The Nutter Butter was my favorite cookie when I was a kid, so it was obvious that we had to come up with our own version. Because there is a high proportion of fat—in the form of butter and peanut butter—in these cookies, they are best when frozen before baking, which makes them hold their shape better and spread less. So they’re a terrific cookie to make ahead of time: simply pop the frozen cookies into the oven whenever you have a craving for them.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (30 grams) Unsalted peanut halves
- 1¼ cups + 2½ tablespoon (198 grams) All-purpose flour
- 1¾ tablespoons + 1/8 teaspoon (9.1 grams) Baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon (3.8 grams) Baking powder
- 7.4 ounces (210 grams) Unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 0.33 cup (86 grams) Creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon (lightly packed) (106 grams) Light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (54 grams) Eggs
- 1½ teaspoons (8.5 grams) Vanilla paste
- 10.33 cups (106 grams) Old-fashioned oats
Peanut Butter Filling
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons (175 grams) Basic Buttercream
- ½ cup + 3 tablespoons Creamy peanut butter
- 0.06 teaspoon (0.2 gram) Kosher salt
How to Make It
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To toast the peanuts
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (standard). Spread the peanuts on a small tray and toast in the oven, stirring often, for 16 to 18 minutes, until a light golden brown. Let cool, then coarsely chop. For the cookies
- Place the flour in a medium bowl, sift in the baking soda and baking powder, and whisk together.
- Place the butter and peanut butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn to medium-low speed and cream the butter, warming the bowl if needed, until it has the consistency of mayonnaise and holds a peak when the paddle is lifted. Add the sugar and mix for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla paste and mix on low speed for 15 to 30 seconds, until just combined. Scrape down the bowl again. The mixture may look broken, but that is fine (over whipping the eggs could cause the cookies to expand too much during baking and then deflate).
- Add the combined dry ingredients in 2 additions, mixing on low speed for 15 to 30 seconds after each, or until just combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry ingredients that have settled there. Add the oats and pulse on low about 10 times to combine. Add the chopped peanuts and pulse to combine.
- Mound the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap and, using a pastry scraper, push it together into a 5-by-7-inch block. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until firm. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
- Unwrap the dough, place it between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap, and roll it out to a ¼-inch-thick sheet. If the dough has softened, slide it (in the parchment) onto the back of a sheet pan and refrigerate until firm enough to cut.
- Using the round cutter, cut 8 cookies from the dough. (If the dough softens, return it to the refrigerator until the cookies are firm enough to transfer to a sheet pan.) Arrange the rounds on a lined sheet pan.
- Push the trimmings together and refrigerate until the dough is firm enough to roll, then roll out and cut into 4 more rounds. Add them to the sheet pan. Wrap the sheet in plastic wrap and freeze the dough for at least 2 hours, or until firm. (For longer storage, remove the frozen rounds from the sheet pan and freeze in a covered container or a plastic bag for up to 1 month.)
- Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F (convection or standard). Line two sheet - pans with Silpats or parchment paper.
- Arrange the frozen cookies on the sheet pans, leaving about 2 inches between them. Bake the cookies until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes in a convection oven, 16 to 18 minutes in a standard oven, reversing the positions of the pans halfway through baking. Set the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. To assemble the cookies
- Combine the buttercream, peanut butter, and salt in the bowl of the mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix for 2 minutes on medium-low speed, until combined and smooth. Transfer the mixture to the pastry bag.
- Turn half of the cookies over. Beginning in the center, pipe a spiral of peanut butter filling (55 grams) on each one, to within ¼ inch of the edges. Top each with a second cookie and press gently to sandwich the cookies.
- The cookies are best the day they are baked, but they can be stored in a covered container, at room temperature if unfilled, refrigerated if filled, for up to 3 days.