Peanut Butter Cookies with Blackberry Jam-Miss Missouri Orientation

photo from Foodnetwork.com... we ate them too fast to get pics of them!

The only way anyone could improve upon the combination of either peanut butter and chocolate or peanut butter and jelly, is to, obviously, combine all three! Now, I can't take credit for this recipe, and I didn't change the original bit. If it ain't broke, I ain't gonna look for ways to fix it!

This past weekend was the Miss Missouri Orientation, in which all contestants come to learn the ins and outs of the competition. It's a blast meeting all the girls and hearing about what they've been up to as local titleholders. I had an equally wonderful time making cookies to share with the girls, board members, and everyone's family. So in between studying for my pathology test, I relaxed by making a load of cookies! Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and sugar cookies shaped like crowns, like in my previous entry. But I couldn't forget my favorite cookie: Peanut Butter Cookies with Blackberry Jam. They were a hit!

Peanut Butter Cookies with Blackberry Jam
Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis

-1 c. flour
-1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
-1/2 t. baking soda
-1/8 t. salt
-1/2 c. butter, room temperature
-3/4 c. smooth peanut butter, room temperature
-3/4 c. granulated sugar + 1/4 c.
-1/2 c. brown sugar
-1 egg, room temperature
-1 t. vanilla
-1/4 c. blackberry jam

Preheat oven to 375F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Sift together flour, cocoa, soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream together the butter, peanut butter, 3/4 c. granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, scraping sides of bowl when needed. Mix in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture.
Put the 1/4 c. granulated sugar in a bowl. Form two tablespoons of dough into a ball. Roll ball in sugar and place on prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough. Using the handle end of a wooden spoon, press a hole into the center of each dough ball. Fill each hole with jam. Bake for 11-14 min. Cool on a rack for 5 min before removing from cookie sheet. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
ENJOY! (I know you will!)