Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies. (Gluten/Grain/Egg/Sugar/Starch Free. Vegan with a Paleo Option).

Is there anything better than a classic peanut butter cookie? Rich with flavor and just slightly crumbly.

Its been a few years since I have had a really good peanut butter cookie.

Most recipes online are either a) made with grain and sugar or b) are flourless but use an egg or starch as the binder so that the cookies actually bake through.

None of those options work for my dietary needs.. so I made myself forget about my favorite cookie.

Fast forward to now, about a year later and my baking skills have come to the place that I have a strong enough understanding of the grain free flours to make a recipe mimic the exact taste and texture that I want.  I have gotten enormous amounts of positive feedback for my recently posted Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies.  I felt ready to tackle my ultimate favorite.

The first batch I made today turned out awesome! But they weren’t exactly what I wanted- I spent all day nitpicking the recipe and after 6 batches I finally landed the cookie of my dreams.  Cookies that I can actually eat, and that taste just as good (if not better) than my favorite cookie of the past.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

• 1 packed Cup Blanched Almond Flour 
• 1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 Cup Smooth Or Crunchy Peanut Butter (see note below for substitutions)
• 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar (I used Erythritol- see note below for additional substations)
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 Tsp salt (use up to 1/2 tsp if using unsalted peanut butter).
• 2 Tbs Room Temperature Butter.   (Earth Balance, Goats Butter, Shortening or Coconut Oil)
• (Optional) 1 bar of Dairy Free Chocolate Chopped into Chunks (see substitution note below)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large cookie sheet with a baking mat or sheet of parchment.
2. In a bowl combine all ingredients (except for chocolate). Use either a stand mixer, food processor or by hand (you’ll need a little muscle power, but mixing by hand is possible.). Mix until dough comes together. Stir in optional chopped chocolate chunks.
3. Equally divide dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece in your hands into a round / flat patties (I made mine about 1  inch thick and about 2 inches wide).
4. Place on baking sheet and gently press down with a fork to make the classic criss-cross pattern. Place into oven and bake 15-16 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and allow the cookies to cool for at least 1 hour before removing them from the tray and eating (otherwise they will crumble into a million pieces.) The longer you allow them to cool the better they will hold together! To speed up this cooling process you can stick your tray of cookies in the freezer until nice and chilled.

Recipe & Substitution Notes (PLEASE READ)

• For the Peanut Butter I used a  thin and awesome salted unsweetened peanut butter from Trader Joe’s. Its thin enough that it gently drips  off the spoon if you tip the spoon up. This consistency is important in order for the recipe to work properly. You want a texture thats similar to the unhealthy peanut butters out there like Peter Pan.  If your peanut butter is thick you might try stirring a little oil in to thin it so that it becomes easier to stir. NOTE: That if you add too much oil your cookies will spread in the oven much more than mine have in the picture! So be cautious to only add the tiniest amount that you need to thin the nut/seed butter out. 
• If you can’t eat peanuts use another nut or seed butter of your choice. Remember to add a little oil if needed.
• Peanuts are not considered paleo, so you can use another nut or seed butter, if it is your dietary choice to do so.
• Instead of blanched almond flour feel free to use another homemade nut or seed flour. Sunflower seed flour reacts to baking soda and powder and turns green if you surpass a certain amount of baking powder per cup of flour. (I don’t know what this exact amount is and will be toying with this in the future.) This is something to be aware of if you try using homemade sunflower seed flour, in the case of this recipe it should not matter as the chocolate would cover up the green color anyways . If the idea of this freaks you out- then try using less baking powder in the recipe than I have called for.
• To make your own Nut or Seed flour: simply run the nut or seed in a high powdered blender or coffee grinder until you have a super fine flour. (If the flour is course- the recipe might not work as well.) If you flour is course, then be aware that your cookies are going to spread more.
• Coconut flour or any of the starchy grain based flours will NOT work in this recipe. Only use other Nut/Seed flours.
• The 1/2 cup of granulated sugar can be ANY variety. Cane, Sucanat, Coconut Palm Sugar etc. To make this recipe SUGAR FREE use xylitol or erythritol. I have become a huge fan of the Truvia Baking Blend made out of erythritol and is available at most grocery stores. It works spectacular in all of my cookie recipes.  Please do not use a liquid sugar unless you are up for some experimentation. 
• For the Chocolate: I used a bar of Simply Light sugar free/ dairy free  dark chocolate. It can be found at Trader Joes or Whole foods. Any bar of chocolate can be used in this recipe.. additionally you can always just use allergen free chocolate chips or chunks from Enjoy Life.
• PLEASE follow these guidelines if you would like the recipe to work- making other changes will result in different results. Experiment at your own risk.

-Brittany-