Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Baking with just plant-based foods can be tricky at times and has required quite a bit of experimentation on my part.  Sometimes, a recipe turns out really well, though, and is worth sharing.  Livia, our 5-year-old, wanted to make some cookies yesterday afternoon, so I decided to modify a "Crisco" peanut butter cookie recipe ( I like Crisco for the occasional piecrust, because it turns out so flaky, but otherwise, it isn't a fat I would recommend for baking). 

Karlie's Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

3/4 c. creamy, all-natural peanut butter
1/4 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. applesauce
1 c. loosely packed brown sugar
1/4 c. white, granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. soymilk (or other dairy-free milk)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/8 c. of very warm water + 1 Tbsp. Ener-G egg replacer (beat together until it is the consistency of very stiff egg whites)
1 c. white, all-purpose flour
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (or less, if desired)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine peanut butter, coconut oil, applesauce, brown and white sugars, soymilk, vanilla, and egg replacer mixture in a large bowl.  Whisk together until thoroughly combined.  Combine flours, baking soda, and salt.  Add all at once to the wet mixture and stir together with a spoon until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.  Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet (or put parchment paper on the cookie sheet and give it a light spray with canola oil cooking spray).  Flatten slightly in a crisscross pattern with tines of a fork.  Bake one cookie sheet at a time for 8-9 minutes, or until set and just beginning to brown.  Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet.  Remove cookies to cooking racks to cool completely.

Makes 2-3 dozen cookies (depending on the size of cookie).

Note:  Vegan chocolate chips mixed in at the end before baking would be wonderful in this recipe.  (I didn't have any on hand, or I would have put them in this time around.) 

This was super easy to make, bake, and the whole family loved them.  We'll definitely be making these cookies again!