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PB&J Oatmeal Thumbprint Cookies

August 26, 2010

Every Sunday when I was little, my parents took us to church. After Sunday school the entire congregation would gather for conversation, juice and cookies. Without fail, all the kids would run up to the table to grab handfuls of pre-packaged, jelly-filled thumbprint cookies. But even as a kid that loved sugary sweets, the mere thought of the jelly in those cookies grossed me out. I would scrape the jelly out and throw it away because it tasted more like strawberry glue/gel than the "all natural" preserves advertised on the package.

Wanting to improve on yet another childhood memory that's still vivid in my mind AND keep with this week's Peanut Butter and Jelly theme, I came up with these PB&J Thumbprint Cookies. I've recreated many of my unhealthy childhood favorites here in the pages of weelicious, only I always try to come up with a healthy version. What strikes me is how easy it is to make healthy desserts your kids will love without sacrificing taste! Instead of the hydrogenated fats and untold amounts of sugar that comprised the cookies I ate as a kid, I added naturally sweet honey, fiber-packed oats, protein-rich peanut butter and then topped them off with fresh preserves for a tasty, real fruit touch.

My kids were so excited when I put the plate of these fresh baked cookies in front of them, but the best part for me was watching Kenya react just like his mommy used to: by digging out the preserves first. The only difference was that he put them right into his mouth!

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PB&J Oatmeal Thumbprint Cookies  (Makes about 60 cookies)

  • Prep Time:5 minutes,
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes,
  • Total Time: 15 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
  • 1/2 cup agave nectar or 1/2 cup honey

  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • jam, jelly or preserves

Preparation

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. 2. Place the butter and agave (or honey) in a bowl or standing mixer and beat for 1 minute.
  3. 3. Add the egg, vanilla and peanut butter and beat another minute on medium speed or until smooth.

  4. 4. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix to combine.

  5. 5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to incorporate.
  6. 6. Drop 1 tbsp of the cookie dough onto a silpat or parchment-lined cookie sheet and using your thumb (or index finger if you prefer), make an indentation in the center of each cookie.
  7. 7. Fill the indentation of each cookie with about 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
  8. 8. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
  9. 9. Cool and serve.
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Comments






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  2. Diana @ Eating Made Easy

    February 12, 2013 at 7:41 pm

    Reply

    My hubby loves PB! Gonna give these a try.

  3. Laura

    August 15, 2012 at 3:13 pm

    Reply

    I made these last night and they were delicious! I broke one in half today to give it to our toddler for a snack and the inside was GREEN! What could have happened? We don’t think it’s mold — it looks like some sort of chemical reaction where the jam sat. I followed the recipe exactly (with honey), but used sunflower butter because I have a peanut allergy. The brand of jam I used was Polaner’s all fruit (I used both strawberry and apricot jams, and both had the same reaction).

    • Sherrylyn

      August 16, 2012 at 10:17 am

      Reply

      I made these yesterday morning, and they were also green inside when I gave it to my toddler in the afternoon. I also used sunflower butter. Any idea why?

      • mebrr

        November 1, 2012 at 9:17 am

        Reply

        There is a chemical reaction with Sunbutter and baking soda (I believe it’s baking soda) it turns it green. Sorry to tell you this too late but it’s a great recipe for halloween at schools or perhaps St. Patricks day. It is still good (you can google it if you don’t believe me). It happens in baked goods but still it’s yummy!

  4. Jenn

    January 30, 2012 at 4:14 pm

    Reply

    these sounded so good! i don’t know what i did wrong, but i followed the directions and mine were soooooo dry and they just crumbled when i baked them!! i had more to bake but ended up just throwing the dough away! any ideas as to why they came out this way? thanks!

    • catherine

      January 30, 2012 at 4:40 pm

      Reply

      Without being there I can’t be sure of exactly what could have gone wrong. Cookies become dry when they are baked too long, or when there aren’t enough liquid ingredients. Did you use the full amount of agave or honey? Did you forget the egg? I’m sorry they didn’t work out! I wish I could be more help!

  5. Lori S

    August 13, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    Reply

    I just made these with my 4-year-old. There are lots of steps that are easy for kids to help with AND they are delicious!

  6. Donna Morstad

    May 6, 2011 at 3:47 pm

    Reply

    My son has egg and peanut allergies so I left the egg out entirely (no substitute) and used soynut butter in place of the peanut butter and they turned out yummy and the consistency was great!

  7. Sarah

    February 23, 2011 at 11:10 pm

    Reply

    Just made these tonight and YUM!!! I altered my ingredients slightly – I didn’t have a full cup of agave left, so I did a half cup agave and a half cup of honey. I also used generic Walmart brand chunky peanut butter. I thought they came out FABULOUS!
    Thanks for posting!! :)

  8. Erica

    February 6, 2011 at 4:50 pm

    Reply

    Just made this and followed directions exactly (using honey) and there just wasn’t enough of a peanut butter taste for me (used Jif) to like this as much as I hope. Even the little guy who was so excited about making them, ate only a bite and didn’t want the rest. It was disappointing because they smelled so good before putting them in the oven.

    Also, about 105 cal cookie (we only had enough dough to do 45 cookies so I don’t know how you got 60)and lack of pb taste we were hoping for, I don’t know if we will make these again.

    • catherine

      February 7, 2011 at 3:38 pm

      Reply

      Aww thats such a bummer, I haven’t this problem before with the cookies. The one thing I can say that probably changed the flavor of this recipe is that you used JIF and not organic peanut butter. I love JIF but there are fillers in it that may take away from the natural peanut flavor. I rolled my cookies out small so that may have been the reason why I got 60 cookies. It all really depends on how big the cookies are.

