Peanut butter and Port thumbprints

A long time ago I bought an adorable cookbook filled with recipes spiked with alcohol; but me being me, when it came to using the book I realized I did not have all those kinds of booze around the house – I don’t even have any tequila at home! – and therefore the cookbook patiently awaited on the shelf, up until the day it suddenly hit me: I had a bottle of Port begging to be used! That is how I ended up making these delicious cookies.

Peanut butter and Port thumbprints
from the lovely The Boozy Baker: 75 Recipes for Spirited Sweets

2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups (262g) light brown sugar, packed
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter
¾ cup jam or jelly
3 tablespoons ruby Port

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until creamy and lighter in color. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the vanilla and peanut butter. Stir in the dry ingredients just until combined. Chill the dough for 20 minutes*.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
In a small bowl, mix together the jam and the Port and stir until smooth.
Scoop 1 heaping tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Place the ball onto the prepared sheets 3in apart. Press the center of each ball with your finger or a small measuring spoon. Carefully fill each cookie with the jam mixture.
Bake the cookies until slightly browned at the edges, about 15 minutes. Cool completely on the sheets over a wire rack.

* not enough time; I chilled the dough for 4 hours and it was still too soft; I would definitely add a bit more flour to the dough

Makes about 32 cookies – I halved the recipe, used 1 leveled tablespoon of dough per cookie and got 35; for the filling I used a generous 1/3 cup raspberry jam + ½ tablespoon Port