Peanut butter sandwich cookies with milk chocolate filling + two favorite Tumblrs

I’ve been obsessing with sandwich cookies lately – I want to bake each and every recipe for sandwich cookies I see (and no, I haven’t forgotten about biscotti, believe me). :)
I’d planned making one of Martha’s fabulous cookies but the jam I had around was very chunky – the jam is actually quite good but not thin enough for filling the cookies. I turned to the Karen DeMasco’s wonderful book and made these fantastic cookies, which allowed me to finish off a jar of peanut butter as well. Win/win situation. :)

You know that when I like something I really like it and because I am a movie junkie I have now two favorite Tumblrs: “Old Love” and “This Had Oscar Buzz” – I am sure some of you will love them, too. :)

Peanut butter sandwich cookies with milk chocolate filling
slightly adapted from the wonderful and delicious The Craft of Baking: Cakes, Cookies, and Other Sweets with Ideas for Inventing Your Own

Cookies:
1 ¾ cups (245g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (100g) light brown sugar, packed
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (115g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup (60ml) vegetable oil, such as canola
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg

Filling:
168g (6oz) milk chocolate, chopped
½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup (35g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (180ml) heavy cream

Start by making the cookies: preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar and confectioners’ sugar on medium-high speed until creamy. Add the peanut butter and beat to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the oil, vanilla and egg and beat until just combined. Add the flour mixture beating just to combine.
Roll the dough into balls – 1 ½ leveled teaspoons of dough per ball – and place them onto the prepared baking sheets, 2cm (1in) apart. Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the cookies are golden brown on the edges, about 12 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to a wire rack and let cool completely (unfilled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week).

Make the filling: combine the chocolate, peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar and salt in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Remove the cream from the heat and pour it over the chocolate mixture. Stir until the ingredients are melted and the mixture is smooth. Refrigerate until thick enough to spread. Using an offset spatula, spread the filling over the flat sides of half of the cookies. Sandwich with the remaining cookies*.
Filled cookies are best eaten on the same day but can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

* there was some filling left; I believe that ¾ of the filling recipe would be enough to fill all the cookies

Makes about 50 sandwich cookies