A lot of people in my life have been trying to cut down on the amount of processed sugars, wheat, and/or gluten in their diets. I’m always excited and interested in baking experiments, and want everyone to be able to have a treat, so I decided to bake some cookies that my friends could eat. I knew that one of them specifically loves peanut butter cookies, and another loves peanut butter in any form, so I decided that more peanut butter baking was the way to go. Usually when I bake gluten-free desserts, I use a mix of rice flour and almond meal, but having neither on hand, I had to get creative. I made a mix of gluten-free flours that was very nutty, and was a little worried that the cookies would turn out too heavy and dense. I used coconut flour and quinoa flour (both protein packed!) and threw in some tapioca flour to lighten it up. In the end, I decided that the coconut flour really complimented the PB very well, so I’m glad I went with that. The cookies were not too heavy and they were chewy just the way a regular peanut butter cookie should be.
While coming up with the recipe, I realized that I’ve never actually baked using agave as my primary sweetener. I planned to use it this time, but when looking through my cupboards I happened to have some dried dates in the house, and had seen some recipes using date paste as a sweetener, so I decided to mix the two in this recipe. I think they gave the cookies a really nice natural flavor, yet they didn’t make them taste too “healthy”.
The cookies had a great reception (and they were even appreciated by friends who eat regular sugar- and wheat gluten-laden desserts! Some even said they couldn’t taste the difference).
Ingredients:
*This recipe makes 2 dozen cookies
Wet Mix:
1/2 cup plain unsweetened applesauce
2 Tblsp. coconut oil, melted
1 cup unsweetened, natural, peanut butter (try to use a kind where the oil doesn’t separate out)
3/4 cup dried pitted dates
1/2 cup medium agave
1 1/2 tsp. Ener-G egg replacer powder + 2 Tblsp. warm water, blended till frothy
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
Dry Mix:
1 1/3 cup coconut flour
1 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup quinoa flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/3 tsp. salt
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line your cookie pan with a silpat baking sheet.
Place about 3/4 cup dates in a bowl of boiling water, and set aside for a few minutes.
In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Set aside.
Pour out the hot water from the bowl of dates, and place dates in a blender along with about 1/3 cup of new water. Blend on high until it forms a paste (add a little more water if needed).
In a medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Pour into the dry mix and stir with a large wooden spoon. You may have to work the dough with your hands in order to fully combine all ingredients.
Shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and place the balls on your prepared pan 1-2 inches apart (these cookies will not spread).
Slightly flatten the dough with a fork in a cross-hatch pattern.
Bake 11-13 minutes. Let cookies sit on pan for 5 minutes to set, and then remove with a spatula and cool on wire racks.
Cookies and Candids 
uhhh
this is amazing.
beats eating peanut butter out of the jar. which is what i’ve been doing lately. although sometimes it’s fun too.
yum!
that looks awesome!
I had never seen quinoa flour before–is it bob’s red mill?
Here, they have Quinoa EVERYTHING. I’ve been making soy/quinoa/banana/avocado shakes. AMAZING…
…the shitty part is that good old globalization has made quinoa too expensive for lower and lower-middle class Bolivians, so the healthiest grain which used to be super cheap and easily available isn’t, and people are eating more wheat and corn flour, which have a zillion times less nutritional value…
gotto love globalization…
Hey Jesse. It’s not Bob’s Red Mill brand (but they sell quinoa flour too). This one was from Ancient Harvest. When you make a shake with quinoa in it, what form is it in? The regular cooked grain blended up?
haha… well, I guess the translation isn’t great, but it’s a powder. It is called ‘Instant Quinua’… it says it’s good for: ‘brain health, correcting the stomach, eliminating anemia, calcificating the bones, against malnutrition’, and it ‘contains vitamins A, B, B1, B2 and Minerals Ca, P, Fe, I’… I just realized that oddly, there is no ingredients list… I’m kinda guessing that it’s actually just quinoa flour but this stuff is sold all over the place by different companies. It also says that to make a refreshing drink, put a spoonful of the powder in a liter of water and add sugar to taste…
and last but not least, there’s a ton of really healthy and natural grains like Quinoa here… I just don’t know how to use them at all (they also sell quinoa candy bars, which come in the form of quinoa grain stuck together with something –don’t know what– and covered in chocolate… mmmmmmmmm)
am I “loves peanut butter in any form” ?
🙂
Yes you are! ❤
Look delicious! I am defo going to try these
woot woot. perhaps that should be my new middle name. Talia loves PB Cooper. or Talia love PB and Tessa Cooper. hmmmm…. i’ll have to play with the wording.
haha. You’re so good with words and brainstorming, I’m sure you’ll think of something fantastic!