These cookies are serving as my “re-introduction” into vegan baking. Of course, I love me some rich creamy buttercream and tiramisu cupcakes (do I ever!), but vegan baking is a nice change because it challenges me in the kitchen! Sometimes I get stuck in a rut of same ol’ cupcakes and cookies…so a little change is always fun.
Plus, you could give these chunky chocolate peanut butter cookies to anyone and I guarantee they’d never know the difference.
Because these are “healthy”, they clearly serve as a nutritious afternoon snack…
Right?
They’re definitely more chocolately than anything else and you could totally sub out the peanut butter for almond butter if that’s what you have on hand. As for me though, I’ll be a chocolate peanut butter girl until death. It’s just who I am.
After chowing down on a few of these bad boys yesterday afternoon, I got the genius idea that they would even be BETTER as ice cream sandwiches! So, I’m scooping some vanilla ice cream and freezing them for dessert this weekend. As much as I love cookies, I reaaaaaaally love ice cream sandwiches.
Oh, by the way! Check out this retro mixer I got at the thrift store last week for four dollars!
I literally squealed with joy when I found it!!! Not only is it my absolute favorite shade of blue, but it still works perfectly.
I can’t wait to make buttercream with it while wearing my sparkle heels, which are actually more comfortable than expected. Yesterday when they arrived, I immediately put them on with my yoga clothes, finished baking these cookies then sat down to blog. Love.
Happy Friday to you!
Vegan Chunky Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
adapted from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan
makes about 16 cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup spelt flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup canola oil
2 T peanut butter
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift together your spelt flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add sugar and stir to combine. It’s important you sift when you use spelt flour because it’s a bit denser than other flours and you don’t want rock-cookies.
In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, canola oil and peanut butter. Pour into dry ingredients and add the peanuts and chocolate chips.
Scoop into small balls and place on a lined cookie sheet, pressing down gently. Bake for 10-12 minutes then cool on the baking sheet for 10 more minutes.
Time:
30 minutes
I’m not taking my heels off and you can’t make me.
Molly @ RDexposed
June 3, 2011 at 4:38 amI love that color blue, too! Does a mixer from 1987 get to be considered retro? Because that’s what I’ve always had! Good call on labeling Dexter’s mouse tail!
megan @ blackberries for jam
June 3, 2011 at 4:42 amI’ve passed these cookies by several times in Eat, Drink and Be Vegan, but after seeing how lovely yours turned out I can wait no longer! I’m an almond butter girl though 😉
Love the chalkboard, by the way!
amy walters, aDESIGNdock
June 3, 2011 at 4:46 amLove that mixer – love all things vintage really 😉 These cookies look amazing and ice cream sandwhiches….oh my! Yummmm
Liv @ The Salty n' Sweet
June 3, 2011 at 4:46 amThese cookies look so good! Dense but soft, just the way I like them 🙂 I bet they’d be amazing as ice cream sandwiches, or even crumbled on top.
That mixer is so cool. It’s amazing how many, very specific, settings it has!
Faith @ lovelyascharged
June 3, 2011 at 4:47 amAlmond butter is good and all, but there’s really nothing that can replicate that pb + chocolate combo! Example one: my breakfast – PB/chocolate chip oats. Ain’t nothin’ better!
Ruth
June 3, 2011 at 4:48 amThese cookies look great – and I love the ingeredients board with the chalked words on, and the mixer! Wow! Better than those shoes…..almost! 😉
Holly @ The Runny Egg
June 3, 2011 at 4:49 amThat mixer is awesome! I remember my parents having a similar one, although theirs was an ugly tan color, not that pretty blue.
Lindsay @ Pinch of Yum
June 3, 2011 at 4:50 amI’m liking your chalkboard pictures with all the ingredients. And I’m liking these cookies!!
