First off, I caved and joined twitter. So if you want to know what spices I am running low on, today is your lucky day. OK, now I’ll make with the cookies.
It seems that Peanut Butter Pillows won this battle, but the war still rages and I’ll post a few more of your recipe requests in the next few weeks. Right now, though, let’s get down to business. This recipe come straight from the ska checkered oven mitted hands of Terry Hope Romero.
Chocolate and peanut butter fans will totally stalk you once they get a bite of these classic chocolately cookies with a heart of sweet and salty peanut butter. We can’t deny impatience is rewarded here: these cookies when eaten warm just a few minutes out of the oven are dynamite. We use black cocoa powder because we happen to have it, but dutch processed or even regular cocoa powder would be A-OK.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Pillows
makes 2 dozen cookies
Chocolate dough:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons non-dairy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder
2 tablespoons black unsweetened cocoa or more dutch processed unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling:
3/4 cup natural salted peanut butter, crunchy or creamy style
2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons soy creamer or non-dairy milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a large mixing bowl combine oil, sugar, maple syrup, non-dairy milk and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Sift in flour, cocoa powder, black cocoa if using, baking soda and salt. Mix to form a moist dough.
Make the filling. In another mixing bowl beat together peanut butter, confectioner’s sugar, 2 tablespoons of soy creamer and vanilla extract to form a moist but firm dough. If peanut butter dough is too dry (as different natural peanut butters have different moisture content), stir in remaining tablespoon of non-dairy milk. If dough is too wet knead in a little extra powdered sugar.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line bakings sheet with parchment paper.
Shape the cookies. Create the centers of the cookies by rolling the peanut butter dough into 24 balls. Scoop a generous tablespoon of chocolate dough, flatten into a disc and place a peanut butter ball in the center. Fold the sides of the chocolate dough up and around the peanut butter center and roll the chocolate ball into an smooth ball between your palms. Place on a sheet of waxed paper and repeat with remaining doughs. If desired gently flatten cookies a little, but this is not necessary.
Place dough balls on lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and let cookies for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to complete cooling. Store cookies in tightly covered container. If desired warm cookies in a microwave for 10 to 12 seconds before serving.
Dis was not easy. And they kind of looked like poos. But idk I’m stupid.
Just made these gluten free with a homemade combination oat/rice flour and cutting the sugar in half! I also used agave instead of maple syrup. They’re sooooooooo tasty!!
My family and I recently went vegan so we are still looking for good stuff and these cookies were perfect! Thank you so much…great site!
I made this tonight and it’s amazing !! I’m in love
Can you make these with almond butter instead of peanut butter?
Thank you for this divine recipe. I’m not vegan, but I made these for a vegan friend and some non-vegan friends and everybody was very pleased with them. I found the dough too oily and a bit difficult to handle – I might add more flour or ground oats to the dough next time. Refrigerating the mix helped a bit. My cooking time was longer because I don’t like soft cookies. All in all, a fabulous, delicious treat.
I made these last night and brought them to work today. I waited until people tasted them before I told them it was from a vegan recipe. Nobody could believe it. They were a hit! Thanks so much for sharing.
these were fantastic. My girlfriend and I just made a batch. Yummy. Thank you.
These were delicious! I made cookies for friends and didn’t tell everyone they were vegan, but they were a hit. Fortunately, they didn’t eat them all. They also had a great consistency and stayed fresh a week later (they were gone after that anyway). I will definitely make these again. Easy to make too. Thanks for a great recipe!
May I sub the maple syrup with something else? This would actually a great general trick to learn if someone knows how to do this with maple syrup being so expensive and not being a super common pantry ingredient. I’ve brown sugar and honey on hand. Love all yo recipes, Isa! You’re the first person I rec to friends when they turn vegan. 🙂
As if these need any more any rave comments, THESE ARE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! By far the best cookies I’ve made, vegan or not. All of my non-vegan friends love these as well and I get asked to make them ALL THE TIME. Highly recommend!! I use unsalted peanut butter myself. They come out wonderfully delicious and scrumptious. Not enough positive adjectives to describe these!
