sandwich cookies – Backdoor Hospitality

Sandwich Cookie Bakery & Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies

Before I tell you about these wonderful little gems, let me digress. I have this little dream of opening a bakery. It’s a fantasy really, because in reality I know I will most likely not ever do it. The realism side in me shines brightly during these visions of grandeur. I see the long hours, the upfront costs and the early morning hours. So, someone else with the will can go ahead of me and follow their dream. However, if I did open a shop that I truly believe would succeed, it would be a Sandwich Cookie Bakery Shop. Cupcakes are so seven years ago, but cookies in sandwich form are going to be popping up. I’m convinced of it. If you stroll around the blogosphere, it’s all about the “whoopie pie,” which people loosely tie with what I deem as the coveted Sandwich Cookie.

If you’re in the mood for a cupcake without the all too often top heavy frosting, then make some of these sandwich cookies I’ve made over the past year.

Rhubarb Sandwich Cookies with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Homemade Graham Cracker Sandwiches

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Lemon Cookies with Coconut & Lemon Filling

Make Your Own Oreos

My Little Debbie Oatmeal Pies

Tomorrow is my birthday and I thought providing another cookie recipe would be a fantastic addition to your day, especially since I haven’t added any new recipes lately. I baked for a woman’s tea this past week through Ben’s financial company, which was a nice break from motherhood and a time to have people ‘ooo’ & ‘aww’ over my food (so easy to win me over). And since it was an afternoon tea, I knew a butter shortbread cookie would be great; but, a Lemon Lavender Butter Cookie would be perfect. So now to the recipe.

Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookie (printable recipe)

This recipe has also been used to make the Orange Cardamom Cookies & Bursting with Delight Lime Cookies . Both of those had an icing on top and these Lemon Lavender Cookies would be perfect with a honey glaze.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons culinary lavender
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Make dough:
Whisk together flour, lemon zest, lavender, and salt.

Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in yolk and cream. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Put the dough on parchment paper.

Mound the dough together and roll into a log. Once you get a basic log shape, position the dough in the middle of the parchment. Then, take the parchment that’s north of the dough and cover it over the dough. Take a bench scraper and push the edge of it at the base of the parchment covered dough, trying to make a concentric log. Roll the log so the parchment covers the whole thing and twist the edges. Refrigerate for 3 hours to overnight.

Cut and bake cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Remove firm dough. Unroll the parchment so the dough is still sitting on top of the paper. Place on a cutting board. Cut the dough into 1/8 inch. Transfer cookies to a parchment-lined large baking sheet, arranging them 1 inch apart.

Bake until edges are golden-brown, 12-15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then slide cookies, still on parchment, onto a rack to cool completely.

Rhubarb Sandwich Cookies with Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling

Our house definitely looks “lived in” right now. Library books all around, artwork hung to dry on the mantle, and a deep freezer & other patio items inside our house as well. All the decks in our condo are being cleaned, sanded & repainted this week, which means bringing in everything or putting it in the scarce space in front of our house. Hence–a deep freezer in our living room.

There are times in life when embracing the “lived in” motif is needed. Trying to escape it, hide it, or tackle it is just adding more stress and less time for the people around us. It’s easy for me to put on my tunnel vision goggles and charge straight ahead in cleaning up without giving a second glance at the nudging of a little girl wanting her mama to dance with her, or sitting down to talk to my husband. When I think about the land of Facebook, there are some people who are proudly seated on their ‘anti-FB’ platform. I get it, really I do. Waste away hours by being sucked in. However, I propose that FB is also community, an arena for hospitality.

For instance, my friend Shelley wouldn’t have known I was making these cookies if I hadn’t put it in my update. And, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity of eating them either (because I got to drop some off to her later). Although there are many ways in which technology can suck us in and turn others out, I think if our priorities are straight, it can be a good thing.

