I haven’t made peanut butter cookies in years but I have a good reason. The last time I made a healthy peanut butter cookie I used freshly ground peanuts. Unfortunately, the nut butter they produced was dense and blew the motor on my hand mixer.

My recent attempt to make peanut butter cookies fared much better and was less dramatic. It was labor intensive, however. I had to try the recipe several times because it made a doughy, dry biscuit and not a rich, chewy cookie. The recipe was already vegan so that required no alterations. The changes to the cookie ended up being less about making it high altitude and more to making it chewy while enhancing the peanut flavor.

The final cookie was chewy with a pronounced peanut flavor. To achieve that I removed the brown rice syrup and used light brown sugar instead, while using more peanut butter and less flour. For higher altitude I added more liquids and used less baking soda. It took three tries but I think I finally got it.

Peanut Butter Cookies adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero
3 TBS plain soymilk
1 TBS ground flaxseeds
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup creamy salted peanut butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the soymilk, flaxseeds and vanilla extract. Let sit for a few minutes. Stir in the agave syrup, brown sugar, canola oil and peanut butter.
In another bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda and salt. Mix into the peanut butter mixture. Roll walnut-sized balls of dough with your hands and drop onto the baking sheets. Flatten slightly with your hand, then use a fork to press a crosshatch pattern onto the tops of the cookies. Bake for 12-13 minutes, until the edges are golden. Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies

After baking this recipe several times for adaptations, I may actually be tired of peanut butter cookies. At least that means I will save a few for freezing.

Until next time, happy baking!