My first crack at a healthy cookie
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I didn't believe such a thing existed until .. it did
Peanut butter cookies making a debut appearance at our first food swap
These are sweetened with maple syrup and come together with just a few ingredients. Whole wheat pastry flour is my favorite here, although spelt will work just as well (the cookies will be a bit darker).
With the spirit and flavor of the much-loved classic; these cookies are soft and chewy, with a tender crumb, and incredible peanut butter flavor.
Enjoy!
xoxo
ps: With the amount of olive oil called for the recipe, if you're using a natural peanut butter that has oil on the top, make sure to mix it until it's well combined.
pps: The secret to a really good cookie? Let the dough rest 72 hours before baking your cookies
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~ Adapted from Vibrant Wellness Journal
Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp fine grain sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F
- In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate larger bowl combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, olive oil, and vanilla.
- Pour the flour mixture over the peanut butter mixture and stir until barely combined (still a bit dusty looking).
- Let sit for five minutes, give one more quick stir (just a stroke or two).
- Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Press down on each one gently with the back of a fork.
- (** Note: This is a loose batter, so if you’re set on doing criss-crosses, go ahead and chill the batter for an hour or so before this step)
- Bake for 10-11 minutes, keeping an eye on them so they don’t over bake, or they'll be dry.
- Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
28 Comments
I tried these today and they were great! My picky kiddos loved them too! Thanks for the recipe!! 🙂
Ahhh .. thank-you! I’m so glad
Wow, a WHOLE cup of maple syrup!? Might have to make them with less. That’s quite a lot!
Hi!
You’re right .. it IS guide a bit. I’d be interested in how they turn out with less
Ali
The recipe looks good. Could the recipe be converted to gluten free?
Hi Andy ..
Thank-you so much for taking a minute to leave a comment .. I truly appreciate it.
Though I haven’t tried it specifically with this recipe .. I have a couple of go-to gluten-free flours (off the shelf) that I start with when altering a recipe. The first (my favorite) is King Arthur’s .. second is from Bob’s Red Mill.
The flour from Bob’s Red Mill is made partly with ground beans .. which I’ve found to be a flavor I can pick up on .. depending on the recipe.
If you happen to give either a try .. I’d really be interested in your results.
Ali
Hi! I just made these with my almost 5yr old (she was excited because she desperately wants to be a chef!) and we drizzled dairy free dark chocolate over the top too. Delicious!! We used just normal flour as that’s all we had in and still worked very well 🙂
Hi Katie!
Thank-you so very much for taking a minute to leave a comment. You made me smile many times over.
Ali
Hi – could you use regular whole wheat flour or does it need to be pastry flour?
Hi Nileta ..
Thanks so much for reading & taking minute to leave a comment.
I haven’t tried regular whole wheat flour with these. In past .. when I’ve make similar substitutions with other cookie recipes .. my results have been on the dry/dense side.
Ali
Do you think the olive oil could be replaced by date butter or applesauce? We try to eat no processed oils at all.
Hi Elizabeth ..
Thank-you so much for taking a minute to leave a comment.
Though I haven’t tried specifically with this recipe .. in the past I’ve had good luck substituting unsweetened applesauce in a ratio of 3/4 to 1 c applesauce for every 1 c of oil.
I know people use other kinds of fruit purees as oil substitutes (ex: bananas) .. but I tend to prefer applesauce because it doesn’t have an overpowering flavor & therefore won’t change the taste of my recipes.
I’d be curious how they turn out for you .. Thanks again!
Ali
I made these cookies last night–they were delicious! I’m very picky with my peanut butter cookies–most are not ‘peanutty’ enough. That wasn’t a problem with these. I had to bake a few more minutes, but that could be due to our elevation (1 mile). Very easy recipe–I will definitely make again. The hardest part was stirring up my peanut butter! 😉
Wonderful .. have a great weekend!
Hello 🙂 I will try your recipe this week!I loved it!Do you think that maple syrup could be replaced by honey?
Hi!
Though I haven’t tried it .. I imagine honey would be a great replacement for maple syrup. If you try it .. let me know what you think?
Ali
OMGOSH! These cookies are THE BEST! I made these for my sister’s aunt and uncle, i could not resist having a cookie, .that one cookie turned into having 2 lol hope i dont eat them all before i bringg them to her aunt and uncle lol thank you very much i am going to live my this cookie recipe for the rest of my life!!! 🙂 🙂
Haha a few typing errors i meant live by this cookie recipe lol thanks ?
Rachel
Thank-you so much for you sweet comments! A great cookie recipe is one of life’s simple treasures 🙂
Ali
hey this is lovely and a must try, will make these soon. I love baking cookies over cakes, and this recipe just makes me run to the kitchen like right now. Excited to try this one. thanks for sharing the recipe. Cheers
Well done on making peanut butter cookies, I think they look absolutely fab. I bet they would taste nice with a cold glass of fresh milk as well, mmm
Wow, these look delicious. I’m terrible in the kitchen, but these sound like they are easy enough to whip up. That pic with the class of milk looks so inviting….It is calling my name 😉
These look like a real treat, all I need now is milk. X
Gosh! these look mouthwatering. I love the fact they are made with a wholewheat flour and that you can make them with spelt too. This makes them both yummy and a lot more healthy for our digestion. Wish I lived near you Ha Ha!
Love your food photography! It’s fantastic and those cookies look so tempting!
These cookies so good! I imagine myself eating few cookies and drinking a glass of milk! It’s been a long time since I did that. I would only add a bit of cocoa so they would smell and taste like chocolate.
BS, xx |
Peanut butter cookies are my absolute favorite!! I’m not sure what it is in about them, but they are just delicious. These look mouth watering.
Thanks for sharing such a great recipe, I showed this to my cousin and she made it and these cookis had great taste