Rhubarb Sandwich Cookies with Strawberry Cream Cheese Filling

(printable recipe)

A note about the sugars. Demerara is an unrefined equivalent to brown sugar, while rapadura is an unrefined equivalent to granulated sugar. Rapadura looks similar to sand. Since neither are refined, they have a more complex taste & smell, which is similar to caramel & molasses. If you don’t have oat bran on hand, you could pulverize (food processor) 1/4 cup of oats. The whole wheat pastry flour could be replaced with unbleached all-purpose flour as well.
Ingredients:

1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup oat bran
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground cardamom
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
8 Tb (1 stick or 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup demerara sugar
1/4 cup rapadura sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg, room temperature
1 cup medium diced rhubarb, 1/4 in

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting & Directions

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Take out your eggs & butter to get them to room temperature.

In a small bowl, add oats, oat bran, w.w. pastry flour, spices, baking soda & salt. Mix to combine and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream on medium speed the two sugars, butter & vanilla for 1 minute. Scrape down sides and add the egg on low speed. Mix till combined and add the dry ingredients. Mix till thoroughly combined and add the rhubarb.

Using a tablespoon, scoop a leveled Tb of cookie dough on parchment lined sheets leaving 1 1/2 -2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack till cookies are cool and transfer to foil.

Put 2 tsp of frosting on one turned over cookie. Take an unfrosted cookie and sandwich it together. Makes about 20 cookies.

My Little Debbie Oatmeal Pies

Ben and I just got back today from San Diego, while our girls were graciously taken care of by Ben’s folks. The downside of our trip was recovering from the sickness that invaded our family & I still carried the first couple days in southern California. It was great though. I got to read without interruption, enjoy sunshine & the salty breeze from the ocean, and spend a lot of time with my wonderful, dear friend Veronica. It was a real treat (thank you Steve & Cherie!).

These cookies are also a real treat. They are addictive with that last note of saltiness to draw you in to take another bite. As far as the real Little Debbie’s in the sealed bag found in the white box–not completely a fan. Ben on the other hand is a fan. Once when we were in the store he picked up a box of Little Debbie’s Oatmeal Cream Pies and said he wanted to buy them. In my haste & grandiose perception of what may not be so easily attainable I say, “Oh, don’t buy that…I could make that!” The problem being–is I have been known to say those last four words many a times, especially at the moment when (specifically) Ben wants the designated said item right then (not two weeks later).

However, there was a time when I followed through on my “I could make that,” by making these Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies. And you would do everyone in your household or work a favor by chanting, “I did make that!” My girls were sure to speak the praises through continuous, “MMMM!”

Little Debbie Oatmeal Pies (printable recipe)

This recipe is revised from one online (one of those copycat kinds); however, as I truly don’t like using shortening if at all possible–I omitted it from the filling & used butter instead. If you want a more firm filling like that found in the store kind, then use shortening where you see butter in the creme filling portion. These cookies are very moist. If you want them a bit more firm, then try putting them in the fridge for a while to firm them up.

Cookies

1 cup butter, room temperature
¾ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup rapadura sugar
1 Tb molasses
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ cups Quick Cooking Oats

crème Filling

2 tsp very hot water
¼ tsp salt
2 cups marshmallow crème (7-ounce jar)
½ cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla

Directions for Cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugars, molasses, vanilla & eggs for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda & cinnamon. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just combined. Mix in the oats.

Using a cookie scooper (2 Tb), drop onto lined baking sheet, two inches apart. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, or until the cookies are just starting to darken around the edges. They will still appear moist in the center. Be careful not to over bake them. Transfer cookies on hot sheet to a wire rack and let sit for 10 minutes and transfer to foil.

Filling: While your cookies are baking, prepare the filling. Use a small bowl to dissolve the salt in 2 teaspoons of very hot water. Set this solution aside to cool. Combine the marshmallow crème, ½ cup butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl and mix well with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy. Add the cooled salt solution to the filling mixture and combine with the mixer.

Assembling: Distribute the crème filling evenly amongst half of the cookies. Take the other cookie and put on top of the crème cookie, pressing gently to make a sandwich.