Flourless Peanut Butter & Smores Cookies (vegan & gluten-free)

This recipe is so good and so easy! These chewy, soft, delicious, gluten-free and vegan cookies are the perfect thing to make to wow your friends! I used a recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies from Angela Liddon's second "Oh She Glows" cookbook and got creative to modify them into smores cookies. Simple, quick, and delicious!



Ingredients for 12 cookies:

1 tablespoon flax meal (ground flax seeds)
3 tablespoons water
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats (potentially more to add later)
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (such as Trader Joe's or Enjoy Life brand)
1/2 cup natural smooth peanut butter, unsalted and unsweetened (potentially more to add later)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
handful of vegan marshmallows (such as Trader Joe's or Dandies brand - gelatin-free), sliced with a knife or broken apart with your hands into small chunks
optional - 2 tablespoons maple syrup

To make nut-free, sub peanut butter can be swapped for sunflower butter. If you don't have a nut allergy but want to switch it up, feel free to try out almond or cashew butter too.

I didn't try this (but might next time!).. you can add graham cracker crumbles as well but it will not be GF

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add flax and water to a large bowl and mix together. Let sit for 5 minutes until thick.

Add coconut, oats, sugar, baking powder, and sea salt and mix with your hands until well combined. Add chocolate chips, peanut butter (stir well in the container so it's even before adding to the batter), vanilla and continue mixing. Add the marshmallow chunks until they're well distributed throughout the batter. You can add more if needed.

Taste test your batter and see how it tastes. If it needs to be sweeter, add a little maple syrup. Mine was really good as is and I did not need any extra sweetener but you can adjust this to taste. If your batter is too dry, add a little more peanut butter and if it's too moist add more oats.

On a cookie sheet, or on a silicone baking mat like I use (it's great because you don't have to spray it and things won't stick-- plus easy to clean!) make 12 round balls with your hands out of the dough and slightly flatten on the cookie sheet or mat. They should be slightly spaced apart but they can be sort of close because they won't expand or spread very much. You may find that you loose chocolate chips from the batter as you make the cookie balls, and if this happens you can just stick them into the cookies with your hands once they're on the mat. You can also add a few marshmallow chunks into the sides and tops of the cookies if you need to, both so all your cookies have a few even chunks in them and for aesthetics. Exposed marshmallows will expand slightly during the baking process.

Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before removing. Cookies should be soft and chewy when done, and extras should be covered and stored in an airtight container or wrapped in foil in the fridge to maintain consistency for a few days. Can also be stored long-term in the freezer.