Peanut Butter and Jelly Valentine's Cookies

In the mood to make something yummy and Valentine-y for Nate and Blake, I got up early this morning  to make these beauties.

They are peanut butter cookies with little hearts of raspberry jam in the center! I first got the idea from the Feb issue of Martha Stewart Living. But I have a secret. Being the lazy baker that I am, I totally used a peanut butter cookie mix. These only took 40 minutes to make a batch of 3 dozen!

Here's what I did: I whipped up the cookie mix. I rolled dough into balls and put on 2 large cookie sheets. I pressed the heart shapes into the balls with my thumb. Refrigerated the heart-stamped balls for 20 minutes. Put in oven (375*) for 12 minutes (though next time I make these, I will probably go with 350* or lessen the time. They got a little darker than I prefer). Removed from oven, reinforced the heart shapes with the end of a wooden spoon (despite the refrigeration, the heart shapes melted away a bit). Filled hearts with a tiny bit of jam. Put back in oven for 6 minutes. Put on cooling racks!

They were a hit with Blake as you can see. We'll see what Nate thinks when he gets home. I'll probably make another batch for his parents and brother when they are in town later this week. Happy Valentine's Day!