Oatmeal Nutters

Mmmmm, nutter butters. One of my favorite childhood treats.

I love anything peanut butter but those crunchy pb cookies with pb filling could entice me to eat an entire package in a sitting and only feel mildly guilty.

When I bought the beautiful Bouchon Bakery Cookbook and saw a recipe for homemade 'Better Nutters', I knew that would be the first recipe from the book that I would use.  I had planned to make Serradura over the weekend - a simple but tasty Portuguese dessert, but this recipe for Better Nutters was calling me. So I made the Bouchon Bakery cookies and used half of them in the Serradura (recipe to follow very soon!).

The other half of the cookies became yummy sandwich cookies, filling with my favorite peanut butter buttercream.  I changed up a few things in the recipe, especially for the filling. I used my own pb buttercream (which is perfection!) as the filling instead of the Bouchon filling. I also changed up a few ingredients in the cookies. My family doesn't necessarily like whole oats so I pulsed them in the food processor before adding them to the dough, added a bit of salt, and a few other modifications as well.

The modified cookies were a complete hit! Even my picky eater wolfed them down!

As for using them as a twist in a typical Serradura recipe, that was a hit as well!  Recipe for that coming soon!

Let me know how you like them in the comments below!

Oatmeal Nutters

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 to 18 minutes

Yield: About 18 sandwich cookies

Adapted from Bouchon Bakery

Cookies

• 400 grams (3 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
• 3 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 ¾ sticks butter (3 sticks plus 6 tablespoons), at room temperature
• ⅔ cup crunchy peanut butter
• 200 grams (1 cup) brown sugar
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 250 grams (2 ½ cups) rolled oats

Filling

• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 scant tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups icing sugar, sifted (powdered sugar)

Instructions

1. Sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder.
2. Cream together the butter and peanut butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until combined and holds a peak.
3. Add the brown sugar and mix until fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl at least twice.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated. Do not overmix.
5. Add the flour mixture and briefly mix until the flour is incorporated.
6. Place the rolled oats in a food processor and pulse 4 or 5 times. Stir in the rolled oats into the dough mixture.
7. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a flattened rectangle. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
8. Once chilled, roll out dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Using a 2 ½ to 3 inch cutter, cut out rounds and place on parchment lined baking sheets. Cover and freeze for at least an hour.
9. Uncover and bake at 325° for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes then transfer to cooling rack and cool completely.
10. To make the filling, cream the butter, cream cheese, peanut butter, cream, and vanilla until combined and smooth.  Add 1 cup of sifted icing sugar and mix on low about 2 minutes, stopping the mixer twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
11. Add the remaining icing sugar and mix on medium speed until incorporated.  Add more icing sugar if the buttercream is too thin.
12. Increase the speed to med-high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes more until fluffy.
13. Turn over half of the cookies and pipe buttercream filling onto them.  Top each filled cookie with another cookie.
14. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and bring to room temperature before serving.