A simple peanut butter shortbread forms the foundation for this sweet-and-salty favorite. It’s easy to slice and shape ’em once they’ve had a quick chill in the freezer—and don’t forget to spritz your measuring cups with baking spray to help extract all the peanut butter you’ll be using for this recipe.
MAKE: about 2 dozen filled cookies
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours, including chilling time
DIFFICULTY: 2
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: stand mixer, electric hand mixer (optional)
COOKIES
2 cups (8-1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch kosher salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (4-3/4 ounces) creamy peanut butter
FILLING
1 cup (4 ounces) powdered sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (3-1/2 ounces) creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup (1-5/8 ounces) vegetable shortening
MAKE THE COOKIES:
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir in the egg and vanilla on low speed. Add the peanut butter and stir on medium speed for 2 minutes more.
On low speed, stir in the dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time until just incorporated.
Spread 2 large sheets of plastic wrap on a clean surface and divide the dough into 2 equal pieces on the sheets. Wrap each piece tightly to form a rough cylinder about 8 inches long and 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Place the dough logs in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat liners.
Cut the chilled dough into thin (no more than 1/4 inch) slices and place on the prepared baking sheets. Put the sheets in the oven for 30 seconds, then remove and form each cookie into a rough peanut shape by squeezing the sides gently in the middle to form grooves.
Return the sheets to the oven and bake for 13 to 16 minutes, until the cookies are dry and no longer shiny on top but not yet browning at the edges. They will seem slightly underbaked, but remove them anyway. Cool the cookies completely on wire racks.
FILL THE COOKIES:
While the cookies cool, make the filling. Cream the powdered sugar, peanut butter, and shortening together until fluffy, using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer—first on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, then on high speed to fluff it up.
Spread the filling evenly on the flat (bottom) side of half the cooled cookies. Top with the remaining cookies.
Store the cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week.
SCOUT’S HONOR
Nutter Butters are a kissing cousin of Do-Si-Dos, the oatmeal–peanut butter Girl Scout cookie in the bright orange box. To make your own version of these rounds, add 1/4 cup coarsely chopped rolled oats to the dough (give ’em a quick grind in the food processor) along with the flour. But don’t stop buying a few boxes from your local troop at Girl Scout cookie time. We still want to support them!