Copy-Cat Girl Scout Tagalongs

Holy moly. One post last week? I meant to do better you guys. I really did. Can I just say that I feel like I haven't had a moment to breathe since Friday? It's been hectic around these parts. Granted, Friday was spent hanging out with a girlfriend, so that hectic-ness was chosen. I was up at dawn baking cookies on Saturday to take to the hubby's family reunion. Dawn is my normal blogging time, so Saturday was out although I had intended to publish on that day. I figured there was always Sunday.

And then Sunday didn't happen. The hubby called his dad first thing on Sunday, and they arranged a breakfast. So, there went that idea! By the time breakfast was over, the hubby and I were in yard-work mode. We didn't even keep track of time, and when we finally looked at the clock, it was 7 pm! Sheesh. We decided to head to the brewery, where quite a few dad's were celebrating their day with a frosty cold one. The hubby couldn't have been happier after a long day of landscaping followed by pizza, hot wings, and ice -cold beer. 

Of course, the only thing that would have made the day better would have been getting to spend the day with my dad. He'll be here next month, so I'm sure we will treat my parents to a brewery trip :-)

In the meantime, I'm glad I saved these cookies for the day after Father's Day! You see, these were my dad's birthday cookies. My dad loves peanut butter cookies, so I'm always searching for a different variety to make. This year, I went with the classic tagalong. Tagalongs are a shortbread cookie, topped with a layer of peanut butter-filling, and finished with a dunk in milk chocolate. These are a really easy cookie to make, you don't need a lot of technique. I mean, shortbread is pretty hard to screw up. At least I think so. It's crunchy, so you don't have to worry about over-baking like you would with a soft cookie. 

While these cookies are technically easy to make, they are time-consuming. Between the baking and the cooling, the chilling of the peanut butter layer, the molding of the peanut butter, the dipping in all the chocolate and finally, letting all the cookies set...it was an all-day affair.

So worth it, though :-)

I started with the peanut butter layer. The peanut butter layer should be chilled as it's easier to mold onto the cookie. I mixed the peanut butter with powdered sugar, shaped the mixture into little discs, and then popped the cookie tray in the fridge. 

I used a 1-tbsp cookie scoop to form the discs. How much peanut butter you place on a cookie is totally up to you, but I really found I liked the cookies with a thicker layer of peanut butter better. More peanut butter flavor!

Shortbread dough is a cinch. I made mine in the stand mixer. 

Once the dough is finished, you mold it into a disc, and chill that for about 20 minutes.

After chilling, the shortbread dough is rolled out. The original recipe called for a cookie cutter to shape the cookies, but I thought that would make YUGE cookies. I ended up using a shot glass, and I found my cookies were similar in size to the girl-scout variety. 

Baked to golden-brown perfection.

After the shortbread has cooled, it's time to mold the peanut butter onto the cookie. Remove the cookie sheet from the fridge and get to frosting. I used a butter knife to mold the peanut butter onto the shortbread. And after you finish the peanut butter, ooh child, it's time for chocolate.

Oh yes.

I got a phone call from my dad the day he got the cookies. Two thumbs way up and another satisfied birthday celebrater :-) 

I just wanted to let you all know, thanks to the craziness of life in general right now, I'm waaaaaay behind on my reading and commenting. I'm hoping to get caught up later today, but as it's now mid-day and I have many more chores today... I'm thinking reading will be done tomorrow morning. I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got so much to do and time is flying today!

Happy Monday everyone!

Recipe adapted from: A Dash of Sanity

Ingredients (~yields about 50 1-tbsp cookies):

Peanut Butter Filling-

1 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

Cookie-

1 1/2 cups salted butter, room temp

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp vanilla bean paste (sub vanilla extract)

3 1/2 cup flour

3/4 tsp salt

Coating-

2 (12 oz) bags of chocolate candy melts

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, combine peanut butter and powdered sugar. Mix until the sugar is completely incorporated. Using a 1-tbsp cookie scoop, fill it halfway with the peanut butter mixture and place mixture on a cookie sheet coated with parchment paper. Repeat with all the peanut butter mixture. Place cookie sheet in the fridge while you prepare the cookies.

2. Preheat the oven to 350º. Coat cookie sheets with cooking spray, set aside.

3. In a stand mixer, combine butter and sugar. Mix until they are just combined. Mix in the vanilla. Mix in the flour. Mix in the salt. Mix until the dough starts to stick together. Dump dough onto a floured surface, and shape into a disc. Wrap the disc with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

4. Roll the dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Using a shot glass, cut out cookies and place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until evenly browned. Remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool to room temperature.

5. Once the cookies are cool, remove peanut butter from fridge. Place one of the dollops of peanut butter on top of a cookie. Using a butter knife, spread it to fit the cookie. Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment. Repeat with all cookies.

6. Melt chocolate candy according to package directions. Once the chocolate is melted, place a cookie on a fork and dip it in the chocolate. Allow the excess to drip off. Place cookie on parchment paper and allow to set for about 30 minutes. Repeat with all cookies.

7. Cut cookies away form parchment with a knife. Serve immediately! Store cookies in an airtight container once completely cooled.

Printable Recipe

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these-

Soft and Fluffy Peanut Butter Cookies

Homemade Girl Scout Samoa Cookies

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Oat Bars