Enjoy a childhood favorite in cookie form! These Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies are made with peanut butter oat cookies and raspberry jelly buttercream.
(This recipe for Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies was originally published in March 2013, but was updated with new photos in 2020).
Guys, my neighbors have been fighting for like 12 days straight. Not even kidding. I'm about ready to stage an intervention. But I think Chris and I might also need an intervention of our own because we are way too entertained by this.
After a couple months of wondering where the heck the yelling was coming from, we finally determined it was the people below us. The walls/ceilings must be thin. Now? Don't judge us, but we totally lie on the ground and listen whenever we hear an argument starting.
And sometimes we have to run from room to room because they don't fight in the same spot for long. Once I even put my head on the bathroom floor to listen. I'm sorry, but the Bachelor ended last week and this is better than anything else on television right now. More drama if you can believe it.
The gist of it is that the girl is getting SO ready to walk out (with lots of expletives thrown in) and he's lazy and needs to learn to work as hard as he plays. And stop spending money on things they don't need. She sounds really, really mean. But he sounds really dumb and indifferent to the relationship. I can't decide whose side to take.
I briefly considered knocking on their door with some cookies. But then I realized it was only really because I wanted to see what they look like. Is that wrong?
But seriously, I think these cookies could help fix things. There's no way they wouldn't at least cheer things up for a little bit. Not only are they cookies, but they're cookies that bring back memories of childhood. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in cookie form.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies Recipe
I altered one of my all-time favorite cookie recipes (from Tom Colicchio) for some extra peanut butter impact with a jelly twist. New favorite cookie in the world, I'm telling you right now.
These sandwich cookies are easy to make and the jelly buttercream is even easier! The cookies do bake best after the rolled out dough has a bit of time to chill in the fridge (about 30 mins), so make sure you incorporate that time into the total recipe time.
When I first made Tom Colicchio's peanut butter cookies, I declared them the best cookies in the world. This was partly due to the toasted oats in them. Which is why I don't think I'll ever be able to make another peanut butter cookie without the involvement of toasted oats. Too amazing.
Start by melting 4 Tbsp butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Once melted, add the oats. Cook oats in butter for about 5-7 minutes, stirring gently, until the oats are browned and toasted. Pour oats onto a sheet of parchment paper to cool a bit.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together remaining stick of butter and both kinds of sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
Add the peanut butter and beat together until well combined. Try not to lick the bowl yet. It's not time.
Slowly add in the flour mixture until just combined, taking care not to over-mix. Fold in the oats and peanut butter chips.
I used Tom's other great trick here, too. Place dough on a large sheet of parchment paper and place another large sheet of parchment paper on top. Roll the dough out until it’s about ¼-inch thick.
Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and place dough on counter and remove top layer of parchment paper. Cut 24 circles out of the dough with a 2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter (or the top of a drinking glass).
Place rounds about one inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes, until cookies are just starting to turn golden.
Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes on cookie sheet, and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cookies are cooling, whip up the raspberry jelly buttercream. If you don't have raspberry jelly, you can use strawberry. Or any kind you want!
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat together butter, confectioners' sugar, and jelly until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
When cookies are cooled, put jelly buttercream in a pastry bag or in a ziplock bag with the corner cut off and squeeze buttercream in a circular motion on 12 of the cookies.
Top each cookie with a second bare cookie to make little sandwiches.
And be prepared to be transported back to your childhood, but even better. If that's possible. But it is because you're now an adult and nobody can limit you to just two peanut butter and jelly sandwich cookies.
Go ahead, eat them all. Well, maybe not that. Because then someone in your family will probably come sue me for advising you to eat a dozen sandwich cookies. Do I need some sort of disclaimer on this blog?
I don't care how old I get; peanut butter and jelly will always hold a special place in my heart. But even more so when it's in cookie form.
And trust me, these peanut butter cookies are GOOD. The toasted oats give them a deeper flavor and also make them super crumbly... In a good way.
The raspberry jelly buttercream adds a bright touch of sweetness to the toasty peanut butter flavor. Perfection!
And I really believe these peanut butter and jelly cookies could prevent a fight or two. I think my best bet is to teach my male neighbor how to bake these… and then his girlfriend/wife/whatever won't be able to accuse him of being lazy anymore.
Maybe they'll even remember why they fell in love in the first place.
Then again, considering how thin these floors seem to be, maybe it's best if we don't make them fall overly in love with each other. I think I'd prefer the fighting.
Come to think of it, if I give these to the baby next door, do you think he'll start sleeping later than 5:00 a.m., which will allow his parents to stay in bed instead of talking as loud as they possibly can in baby voices? Ugh.
Seriously, these peanut butter and jelly cookies could potentially solve all the world's problems. I'm willing to give it a try.
But for now, they're just making me happy. Which I guess is enough. Plus, they're keeping me in the kitchen where my KitchenAid drowns out the sound of the fighting.
Do you ever hear a little too much from your neighbors?
If you like these peanut butter cookies, be sure to check out my Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies and my XL Peanut Butter Cookies with Sprinkles. And I can't wait to try these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies from The Marble Kitchen!
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) + 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature and divided
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup peanut butter chips
- 1 batch raspberry jelly buttercream (recipe below)
Raspberry Jelly Buttercream
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 Tbsp raspberry jelly/jam
Instructions
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Melt 4 Tbsp butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Once melted, add the oats. Cook oats in butter for about 5-7 minutes, stirring gently, until the oats are browned and toasted. Pour oats onto a sheet of parchment paper to cool a bit.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together remaining stick of butter and both kinds of sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the peanut butter and beat together until well combined.
- Slowly add in the flour mixture until just combined, taking care not to over-mix. Fold in the oats and peanut butter chips.
