Hi.

I’ve noticed you around these parts a lot.  I made you some cookies.  I’m glad you’re here.  

Maybe we could sit down and you could shell out some advice.  I just have one question.  Gimme your gut.  What’s it thinkin’?  This might seem silly, but what else is new?  I really need your help with this.

Couch.  Should I buy a couch?

Just the thought of a real life couch in my little apartment gives me all sorts of unreasonable anxiety.  Yeesh.  I thought I would only buy a couch… a big fluffy couch… when I was an adult and I had my life aaaaaaaallllllll figured out.  Well… I’m pretty darn sure I’m an adult, and I’m pretty darn sure I’ll never actually have it all figured out…. so I might just need to buck up and buy the darn couch, right?  

Couch.  It’s just a couch.  Somehow… it seems like so much more.  What do you think?

I’ll trade you your thoughts for these ridiculously good cookies.  Deal?  Deal.

There are a few things you should know about these cookies…. wait!  Do you know what dulce de leche is?  Dulce de leche is like a thick, milky, caramel sauce.  It’s made when sweetened milk is slowly cooked and boiled down to deliciousness. I buy the jarred stuff because it makes my life easier.

 This recipe from Dorie Greenspan makes one whole heck of a lot of cookie dough.  Phew!  This recipe makes about 30 sandwich cookies.  That’s a lot.

Even with the dulce de leche, brown sugar and granulated sugar, these cookies aren’t as sweet as you might think.  Surprising… I know.  I added a bit of sea salt on top of the dulce de leche I spread into the sandwich cookies.  Amazing!

The one small downside to these cookies?  They sure aren’t as pretty as I wanted them to be…. but oooh so delicious.

Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies

     recipe from Baking: from my home to yours

     makes 30 sandwich cookies

     Print this Recipe!

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup store-bought dulce de leche, plus more for filling

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the upper third of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.  

In the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until just softened and broken up a bit.  Add the 3/4 cup dulce de leche, brown sugar and granulated sugar.  Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate.  

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients all at once.  Mix only until the flour is just incorporated.  You may need to finish off the mixing with a big spatula.  

Spoon the dough onto the lined baking sheets using a heaping teaspoon of dough for each cookie.  The dough will be soft and this might be a bit messy.  Leave 2 inches of space between each cookie for the baking spread.  

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes.  The cookies will be honey brown with a light crust, but still very soft when they come out of the oven.  Let them rest on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before removing to cool.  

Once the cookies are cooled completely, spread them with dulce de leche and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt if you like.  Keep well wrapped for up to four days.

Have I introduced you to my little sister Lauren? 

Lauren… this is everyone.  

Everyone… this is Lauren.  

Lauren and I grew up in the kitchen together.  We made brownies, we burnt cookies, we frosted crooked cakes, and we could plow through a box of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch in 10 minutes flat.  We were always in the kitchen either creating or consuming.  True.  

Things aren’t all that different for me and Lauren these days.  We spend a lot of time baking up treats, talking about Paula Dean, and arguing about which awkward teenage phase was worse:  my Blossom Hat Phase or her Sweatpants and Vest Wearing Phase.  Just typing those out… they each seem like equal tragedies.  Thank heavens we’ve moved past that.  

I’m introducing you to my sister because these two things are true:

1.  If Lauren were not in the world, I would surely be unable to breathe… that’s how much I love this girl. 

2.  I shoved my camera in Lauren’s hands last week, told her to bake something and take pictures of it.  In her unending brilliance, she returned to me a camera full of pictures (including the self portrait below) and six of these cookies.  Holy heck!  A food blogger could get used to this kind of treatment.  For real.  

Open wide.  Nope… wider.  And still, just a teensy bit wider.  These cookies are a mouthful.  A mouthful of holy-heckballs-peanut-butter-heaven.  The cookies are crisp and buttery.  Combined with the peanut butter filling, I’m pretty sure I nearly put myself in a peanut butter coma.  Yes… a peanut butter coma sounds like a good thing.  Oh!  These cookies are even better if you can get someone else to make them for you.  True story.  

