Chef notes
I think I need to explain the name on these cookies. Our family has been making these, as a chocolate and peanut butter version and mostly at Christmas time, for decades. When I first made them for my husband, Ryan, he flipped out over them and asked me what they are called. I told him we didn't have a name, and he replied that in our hometown of Milton, West Virginia, he'd think they would be named "Doogerscoodles." The name stuck, and they are consistently the favorite amongst all of my family and friends. This is the Halloween version, using white vanilla melting wafers.
Technique tip: Be generous with the peanut butter when making these cookies! That's the good stuff and you'll need more than you think.
Swap option: Use dark chocolate melts and decorate like monsters. If you're making these for school and can't use peanut butter, try sunflower seed butter instead.
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 60 butter crackers, such as Ritz
- 2½ cups white vanilla melting wafers
- orange food coloring
- black gel icing
- green sour belts candy, cut into small triangles to be stems
Preparation
1.Line a baking sheet with parchment.
2.Spread a generous teaspoon of peanut butter onto half of the crackers and then top with the remaining crackers. Place on the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate until the peanut butter is firm, 20 to 30 minutes.
3.Melt candy melts according to package directions. Whisk in a couple of drops of orange food coloring. Use 2 forks to dip each sandwich into the melted candies until completely coated. If the candy melts start to stiffen, briefly return to heat.
4.Put the sandwich cookies back on the baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
5.Use gel icing to draw a jack-o'-lantern face on each cookie. Use a small amount of icing to stick on the green candy stem to the top of each cookie. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 to 20 minutes.
