The other day someone asked me if I thought 4 sticks of butter (1 pound) was too much for a recipe. Expecting to find the 4 sticks butter balanced out by 3 or 4 cups of flour and plenty of sugar, I took a look at the recipe, which happened to be this one – Bouchon Bakery Nutter Butters. (If you can't see the one from The Times, it's also here).
The amount of flour, sugar, oats and peanut butter seemed pretty low compared to the butter, so my guess was that if these cookies were a nod to the packaged Nutter Butters, they needed a lot of butter to spread properly and stay crisp. I decided to bake a half batch and find out for myself.
I didn’t weigh the cookies, but I’m guessing one of these is equal to about 6 actual Nutter Butters. Worth it? You be the judge. Update: I did weigh one and it was equal to way more than 6 Nutter Butters!
Bouchon Bakery Nutter Butters Tips
- For best results, portion the dough, chill it, then shape into rounds. Bake the chilled rounds. Chilling will help curb the spreading.
- Cookies need to sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes to set.
- Bouchon recommends Skippy Peanut Butter for some reason. Nothing against Skippy, but I used Jif. I did have some Skipp2last week and noticed the two peanut butters have a remarkably different flavor.
- Bouchon Bakery is known for huge cookies, so that's what this recipe is designed to give you -- absolutely huge bakery style cookies. You can make as is or halve the recipe and get 12 "normal" size cookies. These days I halve the recipe and make 3 dramatically large cookies or quarter it and make 2 still-very-large cookies. The family just slices off pieces.
Bouchon Quarter Batch Two Giant
Since this is the way I usually make the cookies, I figured I'd post the measurements here. As always, it is best to use a scale.
- ½ cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour, sometimes I swap 2 T of AP for a little white whole wheat)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (it's a lot, but it helps the cookies spread and brown evenly)
- 1 stick (114 grams) softened salted butter or unsalted and ⅜ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons creamy peanut butter or 3 tablespoons chunky (40-50 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar (50 grams)
- 2 tablespoons lightly beaten egg (27 grams)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla (so slightly more than quarter of the original)
- 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts (half the time I just leave these out and use chunky pb)
- Around ¾ cup of quick cooking oats
- Filling: 4 tablespoons softened butter, 4 tablespoons peanut butter, ¾ cup confectioners'
Recipe
Bouchon Bakery Nutter Butters
Ingredients
Cookie Dough:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (280 grams) -- See note about flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 pound salted butter, at room temperature** (480 grams)
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar (200 grams)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature (100 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup coarsely chopped peanuts
- 2 ½ cups quick-cooking oats
Cookie Filling:
- 2 sticks butter, softened (240 grams)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (130 grams)
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar plus a tiny bit more if needed (360
Instructions
- Prepare Dough: In a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter. Add sugars and beat at medium speed for 3-4 minutes, scraping down bowl twice.
- At low speed, add egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until well mixed, frequently scraping down bowl. Add peanuts (if using) and oats, and mix well. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out 12 rounds of dough and put on plastic wrap lined dinner plates. Cover and chill for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, shape dough into ¾ inch thick rounds.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Arrange rounds on parchment lined baking sheets spacing a good 4 inches apart.
- Bake until cookies have spread and turned very light golden brown, about 10-14 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool and firm up, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before filling.
- Filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter and confectioners' sugar until very smooth.
- Assembly: Spread a thin layer (about ⅛ inch) on underside of a cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat.
Notes
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
No nutter butters in Australia but I always liked them. How cool that I'll be able to make my own! Thanks heaps for sharing this.
Anna says
Interesting. Do you think you might not have packed the brown sugar enough? Sounds like maybe there wasn't enough sugar to help keep them crispy. Or maybe they just needed more time in the oven. Lots of people have made the recipe and had good results, so I'm not sure what happened.
sygyzy says
I made these last night and found them to be very greasy. That does not bother me one bit but what does bother me is how soft they are. Even after cooling, they collapse under their own weight. The only thing I omitted were the chopped peanuts (I ran out). I used a standard creamy peanut butter. Nothing organic or weird formulations. Followed the recipe verbatim.
Simone says
Hi All:
I'm coming to this post rather late but I thought I'd add my two cents.
I made these as part of my annual holiday cookie assortment (from the times recipe) before I ever tried them at Bouchon. They came out perfect, not greasy at all. The only difference I could detect between the homemade and the bakery bought cookies was that the recipe seemed to call for a larger amount of oats. The cookie was more like an oatmeal cookie with peanuts. The bakery version seemed to go lighter on the oats. I may reduce the amount this Xmas.
Aside from that, the cookies were easy, made a large amount ( i used a much smaller scoop) and stored well. They were immensely popular! Kudos to TK for sharing the recipe.
I would love the TKO recipe as well. Hint, hint TK!
Melissa says
My first reply on this blog...Thank you for publishing so many great cookie recipes! This is the first one I tried and really enjoyed them. I appreciate the 1/2 batch measurements.
I made these with a few minor changes based on what I had on hand -- I used shortening instead of butter in the cookie dough, the result was a bit less cripsy of a cookie. I used butter in the filling. Next time I'll use butter, rather than substitute.
I used natural peanut butter instead of Skippy or Jif and added more vanilla, increased it to 1 tsp, to make up for the difference in sugar.
These were yummy! I can't wait to make them for my Dad and brother -- both, like me, are peanut butter fanatics.
Anna says
Emiline, glad to hear I'm not boring you ;).
Katy and Niko, you two can be the resident NYC cookie experts. I admire your dedication to the subject and am taking notes.
But Tracy, choosy mothers choose Jif. Aren't you a concerned parent or do you just choose any peanut butter that comes along? Oh wait. You were in advertising. You probably choose Skippy as rebellion.
