PB&T Oatmeal Cookies with Strawberry Pink Peppercorn Marshmallow Filling
Plus a little of what I’ve been eating and baking lately!
Happy Pride! 🏳️🌈
I can’t believe it’s already June.
This past week, I celebrated the one year anniversary of moving to Brooklyn from San Francisco. The year has passed so quickly that I feel as though I’m still forming my reflections on what the move has meant to me. Things move quickly here and there’s an overwhelming amount of things to be a part of. I am happy that I hit NYC in my thirties when my routines are more solidly formed and my social connections, though fewer, are more meaningful. I’m looking forward to year #2!
This week I also had a birthday. I turned 35. I made a lovely rhubarb and custard crumble cake from Nicola Lamb’s book on baking, Sift. The cake was light and bouncy with planks of roasted rhubarb tucked between a layer of vanilla pastry cream and crumble. A little untraditional as a birthday cake but it was so good and left me with plenty of slices to share and enjoy over the next few days.
I had a wonderful dinner at the tail end of May at a popup hosted at the Ace Hotel Brooklyn. Tony Ortiz (@chileconmiel ) is a chef from Oakland California whose work I have long admired for paying homage to his Mexican roots and Northern California culinary sensibilities all while being unapologetically queer. I’ve been fortunate to taste Tony’s offerings on both coasts and have always been impressed by how Tony doesn’t cut corners when it comes to ingredient sourcing or culinary technique. Every detail matters and it all comes through on the plate. One of the many highlights from this particular dinner was a tart of pâte sucrée with hoja santa pastry cream and macerated strawberries. So so good.
Now for today’s recipe!
I have a soft spot for anything oatmeal. It’s been my go-to breakfast ever since I was a little kid and it was a reliable and affordable staple all throughout college and grad school. Beyond breakfast, I welcome the addition of oats into my baked goods as well. While most folks would happily pass over an oatmeal cookie in favor of chocolate chip, i’m always on the hunt for a new favorite oat-filled cookie anytime I step into a new bakery. (and yes, they simply must have raisins)
A good oatmeal cookie is chewy and hearty with plenty of molasses-y notes from a hefty dose of brown sugar. I like to use 100% whole wheat flour because it adds complexity and balances the sweetness. If I have the time, i’ll toast the oats for the same effect. A plain oatmeal cookie is comforting and approachable. It’s dessert but with an element of wholesomeness that scratches the cali-living, granola munching, hike hiking, Birkenstock wearing itch that I deny possessing now that I live in New York.
Peanut butter and tahini are two ingredients that I love dearly and must always have in my pantry, but have never used together until now. The two both occupy distinct points on the flavorful spectrum of nuttiness. Peanut butter (we’re talking about the “natural” no sugar variety here) has a mellow creaminess that is perfectly palatable all on its own when licked from the back of a spoon. Tahini usually needs a sweet or acidic companion to tame its flavor, which could be described as slightly bitter. However, when tahini and peanut butter are paired together it’s like a beautifully balanced chord has been struck.
These PB&T cookies are perfect just on their own but if you really want to go all out, I developed a marshmallow filling that takes me back to the hundreds of Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies I ate as a kid. Cookie sandwiches always remind me of summer and strawberry jam turned out to be the best way to incorporate some summer-y flavor here. The addition of pink peppercorns (which are actually berries) yields a floral and just *slightly* peppery finish that pairs well with the strawberries and shakes up this otherwise classic treat.
A few notes…
Marshmallows are essentially whipped sugar that’s been stabilized by gelatin. They don’t have to contain egg whites but the whites provide a softer texture and delay the gelatin from firming up just long enough so that piping is easier.
This recipe calls for precisely measuring the temperature of a sugar syrup. Don’t stress. You can be 2 to 3 degrees below or above and be just fine. I highly recommend this thermometer, btw.
Grinding the peppercorns with a little salt and adding them to the hot sugar not only helps break them down (they can be slippery/oily) but also uses the heat of the syrup to fully bloom their flavor.
If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a zip top bag with one corner cut out. You could also use a cookie scoop or two spoons to portion the marshmallow onto each cookie.
After your baked cookies have cooled, sort through them and match similar size and shape cookies so that when you start piping the filling, you’re ready to assemble.
