Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

I originally wanted to post this recipe for a Thanksgiving treat because I thought the cookies looked like Pilgrim hats. Well guess who ran out of time and is now posting them in December ?! Have no fear, Christmas cookie time is here!

This is my first gluten free post as I haven’t experimented a whole lot in the land of almond flour etc., and I must admit that I’ve tried a few gluten free mixes, and I was not at all impressed. In fact, anything that I had tried prior to this recipe was downright awful. I suggest not purchasing any pre-made mixes and just baking from scratch. I don’t know what it was, but some of the items I even tried from bakeries left me spitting them out like a baby trying mushed peas for the first time . YUCK!

But this recipe is a life-saver. It’s so good, even my husband ate a few handfuls of these cookies…and I (ahem) may have finished the rest of the batch… I’ll never fit into single-digit sized pants again! That’s because gluten free does not mean calorie free, and most of the time, gluten free items contain many more calories than their flour-laden counterparts. Ok ok, throwing in Reese’s peanut butter cups probably didn’t help. But they were so, so, so worth it! Trust me.

They could technically be considered vegan IF you use vegan chocolate. Huzzah!

You will need:

A few cookie sheets and wire cooling racks

Parchment paper

Large mixing bowl

Small microwaveable bowl

Wooden spoon and whisk

Measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients:

1 & 1/2 cups almond flour
3 Tablespoons coconut flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
3 Tablespoons peanut butter
¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini baking chocolate chips (vegan chocolate chips optional)
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Minis
sea salt for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º F

In your large bowl, combine the two flours, the soda, and salt.

In the small microwaveable bowl, place the coconut oil and peanut butter, and microwave for 10 second at a time until melted and smooth/liquid-y.

Remove small bowl from microwave and add the syrup and vanilla. Stir to combine completely.

Add the wet ingredients of the small bowl, to the dry ingredients of the large bowl.

Stir to combine – dough will be heavy and thick.

Stir chocolate chips into the dough.

Turn out dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten into a disc with your hands.

Place sheet into freezer for 15 minutes.

Remove from freezer and pinch dough off in 1 1/2 inch pieces and roll into balls.
Place evenly onto parchment lined sheet.

Using the bottom of a glass or measuring up, press each ball gently until just flattened.

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Sprinkle raw cookies with sea salt and place in oven.

Bake for 11 minutes or until they turn a nice, golden, toasty brown.

Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes and place Reese’s mini peanut butter cups squarely and gently in the center of each cookie. They will still be warm, so if you press the cups too hard they will melt into the cookie.