8.17.2013

homemade nutter butters

well to start this weekend off right, some girlfriends & I decided to get together and do some baking. We did this a few weeks ago and discovered how delicious a thai quinoa salad & nutella donuts can be. Well, we were feeling ambitious this week and thought we would try our hand at homemade nutter butters (gluten free of course). The little babe slept the whole time we were busy in the kitchen, despite the clanging pots and pans. 
yep, she’s perfect.
& she’s asleep on me while I type this entry, holding onto my arms & snuggling my neck.
(P.S. being a momma is the best)
All you need to know is that if these little gems are up on the blog, they made the cut (AND got Dustin’s rating of 4.5/5, which is pretty darn good considering he’s not a “peanut butter cookie” kinda guy)
homemade nutter butters (gluten free)
Foreword: this recipe contains 4 sticks of butter. Alarming, I know. But this recipe makes approximately 194020 cookes. Okay…so not that many, but we had 4 plates full and more on pans and cooling racks. That being said, we agreed upon a few things for the next time we venture into nutter-butter land: 
1.     Cut the recipe in half (unless you have a million neighbors to share these with) 
2.     Modify the frosting - decrease the powdered sugar to 2.5-3 cups (instead of 4 cups) and amp up the crunchy peanut butter to 1.5-2 cups (instead of 1 cup).
3.     Make them smaller than you think you should, because they expand a lot! The recipe says to roll them into 1-inch balls, but we did that and they were huge, so we rolled them much smaller for our second (& 3, & 4, & 5, & 6) batch.
4.     Don’t overcrowd the pans, they expand & you want them to have their space! 
5.     Even without modifying it, the frosting is so good it could be eaten off a spoon, or a graham cracker, or a piece of chocolate, or on icecream….okay, you get the idea. 
Ingredients for Cookies:
    1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
    1 cup creamy peanut butter
    1 cup granulated sugar
    1 cup light brown sugar, packed
    2 eggs
    2 tsp vanilla
    2 1/2 cups flour (William’s Sonoma Cup4Cup)
    1 tsp baking soda
    1 tsp baking powder
    Approx 1/2 cup extra sugar for rolling
Ingredients for Filling:
    1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
    1 cup crunchy peanut butter, room temperature
    4 cups powdered sugar
    2-3 tablespoons milk
 Instructions
1.    In electric mixer, beat butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds on medium-high speed. Lower mixer to medium and add eggs and vanilla continuing to mix until combined. Turn mixer to low and add in flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix until combined. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375°
2.   Form chilled dough first into 1-inch balls and then form into a log shape. Roll the log-shaped dough in extra granulated sugar and place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Using a fork press down on cookie creating a criss-cross pattern. Pinch the center to create the peanut shape.
3.   Bake for 6-8 minutes until edges are lightly golden. Cool on baking sheet 2-3 minutes and then transfer to wire rack to continue cooling.
4.   For the Filling:
a.    In a large bowl beat butter and peanut butter together until smooth. Slowly add in your powdered sugar and turn mixer speed up to medium and beat until filling is smooth. Add your milk, one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
b.    Spread a heaping tablespoon of filling onto the bottom of one of the peanut butter cookies and then top with another cookie to create a sandwich.
Happy weekend to all. We’ll be enjoying ours with grilled chicken caesar salads, fresh sweet peaches, a movie or two & of course, hanging with our favorite little tot.
XOXO

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