Chocolate Double Crunch Sandwich Cookies

This recipe for Chocolate Double Crunch Sandwich Cookies was adapted from an old Taste of Home Halloween magazine. The cookies are very crunchy (as the name implies), and unlike some sandwich cookies which are gooey and soft or too fragile to ship, these are sturdy cookies with a filling that’s not-too-hard, not-too-soft. The original recipe uses 1 cup of crushed cornflakes and no pecans, so if you aren’t a nut fan, you can omit the pecans and up the cornflakes. Also, if you use unsalted butter rather than salted, you may want to increase the salt a tiny bit. Maybe use a more generous 1/4 teaspoon. I think this recipe was developed with salted butter.

Chocolate Double Crunch Sandwich Cookies

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup quick cooking oats (not instant)
3/4 cup crushed cornflakes
1/4 cup finely chopped toasted pecans
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Chocolate Filling:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Thoroughly stir together flour, baking soda and salt; Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Beat in vanilla.

By hand, stir in flour mixture. When flour mixture is almost absorbed, stir in oats, cornflakes, pecans and coconut.

Form dough into 1 inch balls and press down slightly to form discs. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to cool and crisp. When cool, prepare filling.

Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in melted chocolate. Spread about 1 tablespoon of chocolate mixture on half of the cookies. Top with another cookie.

Makes about 2 dozen.