Homemade Nutter Butter Cookies 
Ingredients
For the cookie halves:
1⅔ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine salt
1 cup smooth peanut butter
½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
½ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the peanut butter filling:
½ cup smooth peanut butter
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the cookie dough:
Preheat and prepare baking sheets
Set your oven to 350°F. Line three large baking sheets with parchment paper. Do not grease the paper – the cookies have enough butter to release easily.
Combine dry ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly distributed. Set the bowl aside.
Cream the wet base
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using a hand mixer), combine the 1 cup of smooth peanut butter, ½ cup softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Stop once to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. The mixture should look light tan, fluffy, and completely uniform – no separate streaks of butter or peanut butter.
Add the egg and vanilla
Add the room-temperature egg and the 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat on medium-low speed until the egg is fully incorporated and the mixture looks smooth again, about 30 to 45 seconds. Scrape the bowl once more.
Add the dry ingredients
With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture. Mix only until the flour disappears into the dough and no white streaks remain. Overmixing will make the cookies tough. The finished dough will be soft, pliable, and slightly sticky but not wet.
Portion the dough
Use a medium cookie scoop (about 1½ tablespoons in volume) to scoop out 30 equal portions of dough. If you do not have a scoop, roll heaping tablespoons into balls by hand. Place the portions on a plate or tray as you work.
Shape the peanut-style cookies:
Form each peanut half
Take one portion of dough and divide it into two equal pieces. Roll each piece into a small, smooth ball. Place the two balls side by side on a prepared baking sheet, touching each other. Gently press the balls together where they meet so they fuse into a single elongated shape that resembles a peanut in silhouette.
Add the classic crisscross marks
Dip a dinner fork into a small bowl of flour (to prevent sticking). Press the tines of the fork onto the top of the joined dough, creating parallel indentations. Rotate the fork 90 degrees and press again to create a crosshatch pattern. The marks should be about ⅛ inch deep.
Pinch the center
Lightly pinch the middle of the peanut shape with your thumb and forefinger to accentuate the waist of the peanut. This step helps the cookies hold their signature look during baking.
Repeat and space properly
Continue shaping the remaining 29 cookie portions, placing them at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Each sheet will hold about 10 peanut-shaped cookies (20 halves total, or 10 completed sandwiches’ worth).
Bake the cookies:
Bake one sheet at a time
Bake the cookies for 6 to 8 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. The cookies are done when the edges are just barely starting to turn golden brown and the tops look set (not wet or shiny). Do not wait for deep browning – these cookies are meant to stay soft.
Cool completely
Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes after removing them from the oven. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not attempt to fill the cookies while they are still warm – the filling will melt and slide off.
Make the filling:
Cream the peanut butter and butter
In a clean mixing bowl (you can use the same bowl you used for the cookie dough, no need to wash if you wiped it clean), combine the ½ cup of smooth peanut butter and the ¼ cup of softened butter. Beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture looks very light, fluffy, and pale tan.
Add the powdered sugar in stages
With the mixer on low speed, add half of the powdered sugar (1 cup). Mix until the sugar is absorbed – the mixture will look crumbly. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and the ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix again until smooth. Add the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar and beat on low until fully combined. If the filling feels too stiff to pipe or spread easily, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk (or more, 1 teaspoon at a time) until the consistency is creamy but still holds its shape when spooned.
Assemble the sandwiches:
Match cookie halves by size
Lay out all 30 cooled cookie halves. Pair them up by similar size and shape so your sandwiches are even.
Apply the filling
Flip half of the cookies (15 of them) so their flat bottom sides face up. Using a small offset spatula or a piping bag with a round tip, spread or pipe a generous layer of filling onto each upturned cookie. Use about 1 to 1½ teaspoons of filling per sandwich.
Top and press gently
Place the matching cookie half on top of the filling, right side up. Press down very lightly – just enough to spread the filling to the edges without squeezing it out. Do not press firmly, or the cookies may crack.
Set and serve
Let the assembled cookies sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to allow the filling to firm up slightly. Then serve immediately or store as directed below.
Homemade Nutter Butter Cookies
