bakingclub

Assignment 1: Peanut Butter and Jam Heart Cookies

Don’t these cookies look amazing? I’ve been salivating over them from my February issue of Martha Stewart Living for a good month now. I was originally planning on making them for Valentine’s Day, but then this recipe made so many that I had tons and tons in the freezer and didn’t want to make a new batch of anything. Sensing a theme? This blog will probably feature a good amount of Martha’s recipes, because they’re usually pretty easy to make on top of being delicious.

Anyway, for our first challenge, we’ll make these Peanut Butter and Jam Heart Cookies. It’s never a bad time to add an extra heart or two to your day, even if it is past Valentine’s.

Make sure you take some photographs of your treats, and I’ll do a post on how to submit your photos and thoughts later on (so watch out for that). Let’s give ourselves a deadline of a little over two weeks from now on March 12, so be sure to be ready to blog by then!

Recipe and Directions

Makes about 2 dozen

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup raspberry jam, stirred to loosen

Directions

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in peanut butter, then egg. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour mixture until dough forms. If dough is sticky, refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls (about 2 tablespoons each). Arrange on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart. Press into 1 3/4-inch rounds. Press hearts into centers using your fingertips. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and reshape hearts using your fingertips or the handle of a wooden spoon. Fill indentation of each with a generous 1/2 teaspoon jam to form a heart. Bake until cookies are firm, 6 to 7 minutes more.