Vegan peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

The perfect easy cookie: chewy and flavourful!

I think I might throw out the classic peanut butter cookie recipe that I’ve been using all my life, now that I’ve tasted these beauties. They’re rich-tasting and not too sweet, letting the key ingredients (peanut butter and chocolate) shine through. The best part? You can make them vegan AND gluten-free if you wish!

Ingredients

• 1 cup (250 mL) peanut butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 ml) baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) salt
• 1/3 cup (90 mL) flour (all purpose, oat or rice flour)
• 2/3 cup (175 mL) brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) applesauce
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) carob or vegan chocolate chips

Method

• Put all ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl and stir to blend well.
• Refrigerate dough for at least one hour (or freeze for 15 minutes).
• Preheat oven to 350F. While oven heats, use a small cookie dough scoop or two spoons to shape it into balls approximately 1 tablespoon (15 mL) in size. Place cookie dough balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and flatten slightly with the tines of a fork.
• Note that cookie dough balls can be shaped and frozen. To bake from frozen, increase cooking time by 2 – 3 minutes.
• Bake for 8 minutes. Note that the cookies will look a bit underdone but they will be fully cooked and will stay chewy for days as they are not overbaked.
• Let the cookies cool and firm up for at least 15 minutes before removing from the baking tray.
• Store cookies in an airtight container, layered with parchment paper, in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for longer storage.

Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies.