Disclaimer: I am not touting these cookies as health food, because they aren’t particularly light or nutritious. Although I did use natural unsweetened peanut butter, a moderate amount of unrefined sugar, and sandwich cookies void of artificial ingredients & hydrogenated oils, this recipe leans further towards the category of “living to eat” rather than “eating to live”.
We’re all entitled to a splurge once in a while, right?
I rarely buy pre-made cookies for eating straight from the package, but every once in a while I have fun using them as part of a recipe. I bought these Newman-Os with the intention of creating my own version of Picky Palate’s Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, which took the food blogosphere by storm a few months ago.
Instead of surrounding the chocolate sandwich cookies with chocolate chip cookie dough, I opted for peanut butter cookie dough… because you simply can’t beat chocolate and peanut butter together.
I quadrupled my recipe for Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies, (using unsweetened peanut butter, and omitting the white chocolate), which yields a thick dough that is very malleable, and therefore easy to form around the sandwich cookies.
The lack of flour in the cookie dough means that the peanut butter flavor has the stage to shine, with only a bit of unrefined Sucanat and a touch each of salt and vanilla as flavor compliments.
The process of tucking each cookie into a mound of peanut butter dough is actually pretty fun!
Who would know that these golden orbs contain a surprise tucked inside?
The baked cookies are quite soft, so be sure to let them cool completely before cutting or biting into them.
Now, be forewarned… these bad boys are gigantic!
To be more precise, they are just about the size of my palm.
Their gargantuan size renders these cookies a pretty hefty dessert.
Therefore, you certainly don’t have to worry about not being able to eat just one – in fact, you might even be satisfied with half of a cookie.
Sharing is encouraged, but not mandatory ;).
“Oreo” Stuffed Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Printer-Friendly Recipe
inspired by the original Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe from Picky Palate
yield: 12-14 (HUGE!) cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 cups unsweetened natural peanut butter, well-stirred (I used Trader Joe’s Organic Crunchy)
- 1/2 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)
- 2 large eggs, lightly whisked
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 12-14 all-natural (no hydrogenated oils or artificial ingredients) chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Newman-O’s
- a tall glass of ice-cold milk (trust me on this)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the peanut butter, Sucanat (or brown sugar), eggs, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt until well-mixed.
- Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop out two spoonfuls of the peanut butter cookie dough and place each on one side of a sandwich cookie. Using your hands, form the peanut butter dough around the cookies until they are sealed in. Place cookie on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Repeat step 3 with remaining dough and cookies.
- Bake cookies for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve with milk!
