Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
We don’t have kids so we're generally out of the loop on things like when Girl Scout cookies go on sale, however one speedy trip to the grocery store and there is no doubt when that day has arrived. Excited little girls, tired-looking moms, and tables upon tables of Girl Scout cookies set up for sale. We have never been one to go ga-ga over Girl Scout cookies, but if offered to us, we would gladly eat a box of Tagalongs and Samoas in one sitting. For as much as we love peanut butter, Do-si-dos never did a darn thing for us; we always found Tagalongs to be far superior as far as Girl Scout cookies containing peanut butter were concerned. However, what we do love is the idea of a Do-si-do: peanut butter sandwich cookies. Two peanut butter cookies with a creamy peanut butter filling in the middle. For anyone who adores peanut butter, what’s not to love about that? Absolutely nothing. So we made it happen. And we guarantee they are approximately a gazillion times better than any processed cookie you could buy.
Believe it or not, this was our first time making a peanut butter cookie that was crispy and not soft and chewy. As you can probably tell from the cookies that appear on this site, we are definitely in the soft and chewy camp when it comes to cookies. Because of this, we were a little hesitant about the recipe since we knew they resulted is a crispy cookie, but forged ahead with faith and our love of all things peanut butter. The cookies are crisp but in a standby kind of way – they taste like a peanut butter shortbread, and they are the reliable little vessels for a lighter slathering of what is essentially a soft peanut butter frosting.
Peanut butter cookies, peanut butter filling, and those cute-as-a-button tine impressions that let you know it is, indeed, a peanut butter cookie. If you have a peanut butter lover in your life, you must make these for them!
One year ago: Grilled Fish Tacos
- Yield: 36 sandwich cookies
- Prep: 30 minutes
- Cook: 15 minutes
- Total: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients
For the Peanut Butter Cookies:
- 2 cups ( 250 g ) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ½ teaspoon ( 0.5 teaspoon ) baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ( 0.25 teaspoon ) salt
- ¾ cup ( 170.25 g ) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup ( 193.5 g ) creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup ( 100 g ) granulated sugar
- ½ cup ( 110 g ) light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Peanut Butter Filling:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup ( 90 g ) powdered sugar
- ¾ cup ( 193.5 g ) creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Method
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- Beat the butter, peanut butter, and sugars with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until incorporated, about 1 minute.
- Divide the dough in half, and shape into two rectangles. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day.
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. If you refrigerated the dough longer than 30 minutes let it stand at room temperature to soften a bit. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a ¼-inch thickness. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter (our favorite for cutting dough like this!), cut the dough into 2½-by-1-inch rectangles. Using the floured tines of a fork, score the top of each cookie. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, placing 1½ inches apart, and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
- Bake until lightly golden around the edges and firm int he center, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the peanut butter filling. Combine the butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter, and heavy cream and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Use immediately, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days. If refrigerated, let filling stand at room temperature to soften before using.
- Using an offset spatula, spread 1 tablespoon of filling onto the flat sides of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down. Unfilled cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Once filled, cookies are best eaten the same day, but can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
