Peanut Butter and Jam Hearts

These cookies remind me of two exciting things: Valentine's Day and peek freans. Valentine's Day is the greatest. Embrace it. It is the greatest excuse in the world to put hearts on everything. Seriously. Just a minute ago I had a piece of toast except I took the liberty of using a cookie cutter to make it a heart. Wuddup?! Sorry. Here is some proof of my Valentine's Day obsession: here, here, here annnnd here.

These remind me of peek freans because I ate them both the same way. When I was but a wee lass, I had to eat the surrounding circle of peek freans and save the fruit center for last. It drove my Mum crazy. "PUT THE COOKIE DOWN!" Imagine that in an Arnold Schwarzenegger accent and my mum isn't even Austrian. "POWDA!" Now imagine that in a Schwarzenegger and you have every ski trip with my brothers and I screaming that down the mountain. 

Peanut Butter and Jam Hearts

From Martha Stewart Living February 2011

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter (chunky is the best, but don't use natural)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup strawberry or raspberry jam, stirred to loosen

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter and sugars until pale and fluffy. Beat in peanut butter, then egg. Slowly beat in flour mixture until dough forms. If dough is sticky, refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes. 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 using the bottom of a lightly floured glass. Press hearts into centers using your fingertips. Start by poking two indents for the top and shape the bottom to form a heart. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Bake for 10 to 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 fill the heart. Bake until cookies are firm, 5 to 7 minutes more. Makes 28 cookies.