Heather (Heather's Dish)
June 3, 2011 at 4:56 ami like the chalkboard idea! usually i hate when people write what the ingredients are in text over a photo, but this is super cute and not intrusive at all! not to mention the cookies sound like heaven 🙂
Meghan @ StruggleMuffins
June 3, 2011 at 5:07 amThe chalkboard is super cute! And the cookies look super yummy – I know what you mean about vegan baking being a fun challenge; it gets you to think creatively about the ingredients you’re going to bring together. And even if something is ever ‘off’ in a vegan baked good, it could easily be covered up by the heavenly combo of chocolate and pb 🙂
Sharon
June 3, 2011 at 5:12 amThe cookies look amazing. I have never tried vegan cooking/baking before. I was wondering could you substitute whole wheat flour for spelt flour?
jenna
June 3, 2011 at 7:12 amTry all purpose flour instead!
Baking 'n' Books
June 3, 2011 at 11:53 amWhat’s the diff w/ all-purpose flour? I thought that was just white flour? …I don’t know…
Trisha
June 3, 2011 at 5:14 amThat mixer is so sweet! And that chalkboard. And those cookies. Goodness, this is a fabulous post!
Natalie @ Point the Weigh
June 3, 2011 at 11:18 amI was just thinking the exact same thing 🙂 haha
jenna
June 3, 2011 at 5:16 amthese look awesome and I’m dying over your retro mixer!!! I can’t believe you found something soooooo cool at the thrift store!! 🙂 awesome.
Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat
June 3, 2011 at 5:21 amI love so many things about this post:
1) the cookies
2) your mixer
3) your chalkboard
4) your handwriting!
Baking 'n' Books
June 3, 2011 at 5:24 amCookies are cookies – vegan or not!
Amy
June 3, 2011 at 5:25 amLove your chalkboard Jenna… very creative! 🙂
becca
June 3, 2011 at 5:30 amFunny story – I follow both you and Cely (at http://www.runningoffthereeses.com) and she blogged about ordering these same shoes a few days after you did – they must be just that amazing!
Jil @ Big City, Lil Kitchen
June 3, 2011 at 5:31 amLove the mixerrr and these cookies sound great!!
tiff
June 3, 2011 at 5:32 amwas wondering if I can use whole wheat our all purpose flour?
can I also sub apple sauce for oil?
what differences in outcome will I see with these changes?
thanks jenna
jenna
June 3, 2011 at 7:12 amTry all purpose and I wouldn’t try applesauce, personally. They would probably turn into little stones (not so good).
Sarah
June 3, 2011 at 5:45 amI’m in love with that mixer! and for $4? I need to get to a thrift store!
Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday
June 3, 2011 at 5:48 amThat mixer is SO cool!
Lauren at Keep It Sweet
June 3, 2011 at 5:50 amThese cookies sound wonderful! Can you sub whole wheat flour for spelt?
jenna
June 3, 2011 at 7:11 amI would try regular, not whole wheat. Whole wheat would be too dense!
Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef
June 3, 2011 at 5:57 ami love thrifting! never found something that cool for cheap 🙂
Em
June 3, 2011 at 5:58 amThe mixer is adorable.
So is the chalk idea.
Those cookies look yum yum yum.
Have a beautiful weekend, Jenna.
Mallory (@forkvsspoon)
June 3, 2011 at 6:01 amI love the chalkboard, what a great idea! I have never baked like a vegan (walked like an Egyptian 🙂 but your recipes are intriguing me. Thanks for bringing new challenges into the kitchen. Have a great Friday!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen
June 3, 2011 at 6:04 amI love the chalkboard layout. How do you do that? Is there a random big chalkboard in your place?
That mixer is awesome, love the blue!
Cait @ Beyond Bananas
June 3, 2011 at 6:22 amSuper tasty looking! I’ve never tried baking vegan.. but it is something I am totally interested in! I am doing a blogger bake sale/auction next week with proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen foundation. I am walking 60 miles in Boston this summer in the 3 day for a cure. Perhaps you would be interested in donating a batch of these yummy cookies?
