Nothing says Christmas like milk and cookies. Here is our Lakelander Cookie recipe, a unique take on the classic peanut butter sandwich cookie.
Over the next couple weeks, we will be compiling our favorite Lakelander magazine recipes so you can start prepping for your festive gatherings and holiday meals.
This recipe was originally published in Issue 30. Find more recipes and original article here.
Lakelander Cookie
Recipe by Jenn Smurr
[accordion]
AKA “NOT YOUR AVERAGE PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH COOKIE”
(Since we like to think Lakeland isn’t quite “average” itself…)
peanut butter filling:
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (Jenn enjoys Reese’s peanut butter)
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp kosher salt
peanut butter cookies:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 2/3 cups rolled oats (old-fashioned, not instant)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup crunchy natural peanut butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
To make the peanut butter filling, combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl using a whisk. Cover and chill the mixture until the cookies are ready to be filled.
To make the peanut butter cookies, in a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir in the oats and salt. Set aside the dry ingredients.
In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, combine butter, chunky peanut butter, and sugars. Cream on medium-high speed until very fluffy and pale, at least 3 minutes, scraping down the mixing bowl as needed.
Turn the mixer to medium-low and add eggs, 1 at a time, beating to incorporate each and scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Add in the dry ingredients on low speed a little at a time, and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. Remove the bowl from the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula, going all the way to the bottom of the bowl to mix in the dry ingredients well.
Use an ice-cream scoop to portion all the cookies in 1-ounce scoops (or use about 1 heaping tablespoon per cookie), placing the scoops on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Place all the cookies close together for the chilling step — you will space them for baking later.) You should have about 48 cookies. Chill the scooped cookies for at least two hours or longer.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Arrange 8 cookies, spaced evenly apart and staggered, on each parchment-lined baking sheet. (Note: Do not flatten the cookies; they will flatten as they bake.) Set the baking sheet inside another baking sheet to double pan and place it in the oven. Bake until evenly golden, about 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway throughout. If you have 2 double-panned pans in the oven at the same time, also switch them between the racks. Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before removing the cookies with a metal spatula. Allow the cookies to cool completely before filling them.
To make a cookie sandwich, turn one cookie flat side up and spread with a little less than 2 teaspoons of filling. (If you have a 1-ounce scoop, you can slightly underfill it to portion the filling or underfill a tablespoon) Top with another cookie, flat side down, pressing gently. Repeat until all the cookies are assembled into sandwiches.
[/item]
[/accordion]