Who knew such simple, wholesome ingredients could yield the most tender, buttery-tasting peanut butter cookies ever? The fact that they are made with only 7 nutritious pantry ingredients and happen to be vegan and gluten-free doesn’t hurt, either! 
You knew it was only a matter of time before I shared another peanut butter recipe. Hopefully you’re happy about it. I know I am. Let’s do this!
Peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract get swirled together to make the luscious, creamy base for these cookies. I used crunchy peanut butter because I like to take a walk on the wild side every once in a while. I liked the little crunchy bits of peanuts in these cookies, though I’ve made them with creamy peanut butter about 27 times, so I’d say you’re golden either way. You could even make these with almond butter or cashew butter, but let’s not get carried away. It is Friday after all.
The dry ingredients consist of oat flour, baking powder, and salt. That’s it, really. You can even make the oat flour yourself if you have oats and a blender/food processor/coffe grinder. Stir the whole shebang together, eat 9 sample bites of dough, and portion whatever’s left onto a cookie sheet with a mini ice cream scoop. You might get 16 cookies. You might get 10 cookies. This all depends on the amount of dough you sacrifice to the peanut butter gods before baking them. Did I mention you’re going to want to double this recipe? 
These cookies are fast, easy, and so satisfying. Other than the fact that I’m telling you right now, you’d never know they are butterless because these babies taste so buttery! I’d equate their texture to a shortbread cookie, in that they are tender and a little crumbly. They also might be a little bit magical because every time I make them they seem to disappear faster than humanly possible. 
One afternoon I made a big bowl of chocolate banana ice cream and was about to crumble a few cookies on top when I had a revelation: ice cream sandwiches!! I’m sharing those in a few days, so you may want to make a quadruple batch of these cookies right now. It’ll be worth the wait; I promise. Heck, you could even stick a dozen of them in the freezer right now so you’re ready to turn them into ice cream sandwiches ASAP. That’s what I would do if I was you. If you make these cookies, I want to hear about them! Leave a comment below or tag me #bakedgreens on Instagram so I can see all your cookies! Happy weekend, friends!
Peanut Butter Oat Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all-natural peanut butter the kind that's just peanuts and salt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3 Tablespoons room temperature coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups oat flour can be made at home by grinding oats in a blender
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper; set aside.
- 2. Combine peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add all remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly to combine.
- 3. Portion cookies onto prepared pan with a small ice cream scoop (or use a cereal spoon and aim for even scoops). Flatten cookies by making a crosshatch with a fork (smoosh with fork in one direction, turn fork and smoosh in the other direction). Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until just starting to brown.
- 4. Let cookies cool on the pan, then eat! Leftovers can be kept at room temperature for up to 5 days, or frozen for long-term storage.
Notes
Um, yeah. You’re gonna want to come back on Sunday because these ice cream sandwiches are UNREAL.