Recipe: Banana Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling or Frosting

BANANA COOKIES WITH PEANUT BUTTER FILLING

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 medium)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
FOR THE FILLING:
1 cup Smucker's Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.

In large mixer bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and sugar together until creamy; add banana, egg, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl; mix well. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; mix until soft dough forms. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Beat peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar until well mixed.

Spread about one tablespoon filling on bottoms of half of cooled cookies. Gently press bottoms of remaining cookies against filling to form sandwiches.

VARIATION:

BANANA COOKIES WITH PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING:
Cookies can be frosted instead of filled. Add one to two tablespoons milk to peanut butter filling, stirring until smooth. Use to frost tops of cookies. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Makes 2 to 2 1/2 dozen sandwich cookies
Source: Smucker's