Feel free to bake the cookies the day before you make the marshmallow filling and assemble the creme pies. They’ll keep in a sealed container for up to three days. You can also freeze them if desired.
PB&T Oatmeal Cookies with Strawberry & Pink Peppercorn Marshmallow Filling
makes 19 assembled cookie sandwiches or 38 single cookies
Cookies
222g whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
140g unsalted butter, room temperature
20g natural peanut butter
20g tahini, well stirred
150g white sugar
250g light brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 large yolk, room temperature
270g old fashioned oats
Preheat the oven to 350F with a rack in the middle position. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
Into a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, peanut butter, tahini, and both sugars. Cream together on medium high speed for 3 to 4 minutes. The mixture should be lighter in color and the texture will be fluffy and aerated. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula, being sure to get the very bottom of the bowl.
With the mixer on low, add the 2 eggs and 1 yolk separately, scraping down the bowl between each addition. Mix on medium-low for 1 minute.
With the mixer off, add the flour and pulse the mixer on and off to slowly incorporate the dry ingredients. This will help avoid making a mess. Once almost all of the flour has disappeared into the dough, pour in the oats and mix on low until they fully incorporate. Remove the bowl from the mixer and finish mixing the dough by hand to ensure there are no stray streaks of butter at the bottom.
Scoop the dough into 3 tablespoon sized balls. Place on the prepared sheet 3 to 4 inches apart and flatten just a little with the palm of your hand. Each cookie should be 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide.
Bake for 14 to 16 minutes. Allow to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Repeat until all of the cookies are baked. Unbaked dough can be stored in the fridge for 2 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
Strawberry Pink Peppercorn Creme Filling
1 package powdered gelatin (roughly 1 tablespoon)
3 tablespoons water
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons pink peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
180g white sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup or honey
113g (1/2 cup) water
3 tablespoons strawberry jam, strained if very chunky
In a small bowl, measure out the 3 tablespoons water. Slowly sprinkle the gelatin on top of the water. Very gently agitate the water and gelatin by moving the bowl in small circular motions without lifting the bowl from the surface of the table. This will effectively “stir” the gelatin into the liquid to ensure all of the crystals are hydrated. Actually stirring the mixture with a spoon can cause clumping.
In the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the two egg whites but leave the mixer off. In a small mortar and pestle or in a clean coffee grinder, combine the peppercorns and salt. Grind until the mixture is course and sandy. Set aside.
In a small sauce pan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Place over medium-high heat and stir with a spatula to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar is dissolved and the mixture has started to simmer avoid stirring but occasionally give the pot a gentle swirl using the pot’s handle. Avoid sloshing the syrup mixture up onto the walls of the pan, if possible.
Using an instant read thermometer or a clip-on candy thermometer, bring the mixture to 240F then turn the stand mixer to medium-high to begin whisking the egg whites. The whites should reach stiff peaks before you incorporate the syrup.
When the sugar syrup reaches 265F, turn off the heat and add in the ground peppercorns. With the stand mixer on high, slowly pour in the syrup. Aim for the interior wall of the bowl, right where the top of the whipped egg whites have climbed or just under. Avoid pouring the syrup directly onto the moving whisk.
Now that the sauce pan is empty but still warm, add in the bloomed gelatin from the small bowl. There should be just enough heat to melt the gelatin to a liquid state with no clumps. With the mixer still running, pour the gelatin into the bowl to be mixed in with sugar.
Increase the stand mixer speed to the highest setting (usually 10) and continue whisking the mixture until the outside of the mixing bowl has cooled to the touch and the whipped egg whites have increased in volume with a glossy finish. This will take about 15 minutes.
Slow the mixer to medium-low and add in the strawberry jam. Mix unto the jam is completely blended into the marshmallow.
To assemble
Working with 4 to 6 cookies at a time, flip the bottom cookies upside down and lay them beside their matching top cookie.
Scoop the marshmallow filling into a piping bag or a zip top bag with a corner cut off and pipe 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling onto the center of the bottom cookies. Leave plenty of space around all sides to account for the spreading of the filling once the top cookie is pressed in place.
Allow the cookies to sit for 1 hour so that the gelatin fully sets or enjoy right away for a slightly messier experience. Finished cookies can be stored in a sealed container for 2 days at room temperature or in the fridge for 4 days.
