Giant Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookie Cups

Ingredients

Cookie Cups:

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg, beaten in a separate bowl before adding
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk
• Frosting:
• 1 and 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 and 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 and 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• Strawberry or Raspberry jam/jelly, for filling and topping (optional)
• Mini Nutter Butter cookies, for topping (optional)

Instructions

Cookie Cups:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk.
Add the flour mixture; mix well.
Shape into balls (as shown above) and place each into a greased jumbo muffin tin.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 16-17 minutes - make sure they aren't getting too brown on top.
As soon as you take them out of the oven, use something with a circular bottom (I use the bottom of an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon) to press into the middle of the cups and make craters. Whatever you use should be slightly less than the width of the cookie.
Let cool completely in the pan and carefully remove from pan. Run a butter knife around the edges of the cooled cookies to loosen and gently lift out. I didn't need to do this, I just pulled them out with my fingers.
Fill each crater with your choice of jelly or jam (about 1 tablespoon fit in each for me).

Frosting:

Place the peanut butter, butter, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed, just until thoroughly combined.
Add the remaining ingredients and combine all together by beating on medium speed.
Turn the speed up to high and beat for 3/4 more minutes, until frosting is light, airy, and fluffy. Be patient! You don't want a heavy dense frosting for these cookie cups.
Transfer frosting to a piping bag, or make your own piping bag using a ziplock bag (put filling in bag, work it to the bottom of one corner, twist off the top and snip off a small bit of the corner).
Frost the cookie cups (I used Wilton 1M piping tip) once they are completely cooled and the indentations have already been filled with the jelly/jam. Pipe the frosting in high, swirling mounds on top, like frosting a cupcake.
Top with a small dollop of jam/jelly and mini nutter butter cookies (optional).
You will probably have leftover frosting - freeze it for the future or use it in another recipe!

Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk*
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups (190g) spoon & leveled all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup (80g) rainbow sprinkles (not nonpareils)

VANILLA FROSTING

• 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 and 1/4 cups (270g) confectioners' sugar
• 3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream or half-and-half*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• salt, to taste

OPTIONAL

• food coloring for frosting (I used 1 drop red)
• extra sprinkles for decorating on top

Directions:

For the bars: Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, making sure to leave enough overhand on the sides. Set aside.

In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Get it nice and smooth, then add the sugar on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Beat in egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 different parts. The dough is quite thick. Once combined, gently fold in 1/2 cup sprinkles using a rubber spatula (or by mixing on low speed).

Press the cookie dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 25-26 minutes or until very lightly browned on top. You want the cookie bars to be extra soft, so careful not to overbake. Allow the bars to cool completely on a wire rack at room temperature before frosting. The center will slightly sink - that's normal.

For the frosting: If you don't want a super thick layer of frosting as pictured, halve the frosting recipe. With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy - about 2 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add more powdered sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. I usually anywhere between 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Beat in food coloring, if using.

Remove cooled bars from the baking pan using the aluminum foil overhang on the sides. Frost the bars with a thick layer of frosting and decorate with extra sprinkles if desired. Cut into squares. Use a very sharp knife and wipe off with a paper towel between each cut to make neat, even cuts.

Store bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days and in the refrigerator up to 5.