Peanut Butter + Jelly Cookies

Invariably, when my best friend, Erica, comes to town, my hands are covered with flour, butter, and sugar. This last visit was no different. She has a newish job working in Advance on Fridays, so I am happy to get to see her more frequently than usual. As I was deciding on which cookies to make, I thought back to all the times that our lives have come together over food. We've eaten Pad Thai in Charlotte during her vegan days and blueberry pancakes at my kitchen table during my gluten-free days. In high school, we helped my parents prepare and serve food at several dinner parties, hurriedly plating salads as we giggled about guests.

And then there was the time E and I were back from college, making cookies with my mom in her kitchen. It was time to plop the dough on the cookie sheet and my job was to grease the cookie sheet. It was then that both she and my mom learned that, as a result of several cookie-sticking experiences, I tended to expel nearly half a can of Pam onto the cookie sheets. As I sprayed away, they both stopped their chatting to stare at me. I slowly looked in their direction, and Mom dryly asked me if she should get our the other can of Pam from the pantry. E just snickered, and pointed out that there were rivers of Pam flowing down the sheet. Now, whenever I grease a cookie sheet, I always think of E.

Pam last a lot longer these days.

Peanut Butter + Jelly Cookies

Kelley Gondring

Preheat oven 350º

In a large mixing bowl, cream together:
8 tablespoons butter
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup nutella
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar

Beat in:
1 large egg

In a small bowl, combine:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Once combined, add a half a cup at a time into the butter/sugar mixture. Scrape down the sides after each addition.

Grease cookie sheet. Roll dough into small balls and press flat with the back of a spatula. Use the back of a teaspoon to make a well in the middle of each cookie. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and fill each well with your favorite flavor of jelly (I used strawberry and blackberry). Replace cookies in oven and let back 7-10 minutes longer or until edges are golden brown.

Transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

Eat up!