  9. Alexis

    February 1, 2011 at 10:31 am

    Reply

    Hey We love these cookies in our family! I have a new gluten/wheat allergy, wondering if there is a way to adapt these to be gluten free??

    Thanks!

  10. Lucy

    January 22, 2011 at 4:15 am

    Reply

    Oh my gosh. I just read the recipe and realized I used 1 cup of honey instead of
    1/2. No wonder I can taste the honey. It wasn’t overpowering though. I liked the fact that you can taste the peanut butter, but with a hint of honey. 1 cup of honey lol oops

  11. Lucy

    January 22, 2011 at 4:06 am

    Reply

    I made these tonight and they also spread out and looked nothing like the picture. But the taste was sooooo good. I can taste honey in them. So delish! My nieces loved them!

  12. Jamie R

    December 18, 2010 at 4:13 pm

    Reply

    Will it be a problem if I use the “just nuts” kind of peanut butter?

    • catherine

      December 21, 2010 at 5:28 pm

      Reply

      Do you mean the peanut butter that contains nuts in them? I’m sure it will work :)

  13. Brittan

    December 14, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    Reply

    Made these with my 2 year old today. Very yummy! She ate it right up!

  14. Lindsay

    November 23, 2010 at 3:54 pm

    Reply

    These look yummy! But I only have almond butter. Would it work?? Or would I be changing the consistency too much?

  15. Suzanne

    October 12, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    Reply

    My son is allergic to peanut butter so i made them with soy butter. They did get MUCH fatter and wider than the photo, but tasted GREAT! My husband was a HUGE fan of peanut butter cookies but obviously couldn’t have them anymore. He said these reminded him of when he was a child.
    THANKS!! GREAT RECIPE

  16. Pingback: Weelicious â?¢ â?? Fast, Easy & Fresh Homemade Home Made Baby Food Babyfood Recipes, Toddler Food and recipes for the entire family! » Blog Archive » PB&J Oatmeal Thumbprint Cookies — Moms on a Mission

  17. Julie

    September 17, 2010 at 7:22 pm

    Reply

    Ok – I made the just like the recipe said and they spread way out and did NOT look like thumbprint cookies. They tasted fine – but what might I have done wrong?

    • catherine

      September 20, 2010 at 2:51 pm

      Reply

      What kind of peanut butter did you use?

      • Julie

        October 4, 2010 at 6:55 pm

        Reply

        Just an in-store brand that we always use. It wasn’t a “just nuts” kind that separates.

  18. Jessica

    September 1, 2010 at 5:27 pm

    Reply

    Tried this with my two year old and he LOVED IT! Also my husband’s eyes lit up when he walked in the door and smelled them. Such a huge hit and my two year old really loved using his thumb to make the imprint! Thanks so much!!

  19. Sarah

    August 31, 2010 at 8:39 pm

    Reply

    Thanks!

  20. Mikki

    August 30, 2010 at 12:39 pm

    Reply

    Sarah sub coconut oil for the butter, works great!

  21. Sarah

    August 27, 2010 at 7:55 pm

    Reply

    We have a dairy allergy. Can you tell me a butter substitute?

    I looooovvvve your site so much! I check it everyday!

    • catherine

      August 30, 2010 at 1:47 pm

      Reply

      I have never used it but I think you can do Margerine since it is a butter substitute :)

  22. elizabeth

    August 26, 2010 at 7:30 pm

    Reply

    looks great, can i use egg replacer? and can I use maple syrup instead of the honey or agave?
    Thank you!
    Elizabeth

    • catherine

      August 30, 2010 at 2:00 pm

      Reply

      You can use maple syrup but the flavor would change – I’m not sure of an egg replacer since you really need it for the cookies.

  23. KD

    August 26, 2010 at 12:09 pm

    Reply

    this recipe says to bake on a silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet. i don’t have a silpat and before i buy parchment… what is the difference between baking like that as opposed to just using a plain cookie sheet?
    and i just want to tell you how much i LOVE LOVE LOVE this website! I have never enjoyed baking or cooking at all but your recipes are so easy to follow and so tasty! Thank you!

    • catherine

      August 30, 2010 at 2:07 pm

      Reply

      Using the parchment or silpat helps with clean up and also allows the cookie to not burn on the bottom since the cookie sheet contracts so much heat.

      • Blanca

        August 31, 2010 at 11:00 am

        Reply

        I use silpat… it’s awesome! I got mine at Williams and Sonoma. I’m sure they sell them elsewhere… I was just walking through and saw it so I purchased it. So easy and so clean!

    • Erin

      August 28, 2010 at 4:32 pm

      Reply

      I personally baked these on a tinfoil-lined baking sheet and it turned out fine. My husband went absolutely BATTY when he came home to find these cooling on the counter!

    • catherine

      August 26, 2010 at 7:11 pm

      Reply

      Great question! I like to use a silpat (awesome investment if you like to bake) or parchment b/c it helps the cookies cook more even, not overly brown on the bottom and stick. For this recipe you could do it straight on a cookie sheet if you prefer, though!

  24. Jess

    August 26, 2010 at 6:20 am

    Reply

    Looks really great! A must try

  25. JK

    August 26, 2010 at 3:43 am

    Reply

    Good to have a great recipe that makes food tasty and also retains its nutritional values.

    Cooking games

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