Tag: peanut butter sandwich cookies

Homemade Nutter Butters

homemadenutterbuttersNutter Butter cookies are my second favorite store-bought cookie, right behind the Double Stuf Oreo. For some reason I always have them on road trips, and honestly don’t know why. A homemade, copycat version came across my Pinterest feed from The Soccer Mom Blog recently and I thought, why not? As always, I added more vanilla to my filling than the original recipe called for, because I never think recipes have enough.

Anyway, here’s the thing…these cookies are massive. I mean, massive. They claim to have 230 calories each, and I believe it. The next time I make them (likely tomorrow) I’m going to make them smaller, and probably try a chocolate filling instead of peanut butter just because. While they’re not crunchy like the store-bought version, they’re absolutely delicious. 

Ingredients

For the cookies

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling

For the filling

  • 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 
  • 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Place granulated sugar in another small bowl to roll your dough in, and set that aside as well.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar together. Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine, then add in flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, scoop out portions of dough. Roll into balls, roll in granulated sugar, then form into log shapes and place about two inches apart on the baking sheets. To create the peanut shape, pinch the middle of each log, then use a fork to make the crisscross pattern like you would on a regular peanut butter cookie. Bake for about 10 minutes, until edges are just starting to turn golden brown – you don’t want to over bake these (or any treats, really). Remove from oven and cool cookies on the baking sheets for 3-4 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cookies are cool, make the filling. Cream together butter and peanut butter, then add in powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then place in a piping bag and pipe about one tablespoon of filling onto half of the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies to create sandwiches. My batch yielded 15 sandwiches, and I had plenty of filling left over – about a half-cup, at least. I’m holding onto that for another treat.

Scout’s Honor Peanut Butter Sandwiches

If you looked through my cookbooks, you’d be able to tell which ones I use the most by the condition of their pages. The books with the best, most reliable recipes have pages that have gotten splattered with batter, sprayed with water, dusted with flour, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and all other manner of baking-related slips and spills.

My King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion is now such a cookbook, its pages warping with good use. Today’s scout’s honor peanut butter sandwich cookies come from the peanut butter chapter, a wonderful collection of classic peanut butter cookies and delicious adaptations. These treats are a home-baked version of Girl Scout peanut butter sandwich cookies, and this recipe yields hearty, peanut buttery treats with a delightful mellow flavor and great texture from the rolled oats that get mixed into the dough. These would also be delicious with a chocolate filling, but the classic peanut butter – which I adapted to include some vanilla extract – is just perfect.

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 5 1/3 tablespoons butter
  • 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 cup old-fashioned (rolled) oats

For the filling

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Cream together, scraping the sides of your bowl a few times. Add egg and beat until fluffy.

Add flour and oats mixing (or stirring, if you prefer) until combined.

Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, drop scoops of dough onto prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten with the heel of your hand to 1/4 inch thickness (the original recipe said to do this with the bottom of a drinking glass, but mine kept sticking, even after I greased it). Bake for 9-11 minutes, until edges are very light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on the cookie sheets for a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cookies are completely cool, make filling. Combine peanut butter, honey, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract and beat to combine; filling will be fairly thick, almost like the center of a buckeye, and this is the texture you want – don’t thin it out.

Use a 1-inch cookie scoop to scoop filling onto half the cookies; gently press filling down with your fingers and top with another cookie, pressing very, very gently to bring the cookies together but not tear them.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Makes 17 sandwiches.