Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookies. Vegan + Gluten-Strong!
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Adapted from a recipe from Martha Stewart Living. This recipe makes 18 large chocolate-y cookies, at least 3 inches across and stuffed full of creamy, sweet peanut butter. Each cookie is basically a huge, 2 cookie sandwich!
Servings: 18 Large cookies
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1 cup vegan butter softened
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar divided
- 1/2 cup unbleached granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups unbleached white flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
Instructions
Make the cookie dough and filling
- In a small bowl, combine the ground flaxseed and water. Set aside until thickened, about 10-15 minutes.
- While the flax mixture thickens, cream the butter together with the granulated sugar and 1 cup of the brown sugar (set aside 1/4 cup) until soft and fluffy. Add in the thickened flax mixture and vanilla and beat until smooth.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in the creamed butter mixture and stir well to combine. This will form a very firm dough. Add the chocolate chips and mix well to combine (use those muscles, if mixing by hand!). Cover and chill for 1 hour.
- While the dough chills, combine the peanut butter and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar. Chill. [See recipe notes for other options besides brown sugar].
Form the cookies
- When the cookie dough and peanut butter are chilled, preheat the oven to 350F, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into 36 even pieces. I have a small cookie scoop that's just over a tablespoon that works great for this task. If you're making the cookies on a warm day, work with half the dough at a time, or chill after forming the pieces. The object is to keep the dough chilled until the cookies go into the oven.
- Slightly flatten two pieces of cookie dough. Sandwich a rounded teaspoon of the sweetened peanut butter between the two disks and then working your way around the cookie, carefully pinch the edges together to encase the peanut butter. Carefully smooth the edges with your hands and flatten slightly in your palms. It's OK if they're quite round, they will spread in the oven.*If using commercial cookies instead of peanut butter, simply omit the peanut butter filling altogether and sandwich two discs of chocolate dough around a cookie instead.
- Place each cookie on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough and peanut butter filling. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until the cookies are set on top and are golden on the bottom. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then carefully transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes
- These days when preparing the peanut butter filling, I generally skip the brown sugar and add just enough powdered sugar to thicken the peanut butter enough to form small, soft balls. You can also use PB2, coconut or almond flour. It will firm even more as it chills in the fridge.
- These cookies spread in the oven and are about as big as my palm, I bake them in two batches, 9 cookies at a time, on a large baking sheet.
- Watch out! These cookies are very dark brown, and it's easy to overbake them! I completely burned the last batch I made!
- For nut-free cookies, use commercial sandwich cookies instead of peanut butter. This is a delicious option even if you like nut butter. Check out the gluten-free version of this recipe for photos.
- For soy-free cookies, make your own vegan butter and leave out the chocolate chips.
- For palm-free cookies, make your own vegan butter. It's so easy, you can do it!
- For gluten-free cookies, see this post. I've got your back.