Peanut butter was a close side kick growing up. In second and third grade, I packed myself two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (on whole wheat seeded bread – pre-celiac days) for lunch every day, and then in fourth and fifth grade after I walked home from school I would scoop out more peanut butter and pair it with a kid-sized handful of chocolate chips for a high-protein snack that my parents probably didn’t approve of. It was just that good. All of this led to my dad mentioning one day that I would “make myself allergic” if I kept up my over-zealous peanut butter craze, and, two years after his prophecy, getting tested positive for a mild peanut allergy. What a call! Now, peanut allergies are no joke, but thankfully I was not severely allergic (all I got were a few stomach aches and no life-threatening reaction, thank goodness), but it definitely put a damper on my peanut butter reliance.
Years later, the allergy seemed to have subsided, so I got gingerly back on the peanut train, with a healthy dose of caution for ever over-doing it again. So, here I am, still quite fond of anything peanut butter and chocolate (those tubs of dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joe’s are just the ticket). If you’re from the US and have ever lived abroad, especially in locales where peanut butter isn’t really a thing except in those specialty grocery stores that seem to stock everything you miss from back home but at 10x the price, you’ll know the real pain of not having access to a big jar of peanut butter when you need one. On a related note, your local grocery store may be low on the stuff right now – the first week of shut down I know our local Whole Foods had no peanut butter in sight!
Thankfully, a few weeks in and people have calmed down and realized they don’t need seven jars of peanut butter to get through a pandemic, so I picked up a new jar and, after being asked by one of my best friends if I had a peanut butter cookie recipe here on the blog (and realizing with shock that I did not), I got to work on the first one! This nutter butter look alike celebrates the nutty, crumbly, short-bready traits of a normal peanut butter cookie, but also pays homage to the school lunch nutter butter, or the annual Do-Si-Do for you Girl Scout Cookie fans (though, admittedly, as a Girl Scout for 10-years, those ones weren’t my favorite – I mean, how can you compete with Thin Mints??). They’re two oatmeal peanut butter cookies (with added roasted peanuts for a bit of crunch) sandwiched with creamy, dreamy peanut butter buttercream. They stay snackable for a week (in a closed container), and are just the ticket for something comforting and homey in these strange times. If you’re not allergic to the ingredients, definitely go give these a try! And if you’re a peanut butter fan, try our peanut butter and jelly bars while you’re at it!
Gluten Free “Nutter Butter” Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie sheets
- Piping bag (optional)
- Fork
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 Cup room temperature salted butter 227g
- 1 Cup packed brown sugar 235g
- 3/4 Cup white sugar 180g
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract 15ml
- 3/4 Cup creamy salted peanut butter 210g
- 2 large eggs
- 1 3/4 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour that contains xanthan gum (if it doesn't contain it, add 1/2 tsp or 2g xanthan gum now) 297g
- 1/2 Cup arrowroot starch or cornstarch (cornflour in the UK) 75g
- 1/2 tsp salt 2g
- 1 tsp baking soda 5g
- 1 tsp baking powder 3g
- 1/2 Cup roasted salted peanuts, finely chopped 75g
- 2 1/2 Cups gluten free quick oats or porridge oats (not whole rolled oats) 265g
For the sandwich filling:
- 1 Cup room temperature salted butter 227g
- 1 Cup salted creamy peanut butter 275g
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 7.5ml
- 2 Cups powdered sugar 322g
- pinch salt
Instructions
- First, preheat the oven to 325 F. Then, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and grease with butter or cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer or a strong whisking arm, cream together the room temp butter and white and brown sugar until lighter and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla and continue to beat until smooth and creamy. Add in the peanut butter and beat again until smooth. Then add in the flour, starch, salt, and baking soda and stir together with a spoon or spatula until fully combined. Dump in the chopped peanuts and quick oats and stir in until combined.
- Then, spoon out tablespoons of the dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet and then press each ball down with a fork in a cross-hatch pattern (if you are filling the sandwiches, making the cookies flatter will make them easier to eat!). Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just starting to turn golden – they will not have that much color to them, that's what you want! Let cool completely before filling them.
- Make the filling! In another large bowl, with the same electric mixer, beat together the room temp butter, peanut butter, and vanilla until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, until fully blended and stiffer. Add a pinch of salt and beat together – taste as you go!
- Once cookies are cool, spoon on about a teaspoon of filling (or pipe on using a frosting piping bag), onto one cookie underside and pair it with an unfilled cookie. Complete with all cookies and then eat! (if you haven’t snuck one already!). I recommend letting these sit at room temp for about an hour to let the buttercream set a bit before biting into them (less messy) but they're ready to eat immediately if you're hungry.
Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your cookies!
Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber
6 Comments
ardea tamraz
haven’t made them yet but the look delicious
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Jill
Adult version of nutter butters! Took me back to the days of after school cookies and milk! Love them!
Christina
These are absolutely delicious — made them for my neighbors and they were gone within minutes. Dip them in milk for the ultimate moist dessert. I’ve bookmarked this recipe to make again soon. 🙂
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Lynn
Absolutely delicious! The best peanut butter cookie I’ve ever had bar none! Most peanut butter cookies -while tasty- are very heavy and greasy. This. cookie has all the flavor but a better texture. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!