Peanut Butter Cookie Heaven - Post 17

One of my favorite cookies from childhood were peanut butter cookies with the hershey's kiss in the center. I used to enjoy eating them when they were warm from the oven, right after the kiss was pushed in and it had a chance to melt. The cookies were always so rich in peanut butter and the mix with the chocolate made them a favorite treat of mine. Like many people, chocolate and peanut butter among my favorite sweet combinations. 

When fall arrives, I begin thinking of these cookies. I am not sure why I have an association of these cookies with fall. Maybe I ate them at Halloween parties or after school started. Whatever the reason, they usually pop into my head. Since I cannot go out and buy hershey's kisses any longer as they are not vegan, and from what I remember they were not that good, I decided to try a different route. Dark chocolate, or semi sweet, vegan chocolate chips proved to be a great substitute for the kiss. 

The recipe below makes about 20 to 25 small cookies. This recipe can be easily doubled to make more. For the peanut butter, the only ingredient is peanuts as I purchase it in bulk and grind it at the store. I have not tried this recipe from peanut butter purchased in a jar, but would be interested to know if anyone tries them with jarred peanut butter. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

• 1 c creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 c vegan sugar plus extra for rolling the cookies
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Egg replacer for one egg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 c vegan chocolate chips (make sure they don't have malted barley as it isn't GF)

Set the oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking liners. In a large mixing bowl mix the peanut butter, salt, and 3/4 c sugar. Blend. Add egg replacer, baking powder, and vanilla- stir well. Place 1 tbs of dough in your hand and flatten, place several chips in the center and roll the dough into a ball so that the chips are in the center. Roll the ball of dough into the sugar and place on baking sheet. Repeat with the remainder of the dough. 

Using a fork and flatten the cookie then rotate the fork 90 degrees and make another indent in the cookies. Bake cookies for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheets for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy warm or cooled!