Vegan peanut butter cookie sandwich
Vegan peanut butter cookie sandwich
Is it ever going to stop raining? What is going on? It’s June for heaven’s (hello, anyone up there? Ease up on the rain please!!) sake!! It’s been a miserable start to summer here in Bristol so far and it shows no signs of letting up. The skies are so grey that I find myself having to dust off my artificial light setup, which I wasn’t expecting to have to use until November! I also find myself having to put the heating on and I’m still on really good terms with my winter coat. Summer, I miss ya!!
As a result, I am really sorry to those of you who are lucky enough to feel sun rays on your skin on a regular basis, but all I am craving is comfort food like pastas, stews, currys, cakes and cookies. Today’s offering, therefore, is a stack of vegan peanut butter cookie sandwiches. They are easy to make, require only a handful (5 to be exact) of ingredients and as far as cookies go, they are certainly on the healthy side – which does not make them a health food, btw. Please remember that. A cookie is a cookie!!
The photoshoot leftovers have been very handy today as Duncan has just returned from a grueling 26 km run in the mud and rain. When I quizzed him about this run before, it was supposed to a relaxed canter, but he came home fairly wretched as the terrain was quite challenging and the weather has been merciless. He was very chuffed to come back to a stack of freshly baked cookies and a big plate of vegan bolognese. Bless!
Tomorrow, we were planning to take part in the Let’s Ride Bristol event whereby the entire car traffic gets shut down (although only for a few hours) and cyclists take over the town centre. We did that years ago in London and it was a lot of fun. Cycling without being worried about getting bullied off the road by aggressive drivers is a dream and it’s a shame it can only happen on a special occasion. I think it would do Bristol a lot of good if it had a congestion zone and invested more money into bike infrastructure and public transport. It would make living in this city better (less traffic and pollution) and make people fitter through encouraging them to cycle everywhere. Wouldn’t that be amazing? Sadly, judging by how many cars most families have, I am pretty sure we are firmly in the minority here…
- 150 ml / ½ cup + 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 125 g / ½ cup peanut butter (I used this one)
- 165 g / 1 + 1/3 cup all purpose flour OR GF all purpose flour mix
- 1 tbsp cornstarch / cornflour
- 6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder*
FILLING
- 125 g / ½ cup peanut butter (I used this one)
- 2 tbsp / 30 ml maple syrup
- 2-3 tbsp / 30-45 ml almond milk (optional)
- In a bowl, whisk up maple syrup and peanut butter into a uniform thick mass.
- Add in flour, cornstarch and cacao powder and fold them all in gently. Use a spatula to begin with, but you will need to use your hands by the end to get the mixture uniform.
- Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes at least.
- Preheat the oven to 180° C / 355° F.
- Divide the dough into half and roll each half with a rolling pin until you get a 3-4 mm / 0.15″ thick sheet of dough. Using a round cookie cutter, cut the cookies out of the dough. Bring all the scraps together and roll them out again, cutting out more cookies.
- Bake for about 12-14 min. Remove the biscuits from the oven, transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool down completely.
- Place a teaspoon (or so) of the peanut butter filling at the bottom of half of the cookies and top with the other half. Store in an airtight container for a few days.
FILLING
- Place peanut butter and maple syrup in a large bowl and mix them with a spatula until smooth.
- If your mixture is too thick, add a splash of plant milk to loosen it up a little.
- Put the filling in the freezer for 30-45 mins for firmness.
Would I be able to make the dough the night before, chill in the refrigerator overnight then bake the next morning? Not sure if that would be too much chilling time for the dough.
- Josephine
I don't see why not. You may need to leave it on the counter for a little bit before rolling if it hardens too much, but other than that it should be fine. Ania
I am pretty sure you can but you will need to compensate for the lost moisture by adding a bit of plant milk for example. Also, not entirely sure that brown sugar will manage to dissolve fully in the time needed for these cookies to be baked. Hope that helps! Ania
I want to give these delicious looking biscuits a go but I was just wondering how many biscuits should I cut from the cookie dough before they are baked and actually sandwiched together .?
Cheers
As many as you can get - it will depend on how large your cookies are and how thin/thick you roll the dough out. I managed to get 28 single cookies (14 double). Hope that helps! Ania
Can I replace peanut butter something else if I don’t want to use but butter? Maybe applesauce?
I assume you mean replace in the cookies not in the filling? You could try, but I have not tested this so I cannot tell you how well that would work. Ania
How about almond flour/meal? If you don't have that either, just skip - the world won't come to an end ;) x Ania
Sure you can! In case, it's a bit runnier, add a bit of cornstarch or arrowroot or maybe oat flour to the mixture to thicken it. Hope that helps!
I think they would also be really tasty if replacing peanut butter with almond butter, I might try that next time :)
Thank you Ania!
They are like that on purpose as once you put the filling in, they will soften considerably from the moisture. Glad you enjoyed the taste! Ania
Thanks
I double-checked my notes and 1.3 cup is definitely correct. What type of flour are you using? If the mixture is dry (which is what I think you mean by saying it disintegrates) you can always add a touch of plant milk, but there shouldn't be the need for that. Are you weighing your flour (which I recommend when it comes to baking) or using measuring cups? If the latter, is it possible you are too generous? Ania
I have been making mug cakes and eating all sorts of bad stuff to try to warm myself and cheer myself up. These cookies sound great.
Do you think I could substitute agave nectar for the maple syrup?
Yes, I am pretty sure it will work just as well!
x