homemade girl scout do-si-dos party!

 
I was shocked to discover a recent Girl Scout poll that showed Samoas are America's favorite Girl Scout cookies, followed by Thin Mints and then Tag A Longs! Where is the love for MY favorite...Do-Si-Dos?!? When I saw that they were ranked #6, I couldn't believe it. What could be better than two peanut butter oatmeal cookies sandwiched with peanut butter frosting? Seriously, America? The lemon cookies ranked higher than Do-Si-Dos? That's crazy!

And I have THE cutest girl scouts in my neighborhood. Two adorable sisters who are dedicated to the Girl Scout mission & EXCELLENT cookie salesgirls. I think they sell around 3,000 boxes every year. We're always excited when they make the rounds to take our order.

Since I found out Do-Si-Dos are SO under-rated I decided to spread the love by making a homemade version and sharing it with you. This is my take & they are my new favorite cookies! I made them twice this weekend. The recipe is almost identical to my PB Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies MINUS the chocolate chips PLUS peanut butter frosting. GO Do-Si-Dos!

Do -Si-Dos
adapted from allrecipes.com
Click HERE to print recipe only

makes 2 dozen sandwich cookies

cookies:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup old fashioned or quick oats

frosting:
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream or milk

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and peanut butter. Add in sugar & brown sugar & mix. Add egg and vanilla and blend. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in oats.

2. Lightly spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and drop cookie dough by tablespoon onto pan. I use my small Pampered Chef scoop to measure the cookie dough. You can flatten the cookies a bit before baking but I didn't because I like fat cookies.

3. Bake 8 minutes or until cookies are barely set & barely browned on the bottom. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes then remove to cooling rack.

4. For frosting: Cream butter & peanut butter. Mix in powdered sugar. Add whipping cream & beat until creamy. Spread the frosting between two cooled cookies. I used 1 cookie scoopful of frosting on each sandwiched cookie.

 5. Totally unnecessary but if you want to jazz them up you can roll the edges in mini chocolate chips, crushed peanuts, chocolate sprinkles or mini m&m's.

no-bake oatmeal cookies and cookbook talk party!

 
As much as I love the thousands of food blogs & online recipe sights, there is nothing like cracking open a new AMAZINGLY written, published & printed cookbook! I'm a cookbook junkie! I love to read them like novels, cover to cover. I also love my local library. They have a great selection of cookbooks, almost always have the newest releases & anything on the best sellers lists. I almost always have a cookbook on hold at the library & I currently have 4 cookbooks checked out, 1 overdue.

Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito is one of my current favorites! The subtitle is "Classic American Desserts Reinvented", which is right up my alley. I LOVE Classic Desserts! What's more classic than peanut butter, chocolate & oats?

When I begin reading a new cookbook I get a piece of paper to use as a bookmark. As I read the book, I write down the recipes that I want to make. I gathered a long list from this book, which explains why it is past due.

The first recipe I made from this book is the classic No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies, page 185. I grew up on these & often came home from school to find a batch of them on the kitchen counter. My mom is THE expert on these sweet treats!

No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies
makes 48 cookies (recipe can be halved)

ingredients

1/2 cup whole milk (I used 1%)
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

directions

1. Line counter top area with waxed paper or parchment paper.

2. Cut the softened butter into 1/2 inch cubes.

3. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir together the milk, sugar, cocoa & butter until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved.

4. Bring mixture to a boil, stop stirring, and boil for a full 90 seconds. Don't overcook or cookies will be overly dry & crumbly.

 5. Remove from heat and add the peanut butter, oats & vanilla. Quickly stir until the mixture is combined.

6. Use a small scoop or a tablespoon to drop the no-bake cookies on to the waxed paper.  If you do this very quickly the cookies will spread a bit on the wax paper while the mixture is still hot, which most people prefer. I took my time, snapping a picture, so my cookies didn't spread since they set up very quickly. Allow to cool. Can be stored in tightly sealed container for 3 days.

 P.S. My mom sometimes did this & so do I: Make the exact recipe MINUS the cocoa powder for a yummy No-Bake PEANUT BUTTER cookie treat!

 Next on the list is this GORGEOUS Mississippi Mud Pie, page 156.