I enjoy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches like most most people. But I particularly enjoyed peanut butter Nutella sandwiches, especially when both are spread on thickly.
Nutella is marvelous. I enjoy eating it on most anything sweet. I feel no shame sitting down with a jar of it and eating it by the spoonful. How about you? Any shameless Nutella confessions of your own?
So it occurred to me, why not revitalize those same old peanut butter sandwich cookies with peanut butter filling that you find everywhere? But it had to be something more than simply spreading the cookie halves with Nutella, or mixing them with powdered sugar and butter. No, it had to be special. It deserved something better. One of my ultimate weaknesses: Cream cheese frosting. What could be better than Nutella cream cheese frosting? How about Nutella cream cheese marshmallow frosting? Eureka!!
Pull up your sleeves, everyone, and let's get baking!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- 1/2 cup marshmallow cream
- 1/2 cup Nutella
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Place the butter and sugars in a large bowl and beat for several minutes until fluffy and pale in color. Add the peanut butter and beat for a few more seconds until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat another few seconds until combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and, using a rubber spatula, gently fold to combine. Be careful not to over-stir.
- Form the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on a non-stick cookie sheet, pressing a grid pattern into them with a fork. Bake for 8-9 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the filling:
- Combine the cream cheese, marshmallow cream and Nutella and beat until combined.
- Using a butter knife, spread the filling on the bottom side of one cookie and place another cookie on top.
- Makes about 32 sandwich cookies.
Need more help? Check out step-by-step instructions of this recipe at The Daring Gourmet.
Recipe contributed by Kimberly Killebrew, author of The Daring Gourmet. Join her on a food adventure and check out what's cooking!