Gluten Free
Vegan
Chocolate combined with peanut butter, is there anything better? That’s why these dark chocolate peanut butter cup cookies are going to become your new favorite cookie recipe! These delicious cookies are gluten free, vegan, have allergy friendly options, and you only need one bowl and a spoon; no mixer required! This super simple recipe was sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill, helping us create a season of joy and love through baking during the holidays!
Growing up, my favorite tradition was making cookies with my mom from scratch. Once or twice a month we would make chocolate chip cookies, and I would be so eager and excited to help measure the flour and watch the ingredients go in one at a time. I always got to lick the beaters which was the best part, of course!During the holidays we always made peanut butter cookies with the chocolate kisses and I would try to steal as many of those chocolate kisses as I could get my little hands on without my mom noticing. It was Christmas tradition for mom to make a huge variety of cookies and give them to her co-workers, my teachers and our friends and family as gifts!
During the holidays we always made peanut butter cookies with the chocolate kisses and I would try to steal as many of those chocolate kisses as I could get my little hands on without my mom noticing. It was Christmas tradition for mom to make a huge variety of cookies and give them to her co-workers, my teachers and our friends and family as gifts!
We all know that amazing feeling you get when you give that perfect gift to someone. But, did you know that it has been studied that baking can actually create a sense of well being for the baker, as well as, the recipient?! All the more reason to get in the kitchen and bake a gift for someone! Small acts of kindness go a long way to making the world a better place! I love that Bob’s Red Mill supports this idea and is encouraging everyone to get in the kitchen and bake a gift from the heart!
This year, I decided to make gluten free versions of my favorite cookies as my gifts to family and friends. I recognize that the holidays can often be a time of stress and always feeling rushed. Taking an hour or two to bake a gift instead of going to the store is the best way to re-center and reconnect with yourself and show your love to someone else!
I always try to make my desserts a little more nutrient dense. So, I add things like applesauce or bananas to replace some of the fat and always try to add protein powder for satiety. Let me tell you, this recipe failed miserably the first few times I attempted it! I could not get the right consistency. Luckily, I had Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour in the pantry and I was finally able to get the right consistency once I added it to the recipe. That is why I always keep Bob’s Red Mill products on hand. They are the easiest to work with, the highest quality, and create the best tasting recipes! 
If you decide to bake cookies for your family and friends as gifts, I highly encourage you to get a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour and use that in all your recipes this holiday! Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour is a 1 for 1 swap for traditional white flour so you don’t have to do any extra math or overthink any of your traditional recipes! It’s that easy to make the recipes you love gluten free! Before you head out to the store, be sure to sign up and get $1 off your next Bob’s Red Mill purchase. 
Now back to these amazing dark chocolate peanut butter cup cookies! I might have eaten the first batch in just a few days by myself (eeek!) they are seriously so addicting. We have quite a few allergies in our house and if you’re like us, simply substitute in sunflower seed butter and allergy friendly mini dark chocolate cups for a peanut free version! Additionally, since these peanut butter cup cookies are vegan, they would be the perfect gift for any of your dairy free or egg free friends and family!
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3/4 cup peanut butter
- 1 scoop vegan vanilla protein powder (30g scoop)
- 6 tbs coconut sugar
- 2 tbs butter flavored coconut oil or coconut oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup dairy free milk
- 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- 24 mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- In a large bowl combine the apple sauce, peanut butter, stir
- Add butter flavored coconut butter and dairy free milk, stir well
- Add coconut sugar, protein powder, vanilla stir well
- Add Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour and stir to incorporate
- Add the baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Spray a mini-cupcake baking pan with non-stick spray.
- Using a 1 tablespoon, scoop in 1 tbs. of the batter and shape it into a ball with your hand. Drop them into each of the mini muffin tin, until you run out of batter
- Use your thumb, press down on each of the peanut butter cookies to make a space to drop in the mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Do not push all the way to the bottom, just enough space for the dark chocolate peanut butter cup to fit
- Add a dark chocolate peanut butter cups to each of the cookies
- Bake in the oven for 12 minutes
Nutrition
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill.
Miz Helen
Your Peanut Butter Cup Cookies look amazing! Hope you have a fantastic week and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
Merry Christmas
Miz Helen
Veronica Lee
Yummm! These look delish!
Tracy
These look delicious! Any idea what I could sub in for the protein powder? Just more flour?
Samantha
Hi Tracey, Since the protein powder adds both denseness and sweetness to the cookies, you will most likely need to add more flour and additional sweetener like stevia.