Peanut butter and jelly jewels

5 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 cup Bleached all-purpose flour
(dip and sweep method)
1 teaspoon Baking soda
⅛ teaspoon Salt
½ cup Light brown sugar (firmly packed)
¼ cup Granulated sugar
½ cup Unsalted butter
1 cup Smooth peanut butter
1 large Egg
½ teaspoon Pure vanilla extract

Directions

Makes about 5 dozen 1¾-inch cookies Equipment: Ungreased cookie sheets, 1 ¼-inch cookie scoop, or a measuring teaspoon.

Place two oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Soften the butter. In a small bowl, sift together he flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine well. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the sugars until well mixed. Add the butter and peanut butter and beat for several minutes, until very smooth and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl. At low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture just until incorporated.

Scrape the dough into a bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour or overnight (This keeps the dough from cracking when shaped).

Measure the dough into a 1 ¼-inch cookie scoop or 2 level teaspoons and roll it between the palms of your hands to shape 1-inch balls. Place the balls 1 ½ inches apart on the cookie sheets. As soon as you roll each ball, use your index finger or the handle of a wooden spoon to make a depression going down almost to the cookie sheet in the center of each ball.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned and set. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking period.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for a few minutes or until firm enough to lift. Use a small, angled metal spatula or pancake turner to transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. If necessary, while the cookies are still hot, use the greased handle of a wooden spoon to deepen the depressions. Fill the centers with cherry preserves or milk chocolate topping.

Cherry Preserves Topping: ** 1 ½ (12-ounce) jars cherry preserves In a microwave oven or a saucepan, heat the preserves until boiling. Strain the jelly into a small heavy saucepan. Place the cherries remaining in the strainer in the centers of the cookies. If some are crushed, piece them together.

On medium heat, boil the jelly for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly until, when it is dropped from the stirring spoon, the last drops gather to form one large sticky drop that hangs from the spoon. The jelly will be reduced to about ¾ cup. Allow the jelly to cool about 1 minutes or until the bubbling stops. Spoon heaping ¼ to ½ teaspoons over each cherry.

Milk Chocolate Topping: ** 2 (3-ounce) bars milk chocolate 2 (3-ounce) bars bittersweet chocolate 6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature Break the chocolate into squares and place them in the top of a double boiler. Set it over hot but not simmering water. The water must not touch the bottom of the double-boiler insert. Stir until the chocolate begins to melt. Return the pan to low heat if the water cools, but be careful that the water does not get too hot. Stir the chocolate until smooth, and cool it until it is no longer warm to the touch.( The chocolate may be melted in a microwave oven if stirred every 15 seconds. Remove it before it is fully melted and stir, using residual heat to complete melting). Whisk in the softened butter. The mixture will immediately thicken. Do not overwhisk. Use a recloseable quart-size freezer bag with one corner cut off to pipe the chocolate into the centers of the cookies or use a small metal spatula to spread on a dollop. You can also use a copler with a # 22 star decorating tube to pipe the chocolate decoratively into the centers. Allow the chocolate to set until firm.

Store: In an airtight container Keeps: 1 month Tip: Using superfine sugar will result in fewer cracks in the cookie's surface. It can be prepared easily in a food processor by processing granulated sugar for a few minutes or until it is as fine as sand.

From: Rose's Christmas Cookies Shared by: Kaitlin Young, September, '92 From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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