a recipe for pb&j cookies?

sometimes the same idea will occur to multiple people simultaneously. this phenomenon can be interesting or annoying depending on your point of view....as a blogger looking for unique story ideas, i'll take the second option...but freely admit creativity flows when presented with challenges...

last year i wrote a story about my maternal grandmother and posted her recipe for peanut butter cookies...truly the best peanut butter cookies i have ever tasted. i was looking for a new and different presentation for them...i have made them a bazillion times in my life the exact same way....and imagined using the recipe to create peanut butter thumbprint cookies filled with homemade jam. eureka!! (i thought)....only to open the october edition of martha stewart living to find...you guessed it...peanut butter and jelly thumbprint cookies...on the last page of the magazine. that martha!...she is always copying me!! :)

so....i created a different take on the same idea...after all, who doesn't like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (do we really need the bread?) and viola!...i decided to made a "real" sandwich version of these tastes. enter my pb&j cookies. 2 delicious peanut butter cookies sandwiched with jam. really delicious....

the october selection for my book club was slow food revolution by carlo petrini and gigi padovani. the meeting was held at my friend caitlin's home. i told you about caitlin last year...she moved to napa from canada a couple of years ago and started a tradition of inviting a bunch of her napa friends to celebrate canadian thanksgiving with her so she would not be homesick...she wrote about it last year in the post three thanksgivings . this has now become an annual tradition and...since the entire book club was invited...we decided to make it a "local, organic or sustainably grown meal"...with all ingredients coming from the napa valley. i decided to make my pb&j cookies as part of the dessert offering...i started using only organic, locally milled grains in my baking when i started the dog treats business...and, since i grow the fruit used in my homemade jam, i figured that was about as local as you can get....the cookies were a hit...everyone raved over them...i actually had a number of people come up to me and say..."those cookies were the best cookies i have ever eaten!" (o.k....they had consumed massive quantities of wine..but still...i'll take the compliment...)

canadian thanksgiving in napa was as magical as ever....amazing food, terrific friends, beautiful scenery....and we get to do it again (with family this time) in less than a month for american thanksgiving....truly a lot to be thankful for....

pb & j cookies

peanut butter recipe from gran's peanut butter cookies blog post

1 jar of your favorite jam...i use our napa farmhouse 1885 persimmon jam

preheat oven to 325 degrees. make the cookie dough according to blog recipe directions. roll dough into balls 1 inch in diameter. place on greased (or use silpat) baking sheets (you will need two sheets) . flatten balls with tines of a fork creating an "x" pattern. (see photos). bake for 10-12 minutes. cookies will still be very soft which is the way we like them...bake an additional few minutes if you like your cookies crunchy. place cookies on racks and allow to cool.

when ready to assemble, spread the flat side of one cookie with a thin layer of jam. top with flat side of another cookie. continue with entire batch. let cookies sit for 30 minutes to allow jam to set.

happy november everyone! looking forward to sharing a lot of cooking/baking dishes this month...so please post your favorites in the comments section of this post....and be sure to let me know how you like the cookies...

best,

diane

diane padoven

napa farmhouse 1885(tm)

"live a green life of style"(tm)

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