Cookies make me happy.
These homemade peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies taste like the love child of a gingerbread man and a jar of Skippy.
Please don’t try to picture that in your mind. 😕
Try one and you’ll be smiling all day. People will start to wonder about you. Why are you smiling like that? And of course you can answer:
I just like to smile.
Smiling’s my favorite.
Or you could tell them the truth: you’re smiling because you just made a batch of super-delicious chocolate peanut butter gingerbread cookies and are keeping them all for yourself. But be warned that if you go this route, they’ll expect you to share. So honesty might not be the best policy.
Initially these were to be gingerbread cookies with a hint of peanut butter. However, they turned out awesomely peanut buttery and have just an allusion of gingerbread flavor.
Peanut Butter Gingerbread Chocolate Chunk Cookies
(Peanut Butter Christmas Cookies)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter – or Sunbutter, almond butter, or cashew butter (110g)
- 1/2 tsp powdered ginger – less if you only want a slight gingerbread flavor
- 1/3 cup Sucanat – You can sub regular brown sugar; it just won’t be nearly as gingerbread-y (45g)
- pinch stevia or 1 extra tbsp of the sucanat or sugar
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3 tbsp flour (spelt, white, ww pastry, and Bob’s gf all-purpose all work) (24g)
- tiny pinch of salt if desired (I add 1/16 tsp and use Whole Foods peanut butter, which is salted)
- 2-4 tbsp chocolate chunks, or chips, or broken-up chocolate bar
- 2 tbsp applesauce (30g)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (4g)
In a mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir very well. Put the peanut butter in a separate bowl (and if it is from the fridge, heat it until you can more-easily stir it), then add the applesauce and vanilla to the pb bowl and stir well. Combine the two bowls, and stir to form a dough, then squish into balls with your hands. Chill the balls at least thirty minutes in the fridge or ten in the freezer, during which time you are preheating the oven to 350F. Then cook 8 minutes. They will look quite underdone when they come out, but that’s ok: let them cool and do not touch for at least another 10 minutes. For soft cookies, store in a plastic container. For crispier cookies, store in a glass container. Makes 12-16 cookies.
View Peanut Butter Cookies Nutrition Facts
Link Of The Day:
These were SOOOO yummeh! Your recipe made three bakery-size cookies for me. I’d say let them rest at least 2-3 hours before eating so that the peanut butter and ginger can get to know each other. Otherwise both flavors are strongly pronounced and very individual. The texture…you’d never, ever know these were vegan. EXACT same texture my ginger cookies had at my old job, except mine had butter and eggs in them. The peanut butter is a great addition. I think I’d also add a few Tbsp. of molasses to these, maybe cutting back on the peanut butter a bit? That would give them a whole new flavor dimension (leaving out the chocolate chips in that version probably). But these are amazing as-is. Thanks for sharing, I posted them to my instagram and my Facebook. 😀 (and pinned)
looks wonderful, i haven’t yet tried any of your recipes, i’m so tempted to try the chickpeas blondies, maybe after the holidays, need to indulge NOW. 🙂
Just pulled them out of the oven… I think these might be my favorite cookies EVER! So freaking tasty! I used almond butter, the brown sugar, and vegan chocolate chips. Delish!
Katie, I’m one of your new biggest fans! Thanks for this.
I also write for a couple blogs, one is health and fitness related. I just featured your pecan pie
https://momswhotriblog.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/once-a-year/
Well, Katie… these just look INSANELY good. And I love your ELF quote. I say that a lot, along with “It’s very purple-y.”
My favorite holiday movie is Christmas Vacation!!
Elf and the 3 Santa Clauses are my favourite Christmas movies too! I watch them every year, sometimes multiple times!
These cookies look delicious! I can’t wait to try making them. =) As for my favorite holiday movie, I can’t seem to decide. There are so many!
These look scrumptious. I have to admit that one movie that really reminds me of Christmas is Home Alone. I can’t wait for my kids to get older and watch that with them. Also anything James Bond reminds me of Christmas because in England they are shown over and over on public holidays, not so much here in Aus.
Hey! This looks amazing! I have everything I need except for the applesauce!!! Do you think I can make it without the applesauce and it will still turn out okay?
I just made these and they are delicious! Forgot to pick up ginger on my way home, subbed cardamon and cinnamon instead. Katie, do you squish the dough balls with a fork before baking? Mine came out like puffballs (yummy, but crumbly) and I’m assuming I missed that critical step 🙂