- Place dough on a large sheet of parchment paper and place another large sheet of parchment paper on top. Roll the dough out until it’s about ¼-inch thick. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place dough on counter and remove top layer of parchment paper. Cut 24 circles out of the dough with a 2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter (or the top of a drinking glass).
- Place rounds about one inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes, until cookies are just starting to turn golden.
- Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes on cookie sheet, and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Put raspberry jelly buttercream in a pastry bag or in a ziplock bag with the corner cut off and squeeze buttercream in a circular motion on 12 of the cookies. Top each cookie with a second bare cookie to make sandwiches.
Raspberry Jelly Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat together butter, confectioners' sugar, and jelly until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container. For maximum freshness, keep in fridge.
Odetta says
Oh how I love living in an apartment! My neighbors are super loud all. The. Time. These cookies could definitely help the situation!
Emily says
I. Just. Died. This is too funny. I love that you listen and follow the moving fight. I'd do the same. In college my roommate and I would update one another on the hallway drama in soap-opera style.
P.S. The cookies look delicious too.
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
It is so funny that the fights have replaced the Bachelor for the evening entertainment. Yes...I'm sure they would love the cookies, I know I would.
Melissa says
I can't even get into what I've been through with my rude upstairs neighbors and their noisy toddler! Your story cracked me up - at least it's entertaining for you! A couple that lived below me a few years ago used to fight and I remember one time I heard her called him a short loser. He was really short. I felt bad. These cookies look awesome! Raspberry jelly buttercream is something I will need to make soon.
Emily @ A Cambridge Story says
Ah the joys of city living! I've definitely heard too much from my neighbors in the past -- luckily the worst complaint that I have now is hearing my neighbor's jazz pandora station every morning. I'm certain that these cookies would definitely cut the tension in any apartment building!
Megan says
We're still looking for something to fill the void now that The Bachelor is over. No neighbor drama here though. I absolutely love that these have raspberry jelly buttercream rather than just jelly. I bet it totally makes the cookie.
Ashley Bee (Quarter Life Crisis Cuisine) says
OURS TOO! And my roommate and I listen in as well, but it's moreso some sort of sick satisfaction since these people have made it their mission to make us feel as unwelcome and be as difficult as possible. Ugh. We made them cupcakes once, it didn't help a thing. These look tasty though! Almost like do-si-do's but with jelly!
Michelle Collins says
Thankfully, our neighbors/tenants are actually pretty quiet...although, they never shut their front door tight enough, and on a windy day it constantly slams into our front door. That's always fun.
Maggie @ A Bitchin' Kitchen says
Hahaha, this made me laugh so hard. In my old apartment building, a couple a few doors down from me had a HUGE blowout in the middle of the night. The guy was throwing all the girl's stuff into the hallway, and she was sitting on the hallway floor crying...everyone on my floor had their heads hanging out the door trying to discreetly watch. I felt bad, but I'm sure I provided similar entertainment when fighting with my ex bf! These cookies look great! Now I'm craving a pb & j!
Shannon says
LOL. i certainly think these cookies would be the answer to any problem they might be having 🙂 so delicious!!
Monique says
Oh Lord, this made me laugh! I too am a nosy body. While i live in a very safe and lovely neighborhood, occassionally there is some riff raff going on. When the presidential election was over, there were whoops and hollers in the street... and what sounded like gun shots. So my very ignorant and curious ass walked over to the window when my boyfriend grabbed me saying "hey, silly, wanna stay away from the window if you think you hear gunshots?" Point: BF. lol.
These cookies are magnificent. I can taste them. I am praying for a bigger kitchen. Having ONE counter makes baking THE WORST! So... send me some?
Gia Grossman says
My neighbor definitely has a crying baby too. All the time. It's cute but not cute enough that I want to hear it 27-7. But what can ya do when it's a baby?? These cookies look comforting though. If I eat 10 maybe I won't hear the crying baby anymore?
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
That is hilarious, I would love if I could actually hear what people are saying when all of that commotion is going on. Please share some good stories with us:-)
If you brought over these cookies it would probably stop all of the fights. They would definitely get me to shut up for a while:-)
Lynn says
I'm cracking up at the thought of you running to lie down on the floor and listen when a fight begins!
Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic says
Too funny that you guys have built in entertainment. Cookies can definitely help relationships though!
Kitchen Belleicious says
oh who wouldnt love these. WOW! they look delicious and fun
RebeccaC says
This gave me a serious giggle. You absolutely must keep us posted on the neighbors now. Also these cookies sound insane. I would make them but Lilly is on a peanut butter luck and I fear she would want them all if she saw them. Yum!
Eva says
OMG. That is hilarious! I used to do the same thing when I lived in apartments during college haha. And love these cookie sandwiches, what a great idea!
Bree {Skinny Mommy} says
Oh man that stinks! I do think some cookies might turn things around ;). My kids would go crazy for these ones. Wow!
Reeni says
This is cookie heaven! I have his PB cookies on my list to bake! This is the push I needed. . . Sooooo funny about your neighbors!
Susan says
Oh my gosh, your entertainment is right below you!
Love these PB&J cookies! What a great idea.
Juliana says
Luckily our neighbors are good...just sometimes they tend to talk too much 🙂
Your cookies look great...love the filling...hope you are having a fun week!
Meghan says
These look amazing.
We have been cursed with 7 years of bad neighbors, so I feel your pain!
Jenn says
HAHA! Oh the joys of apartment living 🙂 At least you have been entertained by it for some time now!! lol
Love these little cookies... what a fantastic way to enjoy one of my all time favorite sandwiches!!!
Culinary Cory says
These look so cute. Perfect for spring.