Noble Pig....twist the knife. I amy dying to go to Bouchon now. As mentioned, I'll hit the one in Vegas in May.
Randi, I think "Pirates" is a brilliant name for cookies.
Allen, glad Mrs. Loves Chewy Cookies enjoyed them. Did you tell her how much butter was in them? If you did and she didn't care, then she's my new best friend.
Allen says
Holy crap, Anna. dammit! 6 nutter butters? But, after just ONE I want to eat the whole batch!
These were phenomenal, although I think the level of butter in the creme was a little overbearing. I tried cooking them just a wee longer than I normally would because I wanted as much crisp as I could get. Of course, the woman I married (we'll call her "I love soft and chewy cookies" for the time being) loved them.
dammit, my kid's gonna be fat.
Randi says
They don't sell Nutter Butters in Canada, but we do have pirate's which are pretty good( I think they're an oatmeal cookie with a pb filling). I have a terrible cold too, so this would have been great for dinner. I dont think I'll try them though because 1lb of butter is way too much IMHO.
Noble Pig says
Okay, I have actually had these at Bouchon Bakery! They are to die for.
Tracy says
I love Nutter Butters. Those look wonderful. Funny how people are so loyal to peanut butter brands. I remember getting into peanut butter debates when Jif was recalled. I only buy Skippy but lots of people seem to like Jif.
Niko says
Great pieces on the Levain cookies and Bouchon Nutter Butters. Those Nutter Butters you made probably taste just as good if not better than the those from Bouchon. I have spent a long time comparing the many popular cookies in NYC (those pictures in the cookiemadness links are mine)
Many people feel strongly about Levain cookies - very buttery and not cooked enough. At the opposite end of the spectrum are the Jacques Torres cookies, crispy, thinner but not too thin and baked well on the edges. Of course there is the Bouchon c chip cookie as well. If you are based in NYC check out my review of the Best Choc chip cookies in NYC... soon to be updated!
Nik
Katy says
Anna et al,
Levain cookies are BAD, BAD, BAD! Can't say it enough. Better to spend time on quality recipes becuase these are not worth all the discussion. But everything at Bouchon is excellent. I'm not a peanut butter cookie gal, but I've seen customers at the bakery who are addicted to them. The staff says they're the most popular. As I said in an earlier post, their chocolate chips are wonderful. Full of chopped chocolate and very buttery, but thick and crust and chewy. They're not like regular chocolate chip cookies and I can't figure out what they do differently. I detect european butter, but there must be something else. They also make an incredible giant linzer cookie filled with homemade raspberry preserves that are the best I've had, as well as their famous "TKO" (Thomas Keller oreo). They're about 3" in diameter. Two perfect crispy dark (black) chocolate wafers with a charming scalloped edge, filled with a sweetened white ganache that is ever so slightly tart. I've tried to replicate them and came close to the right cookie with King Arthur Cookie Companion chocolate snaps, but I'm stumped on the filling. Might be creme fraiche or cream cheese. It's snow white, so it can't be white chocolate or butter. And they would NEVER use shortening. The recipe was supposedly printed in the Scharffenberger cookbook but I tried it and they weren't the same.
Emiline says
I think the whole Levain chocolate chip cookie cloning thing is very interesting. I could read more posts about it!
The cookies have been very delicious looking.
I don't have much to add, though, because I've never had a Levain cookie or seen the Throwdown episode.
These peanut butter ones look great, as well.
Anna says
Gigi, I did not find them at all like Nutter Butters. Maybe if I'd used Skippy, they would have been. The texture was interesting...very light and crumbly borderline greasy from all the butter. Or maybe I just perceived greasy because I knew how much butter was in the cookies. I think most people would like these.
Julie, I don't understand their issue with vanilla either. Sounds like they made the cookies without vanilla, people like them that way and they're sticking with it.
OR, here is my other theory. They are using molasses. The original recipe on Su Good Sweets includes molasses. Maybe vanilla gets overshadowed by the hint of molasses and is thus, unnecessary. I might try making these cookies again but adding a tablespoon of molasses in place of some of the brown sugar. I know granulated sugar plus molasses is what makes brown sugar, but maybe the cookies need the molasses for texture and flavor.
Ack. Now I'm going to have to make them again.
Maggi, I just finished off a jar of Skippy and perceived it as slightly sweeter. It also seemed smoother to me. That was just my perception, though. I'm not sure which brand really has less sugar.
Therese says
JIF PEANUT BUTTER RULES! I have tried many peanut butters but JIF is the best. Skippy..I think it was too sweet. I am loyal to that JIF..does that make me a choosey mother?
Thank you for posting and with the scaled down version of this peanut butter cookie!!!
Have you ever tried any African soup recipes with peanut butter???!! oochie mamma they are good!!
p.s. I recorded the throwdown show/THE COOKIE EPISODE!...and plan on analyzing it this weekend to see if I missed anything!!! tee hee!
Maggi says
They probably recommend Skippy because it is the commercial peanut butter that is the least sweet, considering they add the confectioner's sugar for texture...
Julie O'Hara says
I'm not a big fan of homemade sandwich cookies, but I wouldn't mind tasting these. Stubbornly though, I'd almost rather stick to the common Nutter Butter...but these are from Bouchon. Glad you made them, so I think I can pass. I loved all your CCC post by the way! I liked the Throwdown episode, but I do not like ginormous cookies. I'd definitely try Levain's if I'm in NYC, but they're just so huge...how about 4 oz instead of 6? And what's up with not using vanilla and not toasting their walnuts...weird.
Gigi says
So...do they taste like the real thing? I've made Martha's version of Nutter Butters (from her Baking Handbook) a few times and the taste and texture is very close to what I remember in a real Nutter Butter.