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

     from The Pastry Queen Christmas

     makes about 30 sandwich cookies

     Print this Recipe!

For the Cookies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Filling:

2 cups crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Optional Coating:

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup honey roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Grease with butter or cooking spray.  

Using a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and peanut butter on medium speed until well combined.  Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  

Add the egg and beat on medium speed for 1 minute.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and beat on low until just combined.  Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes.  

Drop the dough by the scant tablespoon full onto a cookie sheet about 1 1/2-inches apart.  Use the tines of a fork to press the cookies flat.  Bake for 7-10 minutes until the cookies are a deep golden brown along the edges.

To make the filling:  Use a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment to beat the butter, peanut butter and heavy cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  

Add the powdered sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, salt and beat on medium speed until combined.  

To make the coating:  Melt the chocolate pieces in the microwave, or over a double boiler.  Easy!

To assemble the cookies:  Use a spatula or small knife to spread generous amounts of the filling onto the flat bottom of a cookie.  Top with another cookie, ridge side up.  Set a wire rack on top of a sheet of waxed paper to catch the chocolate drips if you choose to dip your cookies in chocolate.  Sprinkle the chocolate with chopped nuts immediately after dipping so they stick.  Let stand for 1 hour to harden, or pop them in the fridge for a few minutes.  

The cookies last up to 3 days in an airtight container, or 2 weeks in a container in the fridge

Dear My Bank,

We’ve known each other for a long time.  You know how I deposit my humble paychecks every so often, how I rarely use the ATM, and how I hate to use my debit card at the gas station.  I know that you like to decorate with bullet-proof glass… guns, I get it… have pens that don’t always work, and always want me to sign up for your credit card.  As much as I hate to admit it, we sort of have a thing going.

Let’s be honest Bank.  We’re not friends.  We don’t even really like each other very much.  I know that you have rules.  You know… if you’re being honest with yourself, that I do my very best to follow your rules.  And I do… Bank…..! Unless, I suppose, I just forget to add one payment to my balance books, leading me to believe I have several hundred dollars in you, Bank… instead of less than zero.

Here’s my beef with you… Bank!  Jerky bank.  When you penalize me several times in a row for spending money that I thought I had, well… that doesn’t get me any closer to having the money that you’d like to take.  How on Earth did you determine that $33 was an acceptable overdraft charge?  Why are you allowed to take money that I don’t have?  You know what I think?  I think you’re taking advantage of my mistake.  You know me, Bank.  You know that I don’t like to spend money I don’t have… and when I do… accidentally… you use that as an opportunity to take advantage of me.

That’s reeeeeaal crappy.

Nobody likes you.  I’ve done the research.  It’s true.

Nobody will ever… not even once… make you cookies just because you’re nice.  Why?  Because you’re not nice.

Now you know.

Love,

Joy

These cookies inspired a delicious wave of selfishness.  I did not want to share.  Certainly not with my jerky bank… but not with anyone else either.

The wafer cookies are deep dark chocolate with a saltiness that demands that you devour at least three sandwich cookies in one sitting.  They dough does not need any rest of refrigeration and goes straight from the mixer onto the table to be rolled.

The espresso filling adds just the right complexity to the cookie.  It’s sweet, with just a hint of bitter.  Divine with the chocolate wafers.

Hands down, the best darn cookie I’ve made in a long time.  Dreamy good.  Do it. Make ‘em!

Chocolate Espresso Sandwich Cookies

Don’t have espresso powder?  Feel free to skip it, and just make these cookies without.  You’ll have what looks like homemade Oreos!

adapted from The Essence of Chocolate

makes about 3 dozen sandwich cookies

For the Filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped

heaping 1/4 teaspoon  instant espresso powder

For the Cookies:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cup plus 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder

15 Tablespoons (7 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, but into 3/4-inch cubes, at room temperature

For the Filling:

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to boil over medium heat.  Remove from the heat and add the white chocolate and espresso powder.  Make sure all the chocolate is covered by the cream.  Let stand for 1 minute, then whisk the white chocolate until completely melted.

