Add the white sugar, brown sugar, butter, and peanut butter to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer
Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric hand held mixer blend the sugars, butter and peanut butter until well combined.
Add the egg and the vanilla extract and blend until well combined.
In a medium size mixing bowl add the flour, salt, and baking soda and mix together. Add about ¼ cup of the dry mixture to the wet batter and blend on low speed until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Repeat this until all the flour is added.
Assembling and Baking the Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies
Line your cookie trays with parchment paper. Take 1 Tablespoon of the cookie dough and form a ball. Place it on the parchment paper and gently press it down until you have a 2" circle. Repeat for each cookie base, leaving about 2" in between each cookie.
Place ½ teaspoon of grape jelly into the center of each circle.
Take ½ Tablespoon of the cookie dough and press it down into a 2" circle. Drape the circle over the jelly and form a dome. If the tops crack, gently push them back together. Press down the top circle so it joins the bottom circle.
Take a fork and press it into the edges to seal and create a design. Refrigerate the cookies for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven on 400℉/200℃ for a full 10 minutes. Put the cookie trays in the oven and bake for 9-12 minutes. The tops of the cookies should be golden brown.
Remove them from the oven and immediately transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely if you want to decorate them with chocolate.
To decorate the tops with white chocolate, place white chocolate melting wafers in the microwave and heat at 15 second intervals, stirring each time until the chocolate is melted. If your microwave is high powered, you may want to reduce the power to 5.
Take a spoonful of the chocolate and hold over the bowl until you have a nice stream of chocolate and then drizzle it over the cookie tops. Allow the chocolate to set. Serve & Enjoy!