High Altitude Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Today’s high altitude peanut butter and jelly cookies feature an easy recipe for soft peanut butter cookies swirled with strawberry or raspberry preserves. These delicious cookies taste like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

You might also love these high altitude recipes for peanut butter swirl fudge brownies, chocolate peanut butter cake, and flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Quick and Easy. The dough comes together quickly, and only needs to chill for one hour before you can bake the cookies.

No Mixer Needed. This recipe for peanut butter and jelly cookies uses melted butter, so you don’t even need a mixer to make the dough, just a bowl and whisk.

Soft for Days. You’ll love the soft texture of these peanut butter and jelly swirled cookies, even days after baking.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

• Butter. Use unsalted butter. If using salted, you’ll need to reduce or omit the extra salt in the recipe.
• Peanut Butter. I prefer a creamy, no stir peanut butter for cookies.
• Sugar. A combination of light brown sugar and granulated sugar adds sweetness, moisture, and helps the cookies to spread as they bake.
• Egg + Egg Yolk. Adds strength, structure and moisture to the dough, as well as binds it together.
• Vanilla Extract + Cinnamon. Flavor.
• Flour. All purpose flour gives the dough structure and strength.
• Corn Starch. Helps to tenderize the cookies, keeping them very soft.
• Baking Soda. Leavening agent.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
• Fruit Preserves. Strawberry or raspberry preserves will pair the best with the peanut butter.

Instructions

Make the dough.

• In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar, until smooth.
• Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla, and whisk again until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and use a spatula to stir the dough together until combined.
• Dollop the jam over the cookie dough, and cut the spatula through the dough a few times, to swirl the dough throughout. You don’t want to mix the jam in too much, so leave lots of visible swirls of jam.
• Cover the bowl and chill the dough for 1 hour.

Bake the cookies.

• Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Use a medium cookie scoop (for small cookies) or large cookie scoop (for medium cookies) to scoop the dough into evenly sized portions. Slightly flatten the balls of dough with your palm.
• Space the dough balls 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake the cookies for about 9-10 minutes (for small cookies) or 12-13 minutes (for medium cookies), until the cookies have spread and the centers are mostly set. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use any type of jam in these cookies?

I recommend a good quality fruit preserves that’s thick and contains chunks of fruit. Strawberry or raspberry preserves taste the best with the peanut butter cookies. I haven’t tested the recipe with fruit butters.

Will this recipe work with natural peanut butter?

While I haven’t tested this recipe with natural peanut butters, my other peanut butter cookie recipes work well with both natural and no stir cream peanut butter. When using natural peanut butter, I usually use a couple tablespoons less peanut butter, since it’s runnier.

How should I store leftover cookies?

Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.

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