These flourless peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookies are super easy to make, just one bowl and six ingredients! They melt in your mouth and have a delicious contrast in flavor.
Peanut butter and jelly fans! This recipe is made especially for you. It can’t get easier than this, one bowl and just six ingredients to reach cookie bliss. These cookies are filled to the brim with sweet strawberry jam that sits perfectly in the thumbprint indent.
Do you remember making thumbprint cookies with your family or friends during the holidays? I always looked forward to rolling and smooshing these cookies to create a snug little well for the filling. You don’t have to be a kid to have fun making these.
We grew up eating Smucker’s jam, our cupboard was loaded with grape, apricot, and strawberry flavors. Make sure to pick a seedless variety, so you don’t get them stuck in your teeth.
The jam is set like jello in the jar, so whisk it before filling to help make it easier to work with each cookie. Look at those magnificent jeweled center mini masterpieces! Sometimes the most simple treat hits the spot.
The cookie dough batter is a quick mixture of super smooth and creamy peanut butter. I used Jif Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, brown and white granulated sugar, eggs, salt, and vanilla. That’s it!
Since there is no flour, you get a nice strong peanut flavor. The cookie just melts in your mouth. You’ll find yourself sneaking a cookie or two, three or four!
These delicate and delicious peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookies are the easiest sweet snack you could make this holiday season. Since they only have sugar and egg holding them together, they are more fragile than flour-based cookies yet have enough structure to hold in your hand.
Grab a big glass of milk, and a handful of cookies, and sit back and relax to your favorite holiday tunes. Enjoy!
How do these cookies hold together without flour?
These flourless thumbprint cookies are noticeably more delicate. However, a few ingredients in the batter hold the dough together. The eggs in the mixture contain proteins that, once cooked above 70 degrees, set and provide a structure to the dough. The egg helps to bind the ingredients. The sugars offer a hint of sweetness and add stiffness as it dissolves in the batter and assists in firming up the texture. It’s best to keep these cookies small, about 1-inch balls, to hold together.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter, creamy, or peanut butter spread
- ½ cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup seedless strawberry jam
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk all ingredients together to combine, except jam. Press dough together into a ball, wrap tightly, and chill in fridge 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F, with rack set in the center. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Shape dough into small 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar to coat. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Lightly press the center of each dough ball with your thumb to create a well.
- Stir jam so that it's easy to pour into each cookie.
- Add ¼ teaspoon of jam in the center of each cookie.
- Bake 7 to 9 minutes, until just set on the outside but still very soft. Do not over bake.
- Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet, and then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Video
Equipment
Notes
- Keep cookies in airtight container at room temp to preserve softness.
Lulu says
Thank you for this recipe! Yum!
Jessica Gavin says
Happy to hear you enjoyed it, Lulu!
Katherine says
Made these with a hot pepper raspberry jam. Had a nice sweet spicy nuttiness to them.
Jessica Gavin says
Wow, adding a spicy jam to the cookies sounds amazing!