Here is one special treat that I loved getting growing up. Whenever we went to the mall, we would get a bag of Mrs. Field’s cookies. One of their most memorable cookies for me was their chocolate dipped peanut butter cookie. Basically it was a way to trick my parents into letting me have a cookie and a candy bar (because there was so much chocolate). Chocolate chips just aren’t enough sometimes! Once I went dairy & gluten free, there was little chance of reconnecting with my old cookie love. As I felt nostalgic recently for going places like the mall and walking past the freshly baked cookie smell, I decided to recreate the memory with these Vegan Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies. They hit the spot and brought me straight back to that little corner of the mall, warm with the smell of cookies.
Now down to the details of these cookies. They are chewy and crunchy. The chocolate keeps them soft but make sure to store them in an air tight container or the cookies will get stale and too crunchy very quickly. If you want chewier cookies, bake them for less time and if you want them crunchy, bake them slightly longer.
The key to getting these cookies to be both chewy and crunchy at the same time relies on a few very important steps in the cookie baking process, plus one simple ingredient to help our chocolate solidify at room temperature. I use a similar technique in my Smore’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. The first thing to note about these cookies is their crackle texture. There is no need to use a fork to press out these cookies. They spread out completely on their own, creating little chewy ridges and valleys running through crunchy clusters of peanut butter cookie.
You can still achieve this texture in one bowl and without a mixer. In fact, I prefer to make these by hand using just a whisk and wooden spoon. If you don’t want to muscle through creaming the butter and sugar together in the beginning though, then I recommend using a mixer.
I want to make a note specifically about the process of creaming the butter and sugar together; you want to wait on adding the peanut butter until just before the dry ingredients. Because peanut butter is a very oily ingredient, it can make it difficult to cream the butter and sugar to the right consistency that helps give you the incredible chewy AND crunchy end result.
When you make this cookie, be sure to start in the order of creaming softened butter with sugar, brown sugar and some of the oat milk. Once you have a pale and fluffy mix, beat in the peanut butter and half the almond flour. This will emulsify the gritty almond flour into the sugar and butter via the oil in the peanut butter so that your cookie does not end up being oily OR grainy, dry / too crumbly. This step takes a bit of muscle to beat the ingredients thoroughly but you can just use the highest speed on your mixer too.
Once you have everything mixed together, add the dry ingredients and thoroughly combine everything. Let the peanut butter cookie dough set in the fridge for a few hours before baking for the best results.
Since the Mrs. Field’s cookies were extra large, I chose to make mine quite big too. I rolled out about 2 tablespoon pieces into balls and then gently pressed them down, making little disks instead of spheres. I make note of not pressing the dough in a way that leaves cracking. I want the cookie dough pieces to remain whole pieces so they stay perfectly round and the crackling happens on the top of the cookie. They will spread completely on their own so there is no need to press the cookie dough down much or use a fork, you just need to form small disks and let them do their magic.
For chewy cookies, bake for about 9 minutes. They will be barely golden and may need a time to cool and set or they will fall apart completely. For crunchier cookies, bake for 12-15 minutes (can vary depending on the type of oven you use and how large you make your cookies). Reduce the time to 7-11 minutes if you are making regular 1 Tbsp sized cookies.
Once your cookies are completely cooled, prepare your chocolate coating and dip your cookies. The chocolate will set completely on its own so there is no need to refrigerate. Leave the cookies to rest on parchment paper so the chocolate does not stick to your surface. Once the chocolate has solidified, enjoy your Vegan Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies!
Vegan Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1/2 c sugar add 1/4 c if using unsweetened peanut buter
- 3 Tbsp vegan butter
- 1/2 c brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp Peanut Butter
- 3/4 c almond flour
- 1 1/2 Tbsp oat milk
- 1/4 c all purpose gluten free baking flour I used Bob's Red Mill Brand
- 1/4 c cassava flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Chocolate Coating
- 1/2 c semi sweet chocolate chips melted
- 1 Tbsp powdered sugar
Instructions
Peanut Butter Cookies
- Beat softened butter with sugar, vanilla and oat milk until the mix is a pale color and fluffy.
- Add peanut butter and half the almond flour. Beat again.
- Add the remainder of the almond flour and beat.
- Add dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until combined.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- For large cookies, roll 2 Tbsp sized dough pieces into balls and gently press into a slight disk shape. Just gently shape the dough, do NOT press with a fork. Do not press the dough firmly into your baking tray, creating cracking in the dough. You want to keep the cookie dough whole throughout. The cookies will spread and crackle a lot on their own.
- Bake on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 9-12 mintutes. If you want a crunchy cookie, keep watch at 12 minutes and bake up to 15.
- * If you make smaller, 1 Tbsp sized cookies, bake for 7-10 minutes.
Chocolate coating
- Melt your chocolate and then mix in powdered sugar. Coat the baked and cooled cookies in chocolate, then place them on parchment paper so the chocolate does not stick to your surface.
- Let the chocoalte set at room temperate for about 20 minutes.
- Once the chocolate is completely set, store cookies in an airtight container.
