I wasn’t a very helpful baker when I lived at home. That’s probably putting it mildly – I chose cleaning the bathrooms over baking every week, and actually, I’d still probably rather clean than cook or bake. But hey, lucky me, now I’m an adult I get to do both.
Thankfully, my kids are getting to the age of divvying up the chores, and Gemma will take baking over cleaning any day! She’s been looking through cookbooks and choosing recipes every now and then, and they’re usually recipes I wouldn’t have chosen because they have more than one step. But it turns out those extra steps often result in pretty excellent results, and these peanut butter sandwich cookies are no exception.
Sandwich cookies are deadly. They are so pretty, such a perfect combination of textures with the crunchy-soft cookies and creamy filling. They are also surprisingly filling. My kids tried them once before self-regulating and asking for them to be cut in half the next time. But they were the perfect size after a long evening walk with friends, when we had to replenish all the calories we might have accidentally burned :)
Peanut butter is Carl’s favourite food, and it’s not too far down on my list either, especially in icing form. The creamy peanut butter buttercream filling in these sandwich cookies would make fantastic peanut butter frosting on a chocolate cupcake, and it is not at all gross when eaten by the spoonful. The cookies are a classic peanut butter cookie, complete with finger-indent patterning!
Salty-sweet sandwich happiness, right here.
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERCREAM FILLING:
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter
- ½ cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups icing sugar/powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
- In large bowl or bowl of stand mixer, beat together the butter and peanut butter on medium speed until combined. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed, then add egg and vanilla and beat well.
- Add dry ingredients to bowl and mix on low speed until combined.
- Scoop dough onto cookie sheets in 36-40 equal-sized balls (this will make 18-20 sandwich cookies). A small ice cream scoop works great for getting uniform balls! Press dough down lightly with 3 fingers to create indents on the top, then bake for 13-15 minutes, until lightly golden but still slightly soft. Let cool for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- When cookies are cool, make the filling: Cream peanut butter and butter on medium-high until blended and fluffy. Add icing sugar and heavy cream and beat on low until smooth and creamy, adding more cream a Tablespoon at a time if needed to achieve a spreadable consistency.
- Flip half of the cooled cookies upside down and scoop 2 Tbsp of filling into the center of each cookie. Top with another cookie, pressing gently to smoosh filling to the edges.
- Store in the fridge, but take out about an hour before eating for maximum flavour and icing ooze!
*Adapted from Butter Baked Goods, by Rosie Daykin
Yum, I love peanut butter. I’ve never heard of finger indenting. My mother always made lines in the top by pressing the cookie dough down with a fork. As for cleaning, I’d pick baking any day!