Cookie Mondays: Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

As part of my New Year’s Resolution to lose a significant amount of weight by the end of the year, I’ve cut my baking back to just once per week.  Not only have I cut down the amount of time I spend baking, but I’m baking for my husband’s co-workers instead of myself and my family.  Inspired by my friend, Laura, who sends cookies to work with her husband every Monday, I’ve begun doing the same thing.  This keeps me from going through baking withdrawal, and allows me to have a treat once a week before sending the bulk of them out of the house for others to enjoy (thus freeing me from the constant temptation that having them in the kitchen would present).

For “Cookie Monday” this week, I whipped up some absolutely delicious peanut butter sandwich cookies.  And then proceeded to eat 13 of them (that’s over 1,000 calories, in case you were wondering) in under five minutes.  And then I squirted the leftover peanut butter filling from the pastry bag directly into my mouth.  So much for keeping to my calorie limit for the day! 

These cookies are too addictive to eat just one…or twelve.  Well, they are for me, anyway. They are a Girl Scout’s “Do-Si-Dos” knock-off and while I don’t love the Girl Scout’s version, I could practically live off these cookies if I had no concern for my health or waistline.  They are wonderful.

Next week I will work on my self-control and see if I can keep it to just 1 or 2 cookies.  Considering how many sweets I was consuming before the new year, however, I have to admit that even 13 cookies in a week is an improvement.  So at least I’m moving in the right direction.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Recipe modified from All Recipes

Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cooking oats

Filling
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, sugars, and vanilla. Add egg and beat well.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat until combined, then add the oatmeal and continue beating until incorporated.

Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and place on prepared baking sheet.  Press each mound down with your fingers or a fork, depending on the appearance you’d like, to form 1/4 inch-thick cookies. Bake 5 minutes, or until cookies have just begun to set around the edges.  (My cookies were exactly 1 tsp each, so if yours are larger, they will obviously require more baking time.) Remove and allow to cool 3 minutes on the baking sheet before removing them to a wire rack.  Repeat with the remaining dough.

To Make Filling: Cream the filling ingredients until well blended. Spread or pipe filling on to half of the cooled cookies, then top with the other half to form sandwiches.  Don’t be stingy with the filling like I was at first–there is quite enough for all the cookies.  Of course, the benefit of being stingy with it is that you’ll have some left to squirt into your mouth when you have finished. Heaven.

Makes 60 sandwich cookies, if you can keep from eating a single speck of dough, scrape every last speck of it from the bowl to form the cookie balls, and you measure each ball of dough to be exactly 1 teaspoon.  I actually managed to do this and then went wild once the beautiful completed cookies were in front of me.  Oh yeah, and in case you’re counting your calories, each cookie clocks in at 80 calories.  Not too bad if you can keep from eating more than one or two! :)

I used my fingers to press these cookies down, so they weren't quite as flat and made a smaller, chubbier cookie. I had no preference as to which I liked better because they both tasted equally delicious!

My husband modeling the latest cookie fashion in the Miller household.

I had used Dennis for the former picture after taking this one b/c I realized how disgusting my nail polish was. But now I'm posting it anyway b/c I remembered seeing Lindsay Lohan with similar-looking nails. I'm not lazy, I'm just impersonating the stars! OK, fine. I'm just lazy. And apparently I need some lotion, too.