Homemade Do-si-dos

And the season of sweet little girls peddling their cookie crack has descended upon us again. My adorable nieces are the cookie pushers of the family, so we have an inside track. I'm not as obsessed as others I've seen. A friend of mine (and former boss) had to do her cookie pick-up in a shroud of secrecy as no one was allowed to know the actual number of boxes she ordered during G.S. cookie time. If you have a freezer set aside for Girl Scout cookies, you might have a problem. :)

Thin Mints have been my forever favorite. I do love a good Samoa, but if I have to pick a box or two (and you know I do), Thin Mints are the chosen ones. This year, in an exercise of self-control, I limited us to a box each, plus one "share" box. I picked the usual, and Nate picked his usual, Do-si-dos. And the box for sharing? Thin Mints. Because I share, just not well.

And then there are these. These are what Do-si-dos wish they tasted like. They have the same peanut buttery, oatmeal enhanced cookie outside and a peanut butter creamy inside, but are leagues above and beyond anything the overpriced boxes could ever aspire to be. The cookie is rich and chewy. The filling is sweet and peanut buttery. It's pretty much the perfect peanut butter cookie. It could only possibly be improved by dipping half in melted dark chocolate. Oh be still my heart. And my arteries.

Bouchon Bakery says these are homemade Nutter Butters, but they're not. They are seriously homemade Do-si-dos. Make them. Tell me your thoughts. Be still your heart.

Homemade Do-si-dos

Yield: 24 large cookies

For the cookie dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 pound (4 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Skippy
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped peanuts
• 2½ cups quick-cooking oats

For the filling:

• ½ pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter, preferably Skippy
• 3 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar

For cookie dough: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add sugars and beat at medium speed for 4 minutes, scraping down bowl twice. At low speed, add eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat at low speed until well mixed, frequently scraping down bowl. Add peanuts and oats, and mix well.

Using an ice cream scoop 2 inches in diameter, place balls of dough on parchment-lined baking sheets at least three inches apart. Bake until cookies have spread and turned very light golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool and firm up, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling.

For filling: Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar until very smooth.

To assemble cookies, pipe or spread a thin layer (about 1/8 inch) on underside of a cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat. 

Source: slightly adapted from Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery via The New York Times

For smaller cookies, use the small #60 (2 tsp.) size scoop and bake for 8-8½ minutes. Makes about 64 sandwich cookies.