Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

I’m normally super organized about making the weekly menu, writing out the shopping list, and then doing a quick inventory check before we go shopping to make sure I don’t buy items we already have. Apparently though, my eyes are blind to oatmeal when I do my inventory check. We end up buying it only to come home and find we already have three (or more!) containers in the pantry. So, I put myself on an oatmeal-buying ban and am making an effort to use up all these dang oats. That was the main inspiration behind trying these cookies, but wow, am I glad I tried them!

The cookies are perfectly chewy peanut butter cookies with a lovely golden brown color, and the filling is a simple peanut butter frosting. The oatmeal primarily provides the chewy texture of the cookie but the actual oatmeal flavor isn’t really noticeable. As with a lot of sandwich cookies, I think the filling helps keep the cookies soft and tender. Apparently these are similar to the Girl Scout DoSiDo cookie or to Nutter Butters, but due to my childhood dislike for peanut butter, I never ate enough of either to know whether this is an accurate comparison. Either way, we love these cookies. Andrew enjoyed one during his Easter egg hunt and I think he cared more about the cookie than the eggs :)

Yield about 18 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

For the cookies:
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup quick-cooking oats

For the filling:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 tbsp. heavy cream

Directions

01
To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir together with a fork to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Blend in the egg and vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Stir in the oats until evenly blended.
02
Use a small cookie dough scoop to portion out the dough (about 2 teaspoons), rolling each portion into a ball, and place them on the prepared cookie sheet, a couple inches apart. Bake about 10 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking. The cookies will be light golden brown and slightly puffed. Let cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cook completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.
03
Once the cookies have cooled completely, pair them up by size. To make the filling, combine the butter, peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Cream together until well combined. Mix in the heavy cream until smooth and fluffy. Use a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip to pipe a swirl of filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair. Sandwich together with the remaining cookie and press down so that the filling reaches the edges. (Note: This filling recipe makes *just* exactly enough to fill the cookies. If you like a large amount of filling or just want to be sure you have enough, you might consider increasing the amount of filling by 50%.)

Source

adapted from Savory Sweet Life, originally from Allrecipes