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You are here: Home / Cookies / PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH COOKIES

PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH COOKIES

September 14, 2018

homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

All the kids are back at school.

The weather is taking a turn, and the leaves are falling with an increasing frequency and fervor.

vintage sign fall is here

And with time on my hands and a sweater now wrapped over my shoulders, my thoughts naturally turn to baking.

And making fun after school treats — and drop-offs to friends I’ve barely seen all summer.

homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

That’s where this cookie recipe comes in.

While cleaning out my sewing/craft room this week, I found a couple dozen cooking magazines I’d had for too long.

(Am I the only one that holds onto paper recipes with the thoughts that I’ll come back to them one day?)

Instead of recycling them all (or more likely tossing them back into the same corner), I thought I’d flip through them and see if anything jumped out.

everyday food martha stewart homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

I’m not sure my original reason for saving this magazine, but one recipe in particular stood out.

homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies.

Or what I thought they looked like — homemade Nutter Butters.

Do you remember them? I do.

My mom didn’t bake that much when I was growing up (an exception was her extraordinary ginger snaps, much like this recipe), but we always had either Oreos or Nutter Butters in the house for afterschool treats in giant jars on the counter.

I love sandwich cookies ( remember these homemade Oreos?),

Homemade Oreos/Dark Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

so I thought I’d give this recipe a spin.

homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

Here’s a quick game changer for me.

When baking, I used to either have to wait around for butter to come to room temperature or I’d get impatient and try to soften it in the microwave which usually ended up in a melted mess.

Then I read a recipe for pie dough that called for grating frozen butter and I thought that I’d try doing that.

It works so well –and I think I’m going to employ that trick going forward — the butter whips up the butter so well and so easily.

The cookie dough recipe is a cinch to whip up (and a little crumbly, think peanut butter shortbread-y)

dough homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

and that frosting/cookie filling is dangerous — so creamy and delicious.

The recipe calls for shaping the cookies into logs which you freeze until they hold their shape and I love doing that as leftover dough doesn’t take up too much space in the freezer.

homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies dough

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to replicate the look of a Nutter Butter or just go for the regular rectangular shape so I experimented a little with texture on the outside.

The cookies cook up in just about 12 minutes; be sure not to overbake because you want a certain softness when you bite down so all that creamy filling doesn’t end up all over the floor.

homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

On their own these rich peanut butter cookies would be tasty (especially when topped with flake sea salt)

homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

but when they flank such a creamy, oozy goodness, these cookies are downright scrumptious.

homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

Here’s what I call really risky behavior.

Making these cookies in an empty house.

I gobbled down two in seconds

homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

and then left a handful in the fridge for the kids,

homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

and then packaged up the rest to share with some friends.

homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

Am I sad all those sweethearts are now gone from my counter and fridge?

Yes, but happy to remember more treasures await in the freezer for later enjoyment.

homemade nutter butters peanut butter sandwich cookies

Any guesses as to who got my last bite?

Yep, my last kid who remains with me always, my faithful companion.

Porter in kitchen

Happy Friday, people!

PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH COOKIES
 
Print
Prep time
25 mins
Cook time
13 mins
Total time
38 mins
 
If you manage to not eat the whole batter right off the bat, freeze leftover logs of uncooked dough for later use -- your future self thanks you profusely.
Author: Martha Stewart Everyday Food
Recipe type: cookie
Serves: about 30
Ingredients
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • ¼ tsp.salt
  • 2 C. plus 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  • ½ C. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 C. packed light brown sugar
  • 1½ C. smooth peanut butter
  • ½ C. whole milk
  • ½ C. granulated sugar
Instructions
  1. In a bowl, whisk together baking soda, salt and 2 C. of flour; set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixrer, beat butter, brown sugar, and 1 C. peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg.
  3. With the mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture, beating just until combined.
  4. Form dough into 2 8-inch rectangular logs. Wrap each log in waxed or parchment paper; freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
  5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with racks in the upper and lower thireds. WIth a sharp knife, slice dough ¼ inch thick; place on two baking sheets, 1 inch apart.
  6. Bake until cookies are puffed, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer to wire racks; let cool.
  7. Make filling: In a saucepan, whisk milk and 2 Tbs. flour over medium until thickened, about 2 minutes; let cool.
  8. In a bowl, using mixer, beat together ½ C. peanut butter and granulated sugar; beat in cooled milk mixture. Spread smooth sides of half the cookies with 1 Tbs filling; sandwich with remaining cookies.
  9. To store, keep in an airtight container, up to 5 days. (As if they'll last that long.)
3.2.2925
 

Filed Under: Cookies

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Comments

  1. Lacy Province says

    September 14, 2018 at 7:56 pm

    Hi Sarah,
    Great tip, shaving frozen butter! Who knew!?!
    Well we did it, we adopted a Scottie. A Scottie puppy to be sure. Oh man, we’d forgotten what it’s like to have a puppy around the house. He sure does keep us on our toes. Such fun! But the love we get in return is immeasurable. His name is Hamish Gwilym Province. We call him Hami. He’s a wheaten colored Scottish terrier. We’ve always had black or brindle Scottie’s before. We found him purely by accident, after having put in several rescue adoption applications to every agency from here to CA. All this time Hami was waiting for us in Woodburn OR. Needless to say he has made two old people so very happy.
    BTW: Love your “kid” companion’s frogging pose. He is a love!

    Reply
    • Sarah Kline says

      September 14, 2018 at 8:42 pm

      How wonderful! CONGRATS! So happy to hear it! I’m not sure if you’re ever in my vicinity but would love to meet him — and you. Alternately, maybe a viable half way point? LMK — and so much love!

      Reply
  2. Linda says

    September 14, 2018 at 11:59 pm

    Great idea, the butter shaving. This recipe looks wonderful, I’ll have to try them.

    Reply
    • Sarah Kline says

      September 15, 2018 at 2:12 pm

      I’m going to shave refrigerated or frozen butter for all my baking now. If you do make them, LMK what you think!

      Reply
  3. Cindy says

    September 18, 2018 at 10:20 am

    So doing these!
    We just downsized from a 5 bedroom house to a 3 bedroom condo. We took 14 months to work at this with intention. 1 of our 3 kids still not on board with this however we love it…. 25 years of great memories and now it is freeing.
    I took nearly a month to browse my” foodie” magazines and clippings. I had this Food magazine as a monthly subscription and really enjoyed it, clippings were nestled in a perfect sized Tifffanys blue box.
    Anyhoo, I will now need to try this one. ( btw our 3 dogs will aptly love the smells from the kitchen from this). Thank you Sarah.

    Reply
    • Sarah Kline says

      September 18, 2018 at 1:50 pm

      Hello Cindy! Hats off to you for making the move and going through with the decluttering. What city/town do you live in? This reduction plan is something I need to do — but dread! Let me know what you think about the cookies!

      Reply

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