We love Girl Scouts, and we love their cookies. Especially their Do-si-dos® Peanut Butter Sandwiches. But we don’t love having to wait once a year to scarf them down. (Once a year? Really?!) Well, lucky for us and you, the fine folks at the King Arthur Baking Company took matters into their own hands by creating these peanut butter-oatmeal sandwich cookies.

Now, you have to promise us that when your local Girl Scouts have their annual cookie sale you’ll eschew these for the time being and buy scads and scads of cookies. They deserve it. Scout’s honor?—David Leite

Common Questions

What’s the best peanut butter to use for these cookies?

As much as I like and use all-natural peanut butter (the kind with the oil on top) for just about everything, I don’t bake with it. I find that if the oil isn’t 100% perfectly emulsified in the peanut butter, I can give varied results. So I use Skippy or Jif creamy peanut butter.

How long will these cookies last?

Around our house? Not long at all. If you want to parse these out to the kids over time, the cookies will last a week in an air-tight container. But one suggestion: Store the cookies separately from the filling, which you can keep in the fridge. The filling can make the cookies soggy over time. When you have pleading eyes staring up at you, simply spread some filling on a few cookies, top with their mates, and pour the milk.

A cutting board covered with peanut butter-oatmeal sandwich cookies, some opened revealing their chocolate filling

Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

5 from 1 vote
Seldom do you hear the words “Girl Scout” without “cookies” following shortly thereafter. And for good reason: American Girl Scouts have been selling their wonderful cookies since 1917. One of our favorites has always been the peanut butter–​oatmeal sandwich cookie; here’s our homemade rendition. Scouts honor!
David Leite
CourseDessert
CuisineAmerican
Servings20 sandwich cookies
Calories238 kcal
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour

Ingredients 

For the cookie dough

  • 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more for the baking sheets and glass, at room temperature
  • 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup rolled oats

For the peanut butter filling

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Instructions 

Make the cookie dough

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly butter (or line with parchment) two rimmed baking sheets.
  • In the bowl of a fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the butter, peanut butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Add the egg, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in the flour and oats.
  • Drop the dough by the heaping teaspoonful onto the prepared baking sheets (a cookie scoop works well here). Use the bottom of a lightly buttered drinking glass to press each cookie to about 1/4-inch (6-mm) thick.

    ☞ TESTER TIP: If the dough is a little crumbly when you scoop it, roll it between your palms to make a smooth ball.

  • Bake the cookies until very light golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove them from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

Make the peanut butter filling

  • In a small bowl, use a hand mixer or a wooden spoon to beat together the peanut butter, honey, and confectioners’ sugar until smooth.

Assemble the cookies

  • When the cookies are cool, use an offset spatula to spread half of them with the filling. Top the filling with the remaining cookies, pressing together gently.

Notes

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Sandwich Cookies variation

Curious about the chocolate filled version of these cookies in the photo? If you’d like to give them a whirl, simply swap in a batch of this chocolate ganache for the peanut butter filling.
The King Arthur Baking Company Essential Cookie Companion

Adapted From

The King Arthur Baking Company Essential Cookie Companion

Buy On Amazon

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cookieCalories: 238 kcalCarbohydrates: 23 gProtein: 7 gFat: 14 gSaturated Fat: 4 gMonounsaturated Fat: 6 gTrans Fat: 1 gCholesterol: 17 mgSodium: 191 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 15 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2021 King Arthur Baking Company. Photo © 2021 Shilpa Iyer. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

These peanut butter-oatmeal sandwich cookies are excellent, especially for peanut butter fans. A little more work than a drop cookie but definitely worth the few extra steps.

After scooping the cookie dough, I did roll each cookie smooth before pressing because the dough was a little crumbly. Not sure this was necessary but the cookies were nice and round. The cookies should be pressed fairly flat, they don’t spread very much. I didn’t press the first tray flat enough and the cookies were chunky which made fat cookie sandwiches (still very tasty). I made the cookies with the peanut butter filling but next will try chocolate filling. Very good cookie.

I was never a Girl Scout, so I feel okay saying the following: these peanut butter-oatmeal sandwich cookies by far surpassed the tastiness of the boxed Girl Scout version! I don’t know if it was the addition of rolled oats into the mix? Or their crispy on the outside but soft interior that makes me say this, but whatever the reason these cookies deserve their own badge of honor.

Another reason I loved this recipe was that it relies on pantry ingredients that most everyone already has on hand. No shopping needed to whip these tasty treats up any old time! It was also nice because you made the cookie dough in 1 bowl; no need to cream the butter and sugar in a separate bowl from the whisked dry ingredients, they are all mixed together in the same bowl.

Everyone thought these were so scrumptious, they are truly perfection in the form of a cookie.

If you love the Girl Scout’s peanut butter-oatmeal sandwich cookies that are only available once a year, try this homemade version. They are full of the same delicious flavors. It’s a peanut buttery cookie with a bit of chew from the addition of oats and a creamy delicious peanut butter filling, it’s a winner for any peanut butter lover!




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appรฉtit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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6 Comments

  1. Hello, friends! The cookie is also pictured above with a chocolate filling- is there a recipe on the site for that filling as well? I apologize if it is here and and I am somehow missing it!

      1. I made these cookies with the chocolate ganache and they were off the charts AMAZING!!!!! They were a huge hit with everyone and I cannot wait to make them again- thanks, as always, for the wonderful recipes!

        1. That’s wonderful to hear, Remi+in+Boston. Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know how they turned out.

  2. So simple yet I donโ€™t think I would have thought of this combination!! Since being pregnant I certainly have been craving everything peanut butter!! And I mean… oatmeal cookies any day!