Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

I live with a pretty much constant craving for Little Debbies.  I hate that they always have their own endcap at the grocery store!  The only thing that keeps me from buying them is knowing I would end up eating the whole box, since Caleb doesn't get into store-bought cookies.  And eating an entire box of Little Debbies is just sad.  So to satisfy my craving for sandwich cookies like oatmeal cream pies or fudge rounds, I made these peanut butter oatmeal sandwich cookies.  Caleb totally got on board with these, so I could enjoy my fair share guilt-free.

P.S. My absolute favorite sandwich cookies!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

for the cookies:

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

8 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup oats (quick-cooking or rolled)

for the filling:

3 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

3 Tbsp heavy cream

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.  In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Stir together with a fork to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the egg and vanilla extract.  Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated.  Stir in the oats until evenly blended.

Use a small cookie dough scoop to portion out the dough, rolling each portion into a ball, and place them on the prepared cookie sheet, a couple inches apart.  Bake about 10 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking.  The cookies will be light golden brown and slightly puffed.  Let cool on the baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Repeat with the remaining dough.

Once the cookies have cooled completely, pair them up by size.  To make the filling, combine the butter, peanut butter, and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Cream together until well combined.  Mix in the heavy cream until smooth and fluffy.  Spread the filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair.  Sandwich together with the remaining cookie and press down (lightly) so that the filling reaches the edges.  

source:  recipe from annie's eats, originally from all recipes