Khushboo
June 3, 2011 at 6:25 amOk right I am making these stat but tell me if I can replace Spelt flour w anything else? None available in Mumbai! Don’t leave me hanging ! 🙂
jenna
June 3, 2011 at 7:10 amyou can try replacing it with regular flour!
chloe @ 321delish
June 3, 2011 at 6:28 amjust the dough alone looks heavenly!
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma)
June 3, 2011 at 7:08 amThat mixer is awesome!
Just a side note, make sure to check that baking powder for aluminum…I stopped buying it because of that. Other brands make sure to say aluminum free but maybe they finally changed it.
Karen
June 3, 2011 at 7:11 amThese snapshots (the blackboard concept – super cool) are especially awesome…you are have such an artistic eye for food photography, Jenna. Seriously, these are professional quality. (The bonus is a yummy-healthish recipe and an always amusing narrative!)
And…a Happy Friday to you as well!
Beth @ DiningAndDishing
June 3, 2011 at 7:11 amI’m not a vegan but sometimes I think vegan treats can be SO delicious. Mostly because they tend to involve chocolate and peanut butter :).
Liz
June 3, 2011 at 7:17 amLoving the chalkboard, and the shoes of course!
Katrina
June 3, 2011 at 7:23 amGreat idea! So easy too. Mmm.
emily
June 3, 2011 at 7:54 amThat ingredients shot is so fun; I love the chalkboard background.
Lisa D
June 3, 2011 at 8:11 amJenna I LOVE that you’re getting back to your veggie/vegan friendly ways! I’ve always loved reading your posts but all that meat and butter was starting to scare me a bit hehe. Keep the yummy recipes coming! 🙂
Lindsey @ Gingerbread Bagels
June 3, 2011 at 8:23 amOh my do these cookies look soooo good. Chocolate and peanut butter makes me drool. 🙂
Anna
June 3, 2011 at 8:27 amHellooooo cookies! I’m definitely a chocolate-peanut-butter girl. And that vintage mixer is so gorgeous!
betty@runbetty
June 3, 2011 at 8:27 amI am LOVING the new ingredients-on-the-chalkboard feature! So cool!
Mellie
June 3, 2011 at 8:28 amYum! They look amazing! And I love your mixer.
French Heart
June 3, 2011 at 8:34 amLove the ’50s mixer. Makes me want to dress in high heels and a full skirt w/a cinched belt. Having a retro moment.–Nancy Drew is trending on Twitter, too. LOVE the chalkboard!
Maria
June 3, 2011 at 8:36 amLove the cookies and LOVE your photos. So fun!
kaila @ healthy helper!
June 3, 2011 at 8:36 amI don’t know how you come up with this stuff! These sound amazing! Absolutely splendid Jenna!
Courtney @ The Granola Chronicles
June 3, 2011 at 8:50 amI am loving that retro mixer – what a fabulous find!
The chalkboard backdrop is wonderful.
Alejandra @ mouthfulsandmorsels.wordpress.com
June 3, 2011 at 9:07 amI’ve never baked anything vegan style before, but these cookies make it so tempting. Especially with a combo like peanut butter and chocolate (I am thoroughly addicted to both!) BTW, your post is incredibly beautiful, that blue is also my favorite color. 🙂
Danielle @ InDeesKitchen
June 3, 2011 at 9:34 amLooks delicious!!
Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga)
June 3, 2011 at 9:37 amThe cookies look awesome, Jenna…and yes, vegan baking IS a challenge compared to regular baking b/c those darn pesky eggs, sticks of butter, and cream can be hard to replace sometimes but nothing is missing in your cookies today! YUM!
I love PB wayyyy more than AB, too. Sunflower Seed Butter is the best yet.
I love your $4 find. Jealz!!! And I love that color blue, too!
Natalia - a side of simple
June 3, 2011 at 9:49 amI’m totally with you on the peanut butter and chocolate bandwagon. Almond butter will never overpower pb!
