Vegan Peanut-Butter Cookies

This week I have been incredibly busy, apparently finishing a doctorate is not easy! Between presentations, essays, literature reviews, and work it’s hard to find a minute in the day! This week has also been challenging because my favourite person (bf) has been away and so for his return today I planned a special meal with an even more special dessert. In fact this dessert was designed for two people in my life that I was missing this weekend. 

 

One of my bf’s favourite flavours is peanut-butter and therefore this weekend I found a peanut butter cup ice-cream to finish off the delicious dinner I planned for his return. However ice-cream alone does not a dessert make and therefore I decided to make a few peanut butter cookies to be gently heated and go with the ice-cream and of course the only way was peanut butter.

Now since they were going to be peanut flavoured I knew that I could also make this recipe for another important person that I really missed this weekend and who has a particular penchant for peanuts, so hopefully she enjoys the recipe and maybe we can make it together this Christmas. This, however necessitated the cookies to be vegan. They are not only vegan but also wheat free, not that many people need that! So actually these cookies are kind of healthy, although not very and whatever you do………..don’t tell my boyfriend!!

 The cookies are crispy on the outside and have a delicious crumb (to sound all Mary Berry on you!). They are intensely peanut flavoured with a little sweetness although if you prefer them sweeter, feel free to increase the sugar by about 50%. They went perfectly with the ice-cream but I can also imagine them going excellently with coffee! And……………. they go with the ice-cream two ways, so read to the end! 

Vegan Peanut-butter Cookies (Gluten free, in case you’re celiac) (adapted from thebigmansworld.com)

250g Peanut-Butter (Chunky or Smooth, your choice)

100g brown sugar

100g white sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax seeds with 3 tbsp water, allowed to sit for 15 mins)

75g ground almonds

50g 70% dark chocolate chips (more if you want)

11.      Prepare your flax eggs and preheat the oven to 170’C/325'F/Gas mark 3.

2

22.       Add the sugar and whisk until light and frothy

3

33.       Add the peanut-butter and stir.

4

44.       Finally add the almond and dark chocolate and stir everything together

5

55.       Form into little balls and then flatten, then bake for 15 minutes but keep an eye on them.

6

66.       They are done when they have browned around the edges then allow to cool. They will get    

         firmer as they cool

    

    Alternatively you can make cookie dough for ice-cream, since they can be eaten raw w/o issue!!!

1.       Form into tiny balls and then flatten on a plate.

2.       Put the plate into the freezer.

3.       Add to ice-cream for a cookie dough sensation!!!

Fluffer-nutter Blondies - my love affair with marshmallow continues

The heat is on around here the last week or so. I hesitate to call it a heat-wave because the temperature hasn't really gone above 30'. However, everyone is feeling it, mostly because it never really heats up here. Whenever it does I am reminded of living in the states during the summer. The heat, the humidity, the sound of crickets and the glow of fireflies. I'm even nostalgic for the hum of the air-conditioning and the whir of the fan. During the height of the summer in America I slept with both the air-con and the fan on, which when combined with the crickets and the constant purring of my little furry friend mad for some noisy nights, but I loved it!! Nowadays I sometime replicate that sound with noise maker apps on hot summer nights and I sleep like a baby.

So with the combination of heat and humidity this week and the opportunity to attend a party in the house of someone who grew up state side, I knew I would have to bake something truly evocative of that fascinating nation. I found inspiration in the blog of not your mommas cookie but decided to go with a different recipe for ease of handling and the outcome was somewhat addictive.

Wanna bite?

To make these I started with a basic blondie recipe and then added reeses peanut chips and mini marshmallows to give the fluffernutter flavour. Other recipes call for peanut butter in the batter but I find that peanut butter is such a strong flavour that it overpowers the whole blondie. However the affect of the chip is that some bites taste of peanut butter while others have that delicious treacle essence of brown sugar.

Fluffer-nutter Blondies

300g soft brown sugar
300g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
110g unsalted butter
4 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla essence
90g mini marshmallows
85g peanut butter chips

To decorate
Marshmallow fluff
chopped peanut brittle/chopped peanuts

1. Preheat the oven to 170'.
2. Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth
3. In a separate bowl sieve together the flour, salt and baking powder.
4. Add the egg yolks and vanilla to the butter and sugar, beat together
5. Beat in the flour mixture.
6. Once the dough is smooth, add the marshmallows and beat vigorously.
7. Add the chips and beat one final time.

8. Line a bread tin with greaseproof paper and spread the dough evenly
9. Bake for 50 minutes, remove, slice, seperate the slices and then bake again for another 10 minutes

10. Cool on a wire wrack before decorating with marshmallow fluff and peanut bits.

11. Oh...............and enjoy =)