The conclusion of Girl Scout Cookie season can be quite disheartening, especially with the long wait until the next round of sales kicks off. Fortunately, one of the most delightful methods to satisfy those cravings is by crafting your own versions of beloved cookies right in your kitchen. After exploring recipes for Thin Mints and Caramel deLites, it’s time to dive into the world of my all-time favorite—the Do-Si-Do.

While Tagalongs are quite popular among peanut butter enthusiasts (and deserving of their fame), when it comes to sheer consumption, Do-Si-Dos take the cake. These are delightful sandwich cookies, featuring a crisp, subtly sweet outer layer paired with a nutty peanut butter center, perfectly highlighted with a touch of salt. They encapsulate the essence of a peanut butter treat—simple yet delectably satisfying.

Creating Do-Si-Dos at home is a straightforward process, especially when compared to the intricate details required for recipes like Caramel deLites or the chocolate-dipped Thin Mints. The cookie portion and the peanut butter filling are both uncomplicated recipes, requiring no advanced culinary skills. A worthwhile tip is to utilize two distinct types of peanut butter: a chunky variety, such as Crazy Richard’s for the dough, which provides a richer texture and a more intense nutty flavor, and a smooth peanut butter like Skippy for the filling, mimicking that delightful candy-like flavor of a Do-Si-Do.

Steps to Crafting Do-Si-Dos

1. Prepare the Dough

This recipe employs the classic creaming method, a staple in American cookie-making. In a bowl, blend the softened butter with sugar until the mixture is smooth. Then, add the chunky peanut butter, egg, vanilla extract, and salt, mixing thoroughly. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and oats before gradually incorporating the dry mix into the wet ingredients until fully combined.

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

2. Form the Cookies

The dough will be thick yet pliable. If necessary, chill it in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to simplify rolling. Lightly flour a workspace and roll out half of the dough to about ¼ inch in thickness. Utilize a small circular cookie cutter, approximately 1 inch in diameter, to make rounds, placing them on a parchment-lined baking tray. Chill the tray in the freezer for roughly 10 minutes, and then repeat the process with the remaining dough.

3. Baking the Cookies

To recreate the classic appearance of a Do-Si-Do, you can either pierce the cookie tops with a fork and create a criss-cross pattern, or opt for a simpler route by leaving them plain. Bake the cookies at 350°F for 10 to 13 minutes, or until they are faintly golden. Allow them to cool on the tray for five minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. Assemble the Do-Si-Dos

In a small bowl, blend smooth peanut butter with powdered sugar until it forms a paste-like consistency. Flip half of the cookies over and place teaspoon-sized dollops of the filling in the center. Gently top with the other cookies, pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges.

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Now comes the challenging part: the waiting. While it’s nearly impossible to resist sampling them right away, allowing the cookies to sit in an airtight container overnight enhances their texture, softening the cookies slightly while firming the filling. Indulge in a few today, but stash the rest for tomorrow’s enjoyment!

DIY Do-Si-Dos Recipe

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

• 1 stick of softened butter
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• ½ cup chunky peanut butter
• 1 egg at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt (if using salted peanut butter, or ½ teaspoon for unsalted)
• 1 ⅓ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup rolled oats

For the filling:

• ½ cup smooth peanut butter
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the chunky peanut butter, egg, vanilla, and salt, mixing until well combined.
2. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and oats, then add this dry blend to the creamed mixture, stirring until everything is integrated.
3. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to a thickness of ¼ inch. Cut 1-inch circles from the dough and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. If desired, add a pattern to the cookies before chilling them in the freezer for 10 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
4. Bake the cookies for 10 to 13 minutes, or until they are evenly browned. Let them sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. For the filling, mix smooth peanut butter with powdered sugar until it becomes a thick paste. Flip half of the cookies over and place a teaspoon-sized ball of the filling atop each, then sandwich with the other cookies, pressing gently until the filling squishes out slightly.