Who doesn't love peanut butter and jelly? (Well, other than those unfortunate souls that have nut allergies.) It's such a classic combination... you just can't go wrong with it!

These cookies are soft, decadent, and actually very reminiscent of little peanut butter and jelly whoopie pies. When I originally began to make plans for this tasty treat, I thought I wanted more of a crunchy peanut butter cookie... but for one reason or another it didn't work out that way.

In hindsight, this was a rather happy accident. A firmer cookie wouldn't have worked out nearly as well, since taking a bite of a hard sandwich cookie would force all that lovely jelly to squish out and make for gooey fingers. This softer more cake-like cookie seems to absorb the jelly a bit so it doesn't make a giant and unwanted mess.

As usual, I used half regular sugar and half Stevia in the Raw. This is just to suit my tastebuds.

If you are best friends with your sweetener (one that is cup for cup - measures like sugar), then you would probably be happy with substituting the sugar I used for it. I haven't tested that in my own kitchen though, so I can't say for sure that it wouldn't alter the end product in some way. You've been warned!

Speaking of warnings, I feel like I should warn you that these cookies are pretty dangerously delicious. But, at a mere 100 calories in one... it's a rather guilt-free treat.

What's even better about these cookies, is that they are super easy to make. My little lady pulled a chair up and spent some mommy-daughter time with me to whip them up.

Even though we ended up with peanut butter and fingerprints everywhere, it was still easy peasy and a lot of fun. Of course, I did have to make a few with Nutella sandwiched in between since she isn't a fan of jelly of any kind.

Skinny PB&J Sandwich Cookies
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 16 • Size: 1 Sandwich Cookie • Calories: 111.1 • Fat: 2.4 g • Carb: 18 g • Fiber: 2.7 g • Protein: 7.3 g • Sugar: 12.2 g • Sodium: 234.5 mg

Ingredients:
2 2/3 C. PB2
1 1/3 C. Water
2/3 C. Sugar
2/3 C. Stevia (Or other C. for C. Sweetener)
1 Large Egg
1 Large Egg White
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1 1/4 Tsp. Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt
8 Tbsp. Reduced Sugar Strawberry Preserves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and lightly coat a baking sheet with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.

Combine the PB2 and the water together in a medium bowl to make your peanut butter.

Beat together the peanut butter, sugar, and sweetener until smooth and creamy.

Add in the egg, egg white, vanilla, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined.

The batter will seem a little runny but should be workable. If you feel your batter is too runny (and doesn't look as mine does in the picture), you can add a bit more PB2 to reach your desired consistency.

Spoon rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet with 1 1/2"-2" in between each.

Place the sheet into the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are browning and the tops are starting to 'crack'.

Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Rinse and repeat with the remaining batter until it's all used up!

Please, don't actually rinse and repeat your cookies. Just the process.

When the cookies have cooled, place 1/2 tbsp. jam or preserves of your choice onto one cookie and sandwich with a second cookie.

Serve right away and enjoy!