Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

BUT, peanut butter holds a special place in my heart.  I don’t always love peanuts themselves, but I always love that incomparable peanut flavor.  I haven’t been doing as much gluten-free baking lately, unless you count pots de creme or pavlova as baking.  Then, yes.  But as far as cookies, muffins, and cakes go, I haven’t been doing much.  And I’ve missed it!  It takes every ounce of restraint I have to NOT dip into the chocolate chip cookie dough when I make cookies for the rest of my family.  And lucky for them, they don’t have to show that same level of restraint when I make gluten-free cookies.  It’s something we can all enjoy together.

I’ve made a version of this recipe several times before, but this time they turned out perfectly.  I had to keep swatting little (and big) hands away from the dough so I could measure out exactly how many cookies this recipe makes.  It was hard, I tell you, to keep them away.  My exasperated husband said, “Why don’t you just tell your readers you don’t know how many it makes, but the dough is really good and that should speak for itself.”  So, there you go.  The peanut buttery dough is completely irresistible and it was hard for me to keep exact count of how many cookies this recipe makes, though I think by adding about 9 cookies to the ones that were actually baked seems about right. :)

Anyway, these cookies are so satisfying if you have a peanut butter-tinged sweet tooth.

The filling is creamy and sweet. The cookies are a little salty and nutty, studded with whole rolled oats (GF from Trader Joe’s). They are practically a meal. If you aren’t gluten-free, then of course, just use regular flour in place of the GF flour. Maybe use a little less flour so they will still spread nicely.

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches

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Gluten-free peanut butter cookie sandwiches made with rolled oats and filled with creamy peanut butter frosting.

• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 4 dozen cookies, 1 1/2 cups frosting 1x

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 2 cups gluten-free oats
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• For frosting:
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
• a little milk or water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

1. For cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, peanut butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix well.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients together and add to the creamed mixture, mixing well. Add the oats and mix until combined.
4. Drop tablespoon-sized rounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving plenty of room between cookies to allow for spreading. (I baked 9 cookies per sheet, staggering the center row a bit from the side rows.) Bake two sheets at a time, rotating them top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking time for about 10-12 minutes. (Longer for crunchier cookies, less for softer. The cookies will become harder as they cool.) Remove from baking sheets and transfer to cooling racks. Let cool completely.
5. For frosting: Beat butter and peanut butter together. Add half of the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Add a little milk alternately with the rest of the powdered sugar to create a thick, stiff, but still spreadable frosting. (Thick enough to hold up between two cookies without oozing out the sides.)
6. Spread a few teaspoons of frosting on the bottom of one cookie and sandwich with another cookie. Let stand a bit before serving to allow frosting to set up a bit.

• Author: Lindsey Johnson
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: American