Prior to a few years ago, I'd never even heard of them. We definitely didn't have them growing up. And when I did hear the name, I imagined something like a brownie but with pieces of Snickers chocolate bar in them. Colour me surprised to discover that they are kind of like a sugar cookie, and pretty simple to make.
Here's what you'll need for a double batch:
1 cup of butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla extract
3 cups of flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of cream of tartar*
4 tbsp of sugar
2 tsp of cinnamon
2 cups of peanut butter
1 cup of icing sugar (powdered sugar)
*Note: I didn't have any cream of tartar so I substituted 1 tsp of baking powder and reduced the baking soda to 3/4 tsp.
What to do:
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix completely. Refrigerate the dough for 60 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Take a 1-2 tablespoon-sized portion of your dough and roll it into a ball between your palms. Roll the ball around in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to completely cover it, and then place it on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press down on the ball with your fingertips or the palm of your hand to flatten it out. My cookies were about 2 and a half inches in diameter, so adjust your portion size to suit.
Place your tray of cookies in the oven and bake for about 12 minutes, until they are lightly golden. They may still look a little under-cooked, but don't worry, they're done. They should be soft and chewy in the middle.
Let cool.
For the filling, mix together the peanut butter and icing sugar. The one cup of sugar is just an estimate - I added the sugar a little at a time until I got the flavour I was looking for - not too sweet, but not dry like a peanut butter sandwich.
Spread the filling on the back side of one cookie and top with another cookie, bottom side down.
Done!