Amy
June 3, 2011 at 9:56 amI LOVE your blog! And now that you are doing more vegan stuff, I’m in heaven! My daughter is allergic to milk, eggs and peanuts so I cook without dairy/eggs daily. Always looking for more yummy, vegan recipes! (I love all of the other ones, too, but vegan ones really interest me!) Thanks!!!
linda
June 3, 2011 at 10:16 amI love the variety in your posts lately. The mixer is awesome. It’s so fun to discover a find like that. I say add an Anthropologie apron to the mixer and heels, then you have a perfect outfit.
Brenna [fabuleuxdestin]
June 3, 2011 at 10:31 amThese look so cute. I giggled when I saw Dexter’s tail 🙂 Have a great weekend sparkle shoe princess!
Nicole in Madagascar
June 3, 2011 at 10:38 amLOVE the chalkboard idea!!! Hope to see it again!!!!!!!!!!
Moni'sMeals
June 3, 2011 at 10:42 amyep. these will sure hit the spot for me, that I know.
Awesome recipe. I like the original too.
Love the new look with the chalk board. Creative and Appealing!
🙂
Urban Wife
June 3, 2011 at 10:45 amMaking these over the weekend – no butter and no eggs?! HECK YES!
p.s. Totally jealous of your retro mixer – it’s awesomesauce!
Jamie
June 3, 2011 at 11:08 amAs a recently turned vegan, I love everything about these!! Please keep up the delicious vegan recipes, my omni family is loving them all.
Deora
June 3, 2011 at 11:38 amWow! Those cookies look sooo delicious! I became a vegan a few months ago thanks to a helpful plan I found on a site called Fitango. Here’s the link: http://www.fitango.com/ I highly recommend it!
I still have a lot to learn about cooking vegan meals. I’m definitely going to bake a batch of these cookies this weekend! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Tori (Fresh Fruition)
June 3, 2011 at 11:59 amThat mixer is gorgeous! I love vintage-y things. And chocolate and peanut butter is a match made in heaven!
Alison @ Hospitality Haven
June 3, 2011 at 12:02 pmYou’ve just changed my day. Chocolate peanut butter cookies here I come…
Kayla (Little Miss Healthify)
June 3, 2011 at 12:23 pmI am in LOVE with your photography in this post! The chalkboard is such a beautiful and classic piece and just WORKED when you put the ingredients on and labeled them, sooo cute I LOVE IT!
I am also dying inside because I don’t have that mixer in my posession! Not only is it my favorite color but it is vintage and I love how it has all those functions! Way cool.
I absolutely love vegan cookie recipes! They are usually pretty simple, and like this recipe, only call for oil and some leavening to give them great texture! Love it! Whenever I’m out of eggs or butter but want to bake, I immediately look for vegan recipes!
caitlin
June 3, 2011 at 12:34 pmHey Jenna! I just made vegan choc chip muffins for the first time. I had a hard time finding the began chocolate chips tho. Everything had milk fat or chocolate in them. I wound up spending $5 for a dairy free bag. Any recommendations for a good brand.
courtney (pancakes and postcards)
June 3, 2011 at 12:39 pmfavorite combo ever. totally making these!
Sara Nickel
June 3, 2011 at 1:55 pmAwesome hand mixer! You can never go wrong with anything vintage. I still use my grandmother’s 1978 avocado green Osterizer blender she gave me when she thought I needed to make margaritas for my aparment warming party back in college:) Definately trying the cookies only with gluten free flour. Wish me luck!
Courtney
June 3, 2011 at 1:57 pmYou know what else vegan cookie dough is good for? When you buy ice cream at the store (shame on me for being too lazy to make my own last week!) that’s supposed to have cookie dough in it but has far, far too little. Make cookie dough into tiny sized balls and mix it in with the rest of the ice cream, then stuff a waffle cone with it. Yum.
