup Seedless Jam plus extra for finishing
  • 2 –3 Tablespoons Creamy Peanut Butter microwaved 30–45 seconds to loosen
  • 2 Tablespoons Dry Roasted Peanuts finely chopped (optional but elite)

Instructions

  • Beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together for a full 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy. This is where the structure starts.
  • Mix in the egg, vanilla, and cornstarch until fully combined. The cornstarch keeps these easy peanut butter cookies with jelly soft without turning them fragile. Add in the peanut butter and mix until smooth.
  • In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  • Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture. Mix just until combined. Do not overwork the dough.
  • Scoop about 1 ½ Tablespoons of dough and roll into smooth balls. Place 2 inches apart.
  • Flatten each ball gently using a fork in a criss-cross pattern. This is what gives authentic PB&J cookies their traditional look.
  • Using your thumb or a ¼ Teaspoon, create a small centered well in each cookie.
  • Spoon 1 teaspoon of seedless jam into each indent. Don’t overfill - jam expands and will sink into the cookie.
  • Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 13–15 minutes.
  • Edges should be golden. Centers should be set. Do not underbake.
  • Allow cookies to sit on the baking sheet 5–10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Re-indent right after baking if the center puffs up - gently press again while warm.
  • Finish like a boss (garnish): Once cookies are completely cool, add a small spoonful of extra jam to the center, drizzle 2–3 Tbsp warmed peanut butter over the top, and sprinkle chopped dry roasted peanuts if desired .. turning them into bakery-worthy easy peanut butter cookies with jelly.

Notes

Tips & Tricks No One Tells You

  • Do not use natural peanut butter. The oil separation will wreck your texture. Old-school creamy peanut butter wins every time for classic peanut butter and jelly cookies.
  • Chill dough 20 minutes if your kitchen runs warm. Thicker cookies = better chew.
  • Want deeper flavor? Brown the butter first. Let it cool before mixing. That little nutty note? Game changer.
  • Mix two jams together. Grape + raspberry is wildly underrated.
  • Bake them fully. These are structured soft peanut butter jam cookies, not molten lava centers.
  • Re-indent right after baking if the center puffs up — gently press again while warm.
  • To make life easy, I simply use a fork to drizzle the warm peanut butter on the cookies.  A chopstick would be perfect too!