There’s just something about a really good peanut butter cookie. Seeing as this is my fourth cookie recipe on the blog featuring peanut butter, it’s safe to say that it’s one of my all time favorite treats. These are the kind of peanut butter cookies you just love taking a bite out of. They’re thick, dense, buttery on the outside, and melt in your mouth… the sort of cookie you can really sink your teeth into. And of course they’re loaded with mouth-watering sweet and salty peanut butter flavor. All that, and just six ingredients, no oil, and of course no dairy or eggs.

It wouldn’t be a FYB recipe if I didn’t try to make these a bit healthier than the average  sugar- and butter- loaded PB cookie. And you know me, I like to sneak an unexpected ingredient in my recipes from time to time. I was inspired to play around with ingredients after making a batch of these cookies from my favorite vegan blogger Kathy Patalsky. Hers featured bananas and chickpea flour, and were amazing, as are all her recipes. I loved the texture! While they were delicious, I sometimes don’t like my desserts to taste like banana. Don’t get me wrong, I love banana ice cream and putting bananas in all kinds of goodies, but occasionally I like to go banana-less. So I decided to test out an ingredient I’ve used in cookies before, that works beautifully in place of banana.

Hello mashed sweet potato! It really works like a charm, with little to no discernible flavor. In fact, you can play around with different sweet potato varieties, as some are sweeter and more neutral in flavor than others. I also tested a few different flours and sweeteners, and oat flour and a vegan brown sugar/coconut sugar combination yielded the best, most scrumptious peanut butter cookies! I’ve included some variations, but for the best results, use the recommended ingredients and amounts.

For an even easier treat (and this one-bowl recipe is pretty easy already) try rolling the cookie dough into small balls, flattening with a fork if desired, and storing in the freezer, for the most delicious no-bake peanut butter cookie dough bites. If you love cookie dough, then by all means, forgo the oven. This dough is completely safe to eat unbaked.

I just know you’re going to love these. My daughter and I have eaten quite a few, and we’re still not tired of them! Grab a cold glass of almond milk and sink your teeth into a perfect peanut butter cookie. Or three.

Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies – vegan and gluten free

makes 10-12

• 1/2 cup peanut butter (I used smooth, but chunky would be good too!)
• 1/3 cup mashed sweet potato, cooled (I roasted mine in the oven, skin on, until very soft and then scooped out the flesh, mashed it very well and allowed it to cool)
• 5 tbsp granulated sweetener (I recommend using half vegan brown sugar and half coconut sugar)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla – optional
• 1/2 cup oat flour, finely milled (I make mine in a Vitamix with rolled oats, so it comes out very fine, otherwise use store-bought, as using course oat flour will affect the texture)
• extra coconut sugar for rolling, optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat.
2. Mix all ingredients except oat flour in a large bowl. Stir well. Add in the oat flour and mix until well combined. Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to scoop out the dough into balls. Roll the balls in a little coconut sugar, if desired, and then use a fork to flatten slightly.
3. Bake for about 13-15 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on the pan for at least 15 minutes.

Notes:

I also tried these with an GF all-purpose flour blend, they turned out ok, but not as tasty as the oat flour. If making them for cookie dough, do NOT use the GF flour blend as it tastes terrible unbaked.

You can use all brown sugar or all coconut sugar, or another granulated sweetener of choice. Using all coconut sugar with no brown sugar will yield a less sweet and chewy cookie.

For THE BEST tasting cookies, wait several hours before eating them. I stored mine in a lidded container, and they were even more sweet, soft, chewy, and flavorful a few hours later.