Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

OK, now it gets serious. Really serious. Because I love peanut butter. I think that may have had something to do with writing the darn peanut butter book. I could live on the stuff. Have, in fact. When I was a kid, I wanted PB&J at every turn. My mother insisted on olive loaf and white bread. Of course, she was trying desperately to keep me straight.

We made these little cookies from said peanut butter book the other night--but then gave them a twist with the filling. More on that in a minute. First, the cookies.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Whisk 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl.

Next, beat 1 cup sugar, 3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening (trans fat free, of course), and 3/4 cup creamy natural-style peanut butter in a large bowl with a mixer at medium speed. It should get soft and creamy--about 2 minutes, maybe a little longer.

Add 1/4 cup dark corn syrup, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and continue beating until fully incorporated. Then beat in 1 large egg and 2 teaspoons vanilla until smooth. Honestly, you can't overbeat at this stage. Just get it good and creamy.

Turn off the beaters, add all the flour mixture, and beat at very low speed just until a sugar-cookie-like dough gathers together, but not a second longer. Honestly, you CAN overbeat at this stage (which is why fussier cooks insist on using a wooden spoon--but the beaters work well if you're careful).

Dot your work surface with water, then lay a large piece of wax paper on it (the water will hold the wax paper in place). Put a third of the dough on the paper, press it into a squat circle, and top with a second piece of wax paper. Now roll the dough between the sheets until it's about 1/4-inch thick. Peel off the top sheet and cut out cookie rounds with a 2-inch cookie cutter. Place these on an ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart and bake until set but soft, about 12 minutes, before cooling the cookies a moment or two on the baking sheet and then on a wire rack for at least 1 hour. Meanwhile, roll out half the remaining dough between sheets of wax paper and continue on making more cookies as directed.

One note: that baking sheet is hot and can make the cookies spread too much. You either have to let it cool back to room temperature each time or you have to work with more than one sheet.

OK, once they're cool, we come to the filling. It's the most incredible thing we've had in a long time. It's Honey Ridge Farms Blackberry Honey Crème. Wow. It's addictive on toast: whipped honey mixed with a blackberry puree--period. Talk about real food. Want to know more? Check it out here.

We spread a little on the flat side of one cookie, then topped it with a second cookie. Voila: peanut butter and honey sandwich cream cookies with a hint of blackberry. Wow. But don't worry: they won't change your sexual orientation. Just enhance it.