Thursday, September 05, 2013

Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies; Because Life is Short


Day Number Five of daily blogging for Vegan Month Of Food (Or Vegan MoFo 2013).
Day Number Five in my month-long theme:  "This Is What 50 Looks Like"!

No long overly-thoughtful post tonight. 
Just a simple thought that you've probably heard many times before.
Life is short, eat dessert first. 
You will realize how short life really is, the older you get. 
Yes, I said the "O" word. 
Old. 
I'm not old, but I AM "older" than I was twenty years ago and I do know this: 
50 Looks Like: "Indulging Yourself - With No Apologies!"

Indulging means different things to different people, but one of my FAVORITE "indulgences" is a very simple dessert, in the form of cookies fresh from the oven. 

That's why I'm sharing one of my favorite cookie recipes tonight.
Like pretty much anything I cook, this recipe is easy and fool-proof. (Perfect for me since I'm not much of a baker!). Perfect vegan peanut butter cookies took some trial and error on my part, but this final result is a definite favorite.
Enjoy! Eat dessert first once in a while. Eat cookies all day if you want to. And don't feel guilty, don't apologize. You deserve it!

Easy Vegan Peanut-Butter Cookies
  • 1 cup natural peanut butter (I have great results with Peanut Butter And Company, crunchy or smooth, but use whatever you have)
  • 1/3 cup Earth Balance or other vegan margarine, cold - do NOT use Smart Balance       (OR use 1/4 cup coconut oil, cool and firm but NOT rock-hard, personally I prefer the finished texture when using coconut oil)
  • 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, cream sugar, peanut butter, and margarine or coconut oil together just until mixed. Add vinegar, water, vanilla, salt, and baking powder. Mix in flour until well blended. You may need a Tbsp. or so more flour, the dough should be "play-dough" consistency, not dry!

Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Using a sugar-coated fork, make an “x” on the top of each cookie, gently press and flatten just slightly as you do so.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes depending on elevation and oven - or until just barely browning on the edges and firm, but not hard and crispy.


Cool on cookie sheet several minutes until firm enough to remove with spatula. Cool on wire baking rack.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

how many do these make??

katiejayne said...

These cookies are great! I made them when I was feeling blue yesterday and they were super quick and easy to make. And tasty too!! Thank you for posting.

Sharifah, Your Noble Chef said...

Great recipe! My daughter made a big batch for our family and they only lasted a day! Thanks for sharing.

Sharifah, Your Noble Chef said...

Great recipe! My daughter made a big batch and they only lasted a day! Thanks for sharing.

J said...

Stumbled across this recipe thanks to Google. Loved the recipe, but the vinegar gave the cookies a tanginess I don't really like in a peanut butter cookies. I will definitely be using your recipe again, just without the vinegar :)

J said...

Stumbled across this recipe thanks to Google. Loved the recipe, but the vinegar gave the cookies a tanginess I don't really like in a peanut butter cookies. I will definitely be using your recipe again, just without the vinegar :)

Tofu Mom (AKA Tofu-n-Sprouts) said...

The vinegar reacts with the baking powder to help the cookies rise and be more "cake-y", much like an egg would. You can make them without, but the texture will be different. Maybe try it with slightly less?

Unknown said...

I have been looking for the perfect vegan peanut butter cookie recipe for a long time... This one is almost perfect. I understand the whole vinegar/baking powder thing, but it truly does leave a slight sour/tang to the cookie. I didn't even tell my family that I put vinegar in them, and they were all, "they're pretty good, but they're kinda sour"...The rest of the recipe is awesome, and I will definitely make these again using 1/2 the vinegar called for. Thank you! :)