No. 8: Baking through Stuffed by Heather Mubarak

Plus a recipe!

May 01, 2023

I’ve been looking forward to baking through Stuffed since I started this @books.to.cook project—NAY, since I acquired this irresistible baking book for our house’s Food list back in December 2020. (Can you believe it’s been that long in the making??)

Dream author Heather Mubarak of @brownedbutterblondie spent two years writing and photographing this delightful cookie book, and I was lucky enough to edit it and work with her along the way. For that reason, this “book review” is less an assessment—any feedback on the content I already shared with Heather during the editing process!—and more so a celebration.

The recipes in Stuffed are well-tested, approachable, indulgent, and oh-so-satisfying—perfect for bakers of all levels and fans of books like 100 Cookies, Snacking Cakes, or The Book on Pie. On top of that, the photography is gorgeous. Check out Heather’s insta (linked above) to get a sense of her polished style and drool-worthy bakes. A quick flip through this book’s pages will inspire you to get in the kitchen STAT.

Look at that delectable cover! We commissioned custom lettering for the title by Monique Aimee. The chunky font + stacked whoopie pies + padded case make this package look and feel so so fun <3

The High-Level

Stuffed is a delicious baking book brimming with 65 mix-and-match recipes for cookie sandwiches, ranging from classic childhood treats, like Copycat Nutter Butters and Homemade Milanos, to elevated bites perfect for a party, like Parmesan Polenta Crackers with Chive Cream Cheese and Strawberry Shortcake Macarons. With chapters on nostalgic, chocolatey, fruity, spiced, savory, and ice cream-filled sandwich cookies, there’s something here for every craving. The final chapter comprises all the fillings—buttercreams, ganache, jam, curd, homemade ice creams, and more—so you can experiment with different cookie and filling pairings. Stuffed is a cookie-lover’s dream.

One Random Thing I Love

The recipes in this book are incredibly versatile. Follow the recipe exactly for an indulgent cookie sandwich; mix and match cookies and fillings to your liking; or skip the filling altogether for an easy baking project. Sometimes brownies, CCCs, or shortbread sans filling is all you need. You can even use the frosting and filling recipes for cakes, tarts, scones, etc. All told, this is a super flexible collection of recipes and gives you a lot of bang for your buck.

I’m also obsessed with the puffy case! Early on in making this book, we had the idea to pad the cover, which adds volume and creates a satisfying puffy feeling. I love how the physical package reflects the content inside. Chunky with a little extra padding, the book looks as stuffed as the whoopie pies on the cover!

Savory “cookie sandwiches” for cocktail hour—perfection with a glass of white wine

The Recipes

In no particular order, here are the recipes I made this month:

Here are five more recipes in the book that I didn’t get to in April but am eager to try—including two with autumnal flavors that I know I’ll love but felt off-season in spring:

Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Gingerdoodle Neapolitan Cookies
Blue Cheese and Walnut Slice ‘n’ Bakes with Fig Preserves
Cherry, Pistachio, and White Chocolate Shortbread
Homemade Oreos

BONUS: A Recipe!

Straight from the pages of Stuffed and courtesy of Heather, here is the recipe for the Wannabe Brownie Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting, which, as Andrew put it, “taste like everything you wish a Reese’s was and so much more.” I hope you’ll try these yourself (and then go buy the book)!

WANNABE BROWNIE COOKIES

Makes 12 to 14 cookie sandwiches

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons [80 g] all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 oz [200 g] good-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz [55 g] bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons [85 g] unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup [100 g] granulated sugar
1/4 cup [50 g] light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons freshly brewed espresso or strong coffee, slightly cooled
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 oz [85 g] mini semisweet chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
1 recipe Peanut Butter Frosting, for assembly (recipe follows)

TO MAKE THE COOKIES:

Preheat the oven to 325°F [165°C]. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.

Create a double boiler by filling a medium saucepan with 2 to 3 in [5 to 7.5 cm] of water. Bring the water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Place a heatproof bowl over the pan, making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water below. Add the semisweet chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, and butter and heat, stirring often. Do not overheat. Once melted, remove the bowl from the heat and stir until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Set aside to cool slightly.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, espresso, and vanilla until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the chocolate mixture and blend on low speed until combined. Add the flour mixture gradually and mix until barely combined. You should still see some streaks of flour in the batter. The batter will be soft, similar to cake batter.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in most of the chocolate chips, reserving 1 to 2 tablespoons for the tops of the cookies if desired. Do not overmix.

Let the dough sit for 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature. Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 in [5 cm] between each cookie.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are barely set and the centers of the cookies still look soft and fudgy. The cookies will continue to bake a bit once removed from the oven. As soon as the cookies are out of the oven, use the inside arch of a fork to nudge the edges of the cookies in toward the center, working your way around each cookie while they are still hot. This will help make the cookies more uniform in size and shape for the sandwiches.

Allow the cookies to rest for 6 to 8 minutes on the baking sheets before using a spatula to carefully transfer them to a wire cooling rack. Let cool completely before assembling the sandwiches.

TO ASSEMBLE THE COOKIE SANDWICHES:

Using an offset spatula, place a generous swirl of the Peanut Butter Frosting on the flat side of a cookie. Top with a second cookie, flat-side down, and gently press together. Repeat with the remaining cookies until all the sandwiches are assembled. If the frosting is soft, place the cookie sandwiches in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to set.

Store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The Peanut Butter Frosting may soften too much if kept at room temperature.

PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

Makes 3 cups [765 g]

1/2 cup [113 g] unsalted butter, at room temperature
11/2 cups [440 g] creamy peanut butter, at room temperature (not all-natural peanut butter)
21/4 cups [270 g] confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt (optional)

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until light and creamy. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the peanut butter and mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup [60 g] at a time, while mixing on low speed. Once the sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to high and mix for 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the heavy cream and the vanilla. Mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. If the buttercream is too thick, add more heavy cream. Add salt, if using, and mix to combine.

Fill a piping bag with the frosting to use immediately or store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Almond Linzer Cookies with Tart Cherry Jam (although I used raspberry jam because that’s what I had on hand)

To offset our outsize cookie consumption over the last month, we are going healthy in May with Salad Freak by Jess Damuck. So excited for fresh spring veggies, bright, beautiful sals, and lunches that aren’t an amalgamation of sad scraps from my pantry. As always, thanks for following along, and I’ll see you on the ‘gram with some tasty greens!

xo,

Claire