I’ve made these myself before, and ladies at the synagogue in my old town used to make them for events (!), and now I must tell you: yesterday we saw these being served (and ordered them for goodness sake!) at a vegan restaurant in Tel Aviv. You have reached the world!
Ha, that is funny!
Does using whole wheat flour instead of all purpose work well?
might i make these with coconut or another oil? canola is really not a healthy option. I tend to stay away from it.
These are the best! I’ve made them so many times by now <3
Made these for vegan guests and they are fantastic, will definitely add to the regular rotation.
For those having trouble with the chocolate dough, I found refrigerating it before shaping made it easier to work with. When it got too soft, I took a break and put it back in the fridge.
ER MAh GERD.
My roomie made these for me, and they were delicious.
BEST ROOMMATE EVAHHHHH!
#if a reese’s were a pastry #pretentious diets
I found these a few months ago and have made them numerous times! SO good.
Your style is so unique in comparison to other people I have read stuff
from. Many thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity,
Guess I’ll just book mark this site.
I just made these after lusting after them for weeks amd they turned out perfectly! I may have eaten three already… 😛
For those who end up with sticky chocolate dough, like I had:
Oil your hands. Rub some canola oil on your hands or else it’ll stick to your palms. Continuously do so after every few balls. I oiled my entire hands so I could just oil my palms by using the back of my hand. Then bake as the recipe says. Mine came out perfect pillows with no side effects from the oily palms. Makes flattening and forming the balls much easier. It’s a trick I read about from another recipe before.
I made these cookies for my friend who is vegan and she loved them! The surprising thing was that her mother who does not like anything absolutely fell in love with them and kept on sneaking them! This is my favorite go to cookie recipe for my friend!
Hello there I am so happy I found your blog, I really found you
by error, while I was browsing on Google for something
else, Regardless I am here now and would just like to say thanks a lot
for a marvelous post and a all round enjoyable blog (I also love the
theme/design), I don’t have time to browse it all at the moment but I have saved it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read more, Please do keep up the
great work.
Have you ever doubled or tripled this recipe, Isa? I’m going to make these for a cookie exchange and I need 66 cookies. Thanks!
These cookies are AMAZING! My 7 year old granddaughter and I just made them with a little “help” from her brother, my 3 year old grandson. We had a great time, they are super easy to build once the dough and the filling are created and they are delicious. I used coconut oil, Trader Joe’s natural peanut butter with no added salt or sugar and 1/2 cup regular white sugar (because i want to finish it) and 1/2 cup Florida Crystals, because they are cruelty free. Thank you for this wonderful recipe; definitely adding it to my cookie repertoire. Does it freeze well? Hope so!
Thank you so much for this recipe! These are now my go-to cookie for special events/anytime and everybody always loves them and asks for the recipe.
A small modification I make is to smash the peanut butter layer flat, add a small amount of jam, then roll that into a ball before wrapping it in the chocolate layer.
Thanks again for this and all your other recipes!
THESE ARE THE BEST COOKIES ON THE INTERNET!!! I’ve been making them for years and they are always a success!
Soooo glad I found these yummy and very addictive chocolates cookies with a soft nutty center! I made them with almond butter instead of the peanut butter and they were a hit! Thank you!
I made these cookies for a party and they were a hit! People were really impressed, asking how I got the peanut butter in there – they look very professional~ I didn’t realize they’d be kind of little labor intensive with the dough but then the baking time is very quick to make up for it. I thought they tasted best around 24 hours after making them.
We made these many, many moons ago when we had two children. I now have 4 children and am bringing them back as an ode to the fluffy, pillowy snow we are getting in April. Also, Feast Of Unleavened Bread is upon us so, no baking soda, no problem.