Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

I’m back! Sorry for the long hiatus – I’m blaming it on spotty internet service, a long and much-needed vacation, starting a new job, and generally enjoying summer too much. The last month or so has been a whirlwind of catching up with friends and family, going camping in Kananaskis, and spending a whole lazy week in the sun at Lake Windermere. It’s been a busy but lovely summer so far.

We went for a hike in anticipation of the calories to come.

 

Anyway! I come bearing cookies! Big, soft peanut butter sandwiches – a creamy filling squished between two chewy PB cookies. These are for hardcore peanut butter lovers only.

I made a big batch of these to bring on our camping trip in Kananaskis. There were almost thirty people there – a whole side of my boyfriend’s extended family – so I wanted to bring a crowd pleaser. And who doesn’t like peanut butter, amiright? I got the recipe from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen (where the cookies and photos are markedly prettier, haha) and have made it a few times; the cookies always receive great feedback – mostly “Mmm”s and “Omgahhh”s and “Mrrumnumnum”s.

They went over really well, and as luck would have it, I “accidentally” left five of them at home in my fridge. So even after the big batch of crowd pleasers were gobbled up, I’ve still got a few here that are just for me. And yes, I ate two immediately after taking these photos.

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen large sandwiches
Recipe from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen has been slightly adjusted

Cookies
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
1 cup smooth natural (unsweetened) peanut butter
1 cup sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling dough
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

Filling
1 cup smooth natural (unsweetened) peanut butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
± 4 cups icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

3-4 tablespoons milk

Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Line your cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a larger bowl, use electric beaters to cream the shortening, peanut butter and sugars for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, then the eggs (one at a time) and beat until combined. On low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until just combined (the dough is pretty stiff, so depending on the strength of your mixer, you may need to ditch it and stir manually with a rubber spatula).

Put the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small bowl. Using your hands, roll heaped tablespoons of dough into balls, roll each ball in sugar, and place on your cookie sheets about 5 cm/2 inches apart. Use a fork to flatten the balls a bit.

Bake until the cookies no longer look wet in the middle and are lightly golden on the bottom, about 6-8 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely before assembling the sandwiches.

For the filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the peanut butter, butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Add the milk to loosen the mixture up and achieve the right consistency – it should be thick but soft, à la Oreo icing. 

To assemble the sandwiches, take a generous spoonful of filling and squish it between two cookies - you can do this quickly by just roughly scooping the filling onto the bottom of a cookie and pressing another on top; or neatly, by rolling a portion of filling into a ball and pressing it between two cookies. Either way, there’s gonna be a peanut butter party in your mouth! Mmm…