Transfer the filling to a small bowl and let stand until room temperature.  You’ll need the filling thicker to assemble the cookies, so cover the filling and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or an hour, until a thick consistency is reached.  If the filling hardens too much, it can be rewarmed in the microwave for a few seconds.

For the Cookies:

Position the racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder and mix on low speed.  With the mixer running, add the butter a few pieces at a time.  The mixture will have a sandy texture at first and then will begin to form peddle-size pieces.  As soon as the dough starts to come together, stop the mixer.

Form and roll the dough straight from the mixer.  The dough becomes hard to work with if chilled.

Transfer the dough to a board and use the heel of your hand or a pastry scraper to shape the dough into a block about 5 by 7 inches.  Cut the block into two pieces.

One at a time, roll each block of dough between two pieces of lightly floured parchment paper until about 1/8-inch thick.  Using a cookie cutter, cut into 2 inch rounds.  Place 1/2 to 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.  You can form and roll the dough scraps once after the first roll.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through the baking.  Remove from the oven and cool on the sheets for 2 to 5 minutes.  Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

To Assemble the Cookies:

Place half of the cookies upside down on a work surface.  Whip the filling lightly with a whisk to loosen it.  It will lighten in color and fluff up.  Don’t overwhip or the filling may begin to separate.

Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip.  I just scooped my filling out by the scant teaspoonful.  Pipe or dollop one teaspoon of filling  in the center of each upside down cookie.  Gently, using your fingers, press the cookies together until the filling comes just to the edges.

The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Forget about saving room for dessert.  One of these lemon whoopie pies is a whole meal in itself!  These beauties are not the delicate, petite, wallflower cookie.  They bake up into a beast of a cookie.  They’re doubley soft, cakey cookie goodness filled with a lemony cream cheese filling.

These are not a snacking cookie.  They’re a “sit down and shut up and eat your freakin cookie” cookie. That’s not too hard to do, right?

These cookies are a play on the traditional chocolate and marshmallow whoopie pies.  They come out to be absolutely enormous, so feel free to make minis if you don’t have as big a cookie capacity as I do.  They’re best a day after baking, served cold from the fridge.

Try it, you’ll like it.

Lemon Whoopie Pies

the Bit Fat Cookie book

Print this recipe!

makes 8 giant cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) usalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 large egg

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk.

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest until smooth, about 3 minutes.  Stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during the mixing.  Add the egg, lemon juice and vanilla, mixing until blended, about 1 minute.  The batter may look curdled.  On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.  Mix in the buttermilk.  Mix in the remaining flour mixture just until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth again.

Drop heaping tablespoons (about 3 level Tablespoons each for a giant cookie) of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 3 inches apart.  Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops feel firm, about 12 minutes.  With the exception of a time line at the edges, the tops of the cookies should not brown.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling-

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on low speed, beat the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice until thoroughly blended and smooth, about 1 minute.  Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.  If the filling is too soft to hold its shape, chill it in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Turn half of the cookies bottom side up.  Leaving a 1/4-inch plain edge, use a thin metal spatula to spread each one with about 1/4 up of filling.  Gently press the flat bottoms of the remaining cookies onto the fillings.

Wrap each cookie in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Serve cold.  The wrapped cookies can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

 By Sunday, my fridge is usually full of baking leftovers from the week-  a bit of cookie dough, scraps of cake, a tiny bit of frosting.  What to do with all these treats sometimes perplexes me.  This week, I married the leftover cookie dough I had in the freezer from my cookie extravaganza, and the Swiss Meringue Buttercream from my Blackberry Jam Cake.   Oatmeal sandwich cookies!  They’re great wrapped in wax paper and stacked in the fridge for a sweet snack.  They won’t last very long, I guarantee.  

 I remember the prepackaged, Little Debbie version of these cookies occasionally appearing in my lunch box.  The grown up version is crispy, buttery and so satisfying.   

Oatmeal Walnuts with Candied Ginger and Swiss Meringue Buttercream.  Delicious separate.  Over the moon when sandwiched together!