Recipe: Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Based on a March 2012 recipe from Cook's Illustrated.  Makes 20-24 cookies. Read my story about making these cookies in Sunday, Dinner for Two.

Ingredients

6¼ ounces (1¼ cups) raw peanuts
3¾ ounces (¾ cup) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 large egg

Peanut butter filling

¾ cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces (1 cup) confectioners' sugar

Chocolate filling

½ cup creamy peanut butter
6 ounces milk chocolate
4 ounces (1 cup) confectioners' sugar

Instructions

1. Heat an oven to 350° with racks in the upper middle and lower middle positions.
2. Toast the raw peanuts on a rimmed baking sheet for 5 minutes.
3. Allow the peanuts to cool then remove any skins by pinching the nuts between your thumb and forefinger.
4. Using a food processor, pulse the peanuts until they are finely chopped, about 8 pulses.
5. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
6. Melt 3 tablespoons butter.
7. Whisk the melted butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, milk, and egg together in a second bowl.
8. Stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture until well combined.
9. Stir the chopped peanuts into the dough.
10. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
11. Drop 12 mounds of dough onto each baking sheet using a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon or #60 disher.
12. Dampen your fingers with water and flatten each mound of dough into a 2" diameter circle.
13. Bake, switching and rotating the baking sheets half way after 8 minutes, until the cookies are deep golden brown and firm to the touch, 15-18 minutes.
14. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack.
15. Move the cookies from the baking sheets to a wire rack and let them cool completely before adding the filling, about 30 minutes.
16. Repeat with the remaining dough.
17. For the peanut butter filling: warm the peanut butter and butter in the microwave until the butter is melted.
18. Stir in the confectioners' sugar until well combined.
19. Put 1 tablespoon of warm filling on the bottom (flat) side of a cookie. Place a second cookie on top of the filling (flat side down) and press gently until the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies.
20. Cool the cookies until the filling is set, about 1 hour.
21. For the chocolate filling: follow the instructions above but chop the chocolate and add it to the melted peanut butter and stir until melted.

Toast the raw peanuts and remove the skins.

Chop the peanuts in food processor.

Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda.

Whisk together melted butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, milk, and egg

Stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture.

Stir in the ground peanuts.

Measure 1 tablespoon mounds of dough.

With moistened fingers, flatten the dough into 2-inch circles.

Bake until firm to the touch then cool.

For the filling, warm butter and peanut butter in the microwave.

Stir in confectioners' sugar.

Add 1 tablespoon filling between two cookies.