
It should come as no surprise that I love my Dahlia Bakery Cookbook. Apparently these peanut butter on peanut butter sandwich cookies (basically a soft and much larger version of a store-bought Nutter Butter cookie) named Nora Ephron cookies after the late rom-com director tasted one while filming *Sleepless in Seattle* and declared them to be her favorite cookie ever, are one of the most popular and requested recipes from the bakery.

I'd hope to have them made before we left the Seattle area, but alas that didn't happen, and these cookies can serve as a tribute to our time in that fabulous city.

![DSC_0477](/photos/2013/09/DSC_0477-584x386.jpg)

What's even cooler is that our friends gave us an autographed copy of this Tom Douglas as a going-away present. Tom Douglas gave a talk at Microsoft (for employees only, boo) and autographed copies of the book a few months back, but Dustin was unable to get there early enough to get one. So our super awesome friends hooked us up before we left, which was super sweet of them. Thanks Rick and Steph!

These cookies are a little indulgent, so make sure you are ready to go run a few laps around the block to make up for all the peanut butter, butter, and sugary goodness. Totally worth it fresh from the oven though.

![DSC_0481](/photos/2013/09/DSC_0481-584x386.jpg)

I cut the original recipe down by half, since we really didn't need double digit cookies hanging around the house. We ate a few then froze the rest. Since Dustin won't be taking his treats into the office anymore to share, I'm going to work harder to freeze desserts, so I can bust them out for Dustin when I don't have as much time in school.

Back to cookies. If you love peanut butter, you will love these. My only wonder is how they hold up to Dahlia Bakery's original, as this is not something we tried when we had the chance.

::::div{.recipe}

## "Nora Ephron" Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

:::p{.yield}
yields 9 cookies
:::

#### Cookies

- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 + 1/3 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup crunchy natural peanut butter
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 + tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a medium size bowl.
2. Stir in the oats.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, peanut butter, and sugars.
4. Add in the egg and vanilla and mix until smooth, careful not to over-mix.
5. Use a cookie or ice cream to scoop balls of dough and stagger among two cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Store cookie sheets in fridge for at least 2 hours (in the meantime you can make the filling and also store it in the fridge until you are ready to use it).
6. Bake cookies at 375º for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
7. Allow to cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow to cool thoroughly before adding the filling.

#### Filling

- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly together in a medium sized bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth.
2. Scoop just under 2 teaspoons worth of filling on the bottom of half of the cookies.
3. Top each cookie with filling with another cookie, flat side down and gently press together to create sandwiches.

:::p{.source}
from Dahlia Bakery Cookbook
:::

::::


"Nora Ephron" Cookies aka Homemade Soft Nutter Butters

nora-ephron-cookies-aka-homemade-soft-nutter-butters


Today begins the first in a series of posts that documents the several day journey I took to make the dessert for our going away party. I'll give you hint as to what it was (in case you weren't there)— it involved cookies. Lots and lots of cookies! Stick around for the next 3 days to see how it all comes together!

![DSC_0830](/photos/2013/09/DSC_0830-584x386.jpg)

Instant pudding mix seems like a weird ingredient to add to cookies, but it really works at keeping them soft, puffy, and tasting fresh for days. You know when you are trying a new cookie recipe because the picture looks amazing, and then you pull the first batch out of the oven, and they look, well, sad and deflated? I dare say that won't happen when the recipe includes instant pudding mix. Something about it seems to give you perfect looking cookies, like the ones you see on Pinterest. I feel like using pudding mix is kind of cheating, and I really don't like including a highly processed ingredient like that in my baking, but it was a fun experiment, especially when I was looking to make soft, chewy cookies that weren't about to fall apart when I picked them up off of the baking sheet.

![DSC_0829](/photos/2013/09/DSC_0829-584x293.jpg)

Butterscotch keeps these cookies from becoming boring chocolate chip cookies, and in my opinion, are a welcome addition to just about any cookie! Sorry there are no final cookie pictures, but apparently I forgot to snap some as I was busy making dozens and dozens of cookies. However you will see some final products in a couple of days, so check back!

## Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Pudding Cookies

yields ~3 dozen cookies

- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons instant vanilla pudding
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup butterscotch chips

1. Cream together the butter and sugars in a large bowl for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in the egg and the egg yolk, followed by the vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt.
4. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
5. Fold in the chocolate and butterscotch chips.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
7. When ready to bake, line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and preheat the oven to 350º. Remove dough from fridge to soften for 15 minutes if chilled overnight.
8. Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop out balls of dough and flatten slightly on the baking sheet. Bake for approximately 9 minutes, or until edges are set and centers appear slightly underdone.
9. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Instead of a final cookie pic, you can just look at this picture Dustin snapped of me and Bonnie in the new apartment, sharing a chair. I love my sweet little puppy!

![DSC_0489](/photos/2013/09/DSC_0489-584x386.jpg)


#cookies

"Nora Ephron" Cookies aka Homemade Soft Nutter Butters

Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Pudding Cookies