Gina (Yogattude)
June 3, 2011 at 2:26 pmOhmygosh…I love yoga clothes and heels! On days that I leave work and go directly to the studio, I always rock the platform peeptoes with my luon, LOVE!
Karen
June 3, 2011 at 2:53 pmThank you for posting this vegan recipe! I am definitely going to try it next week, can’t wait!
And that mixer is awesome. I love all the specific settings it has. Good find!
Allie
June 3, 2011 at 3:38 pmReally beautiful post 🙂 What a great find! I love thrift finds. Do you find things like this often?!
Lauren@LittleYellowKitchen
June 3, 2011 at 3:46 pmI’m loving your vegan dessert binge and I’m anything but vegan. These look great! I want to test out some spelt flour baking now.
chand
June 3, 2011 at 4:06 pmok, Don’t know if you read these but I never comment and I am only choosing today because I recently went through a huge file folder full of printed recipes. I couldn’t believe how many of your recipes I have saved. And tried. You are creative and spot on. Gonna try these fo sho! Thanks Jenna…Cindy
Heidi - Apples Under My Bed
June 3, 2011 at 4:23 pmLove it, Jenna! I will definitely make these. I am ridiculously jealous of your mixer. Ridiculously so. I have too many vintage cookwares than I know what to do with, but that does not stop me from lusting after the perfect mixer. You’re right, that shade of blue…*sigh* 🙂
Heidi xo
Liz (Little Bitty Bakes)
June 3, 2011 at 5:48 pmI need that mixer – my favorite color and all!
Julien
June 3, 2011 at 6:03 pmI love this post because the cookies are vegan(!), we have two shared passions: thrifting and aqua blue. I actually just bought the Le Creuset dutch oven in that color and made this bread:
http://www.sweetamandine.com/2009/06/bandwagon.html
and it was AMAZING. You should try it. : )
Julien
June 3, 2011 at 6:12 pmPs. You might also like these:
http://pyrexcollective.blogspot.com/2011/04/more-turquoise.html
I have a small collection of the aqua and blue colors (and a couple brown) and I LOVE them. You might like them because they are made out of glass and photograph really beautifully.
McKayla @ Green Groats
June 3, 2011 at 6:11 pmI LOVE the chalkboard labels. So cute!! And, wow, do those cookies look amazing.
CA Cop Wife
June 3, 2011 at 9:21 pmHi! Just visiting from 5ohwifey’s blog. I am thrilled to see this recipe because we often get together with some vegan friends and now I can impress them with some great cookies! I look forward to learning more from your blog!
Sarah@The Flying ONION
June 4, 2011 at 5:16 amThese look so rich and chocolatey and positively dreamy! 😀
Do you think these could easily be made gluten free? I have a friend who’s vegan AND has celiac, and I would love to share such a recipe with her. 😀
em
June 4, 2011 at 7:48 amthese look delish! i’m definitely in a pb cookie rut, so these will have to be made.
what kind of chalkboard are you using for your background?
Gillian G.
June 4, 2011 at 8:26 amI HAD to test these out last night and what a keeper! I subbed cashews for the peanuts (we have plenty of pb, never the actual nut!) and they turned out beautifully. I’m making them for my graduation party tomorrow!
PS, your shoes are the definition of fab.
Caitlin
June 4, 2011 at 8:51 amI just made these yesterday and now they’re gone. P.S. Love both the mixer and your shoes!
Casey
June 4, 2011 at 9:10 amOh my gosh. SHUT UP. That mixer is freaking AWESOME! Girl, you are just living the life- delicious, healthy cookies and a kick ass mixer. Im super jealous
Paige @ Running Around Normal
June 4, 2011 at 10:18 amOhh, these sound good. I love ED&BV’s version so much. I’ll have to go back and make both!
Em Marie
June 4, 2011 at 10:46 amAwesome post! I love how you did the photography! Peanut butter and chocolate are probably the most delicious combo ever!
Baking Serendipity
June 4, 2011 at 11:16 amI like the challenge behind vegan baking as well, and I love that these use maple syrup. I imagine it would add an entirely new level of flavor and the thought of it sounds fantastic. I have to say, it cracks me up that you made vegan cookies and turned them into ice cream sandwiches. This is totally something I would do!
Amanda Jewell
June 4, 2011 at 4:37 pmThese look scrumptious! I want one of these warm and gooey, right out with oven with a tall, cold glass of chocolate almond milk
Kaitlyn
June 4, 2011 at 5:12 pmmade these today!!
thanks for sharing! i am one happy baker/eater. they are delish. perfect amount of sweetness and chocolatey-ness. i also like the crunch from the peanuts!! theyre great as a little snack or energy bites since they are pretty ‘health-ified’. 🙂
mine were a teeeny bit dry, however? not sure what i could of messed up. any idea how to get them a little bit more moist next time?
oh! i also made your spicy jambalaya for my family this week. it was a hit! we added a bunch of shrimp to it in addition to the andouille. it was awesome. thanks! love your blog.
Kath
June 4, 2011 at 6:47 pmLove your chalkboard addition Jenna!!
Aja
June 5, 2011 at 10:53 amI love the chalkboard. It’s so creative.
I have to make these cookies today.
Lauri (Redheadrecipes.com)
June 6, 2011 at 5:58 pmHave you ever tried ‘Dark Chocolate Dreams’ peanut butter by the Peanut Butter Company? Its heaven….
http://ilovepeanutbutter.com/index.php/peanut-butter-1/darkchocolatedreams.html
Megan
June 7, 2011 at 4:49 pmI tried these and my cookies completely fell apart.. they were a mess! Why do you think this happened?
jenna
June 7, 2011 at 5:03 pmno earthly idea. did you follow the recipe exactly? My dough really wasn’t crumbly at all…I’m so sorry!
Megan
June 7, 2011 at 5:14 pmWhat kind of chocolate chips did you use?
Rose-Anne
June 25, 2011 at 6:18 pmMy dough was crumbly too, though I admit I subbed white whole wheat flour for the spelt flour. To deal with the dough, I smooshed the crumbs together, using an ice cream scoop to help pack the dough. I also skipped the step where you flatten the dough balls because the dough wasn’t sturdy enough.
The result was great! A cookie with a lightly crisped exterior with a sandy-velvety interior. The flavor is delicious; the chocolate and sweetness are well-balanced.
So my advice? Work the dough together with your hands and persevere. I might also try adding another 2 tbsp. of peanut butter and/or a little more maple syrup to help the dry ingredients come together into a dough.
(Whew, I’m long-winded! :-))
Jessica
June 8, 2011 at 11:47 amMmmm, finally a healthy cookie… that looks moist! I’ve seen so many healthy cookie recipes but they look all dry and crumbly. I’ll definitely be making these!
Bev
June 8, 2011 at 7:26 pmHey Jenna the cookies look so good. What brand is the vintage mixer…….. to die for!
CALLOOH CALLAY » Blog Archive » {what I ate} Stirfry with Basil and Peanuts
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Cathy @ What Would Cathy Eat?
June 17, 2011 at 6:38 pmAwesome recipe. These are on my weekend agenda!
Nicole @ Of Cookies and Carrots
June 21, 2011 at 1:43 pmThese look fantastic & I am in LOVE with that handmixer :))) too bad my oven broke yesterday… though I may just have to make these anyways and use my toaster oven 😉
<3
n
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Tamar
June 5, 2012 at 10:49 amMade these today- not sure how to rate them! The dough tasted wonderful, but was way too crumbly to form into balls. I added another 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, which helped a little. The cookies tasted great but still fell apart :-/ I followed the recipe exactly. Anyway, the crumbs were delicious in yogurt!
Heather
November 22, 2012 at 7:45 amAre these supposed to be super dry? My batter was hard to keep together and made for a very dry cookie. Oh, they were delicious, just didn’t hold together too well. Any tips?
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