Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Avocado Cookies
I’ve had a huge sweet tooth lately. HUGE. Recently I’ve been just going to Pinterest, typing in “Desserts,” and seeing what happens.
Note: I do NOT recommend doing this.
Per usual, my sweet tooth hones in on two things: chocolate and peanut butter. I don’t even care what the context is; if the party includes chocolate and peanut butter, I’m there.
Take these cookies, for instance, which were the result of a few rounds of kitchen experimentation and dumb luck. I’ve been wanting to make vegan cookies for a while, but felt a bit intimidated by the idea, because there are many things to consider. To help you navigate vegan baking, here are the usual non-vegan ingredients, and their vegan solutions.
- Butter: Since butter is a dairy product, it’s clearly not vegan. Vegan cookies require a different source of fat and moisture. Solution: Earth Balance (or other buttery spread) and avocado*.
- Sugar: White sugar is often not vegan-friendly, because many US cane sugar refineries use animal bone char in the manufacturing process. Solution: Sucanat (stands for Sugar Cane Natural) is a great substitute for white sugar. It is a bit sweeter than regular sugar, so in these cookies I added extra salt to balance out the sweetness.
- Eggs: In non-vegan cookies, eggs bind the ingredients, add moisture, and add some leavening. Solution: Flax eggs for moisture and binding, and a touch of baking powder to help the cookies rise.
- Chocolate chips: Most chocolate chips are made with milk or non-vegan sugar. Solution: Buy vegan chocolate chips! Simple.
*After using avocado as a partial butter substitute for cookies last year, I knew it could do the job, but you’re probably looking at me like I’m a crazy person right now, so let’s break it down. Most importantly, these cookies do NOT taste like avocado. The avocado simply takes the place of half the butter/margarine, adds good fats, and fills the cookies with moisture and richness.
Now that we’re done with all the explanations, let’s get to the good stuff; I love a fat cookie, and these fit the bill. They’re super soft, thick, fluffy, cakey, packed with dark chocolate and peanut butter. Prrrrrfection.
I suspect that these cookies can make a believer out of anyone who is wary of vegan baked goods. The Beast, my very non-vegan coworkers, and The Beast’s mom all devoured these cookies, despite their vegan-ness. Whether you are vegan, have a friend who is vegan, or just want a slightly healthier option for your dessert cravings, you must, MUST try these.
- 1 avocado
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) vegan buttery spread (I used Earth Balance)
- ¾ cup Sucanat (sugar cane natural)
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed mixed with 5 tablespoons lukewarm water (2 flax eggs)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or use only all-purpose flour if you wish)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups vegan chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Pulse the avocado in a food processor until smooth. Meanwhile, cream the butter in a large bowl. Add the avocado to the butter, and beat on high for 2-3 minutes. At first it will look lumpy, but eventually it will be whipped and smooth. Beat in the peanut butter, then add the Sucanat, mixing until smooth.
- Pour in the flax eggs and vanilla, mixing until combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, using a spatula to wipe down the sides frequently. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Use a heaping tablespoon to scoop the batter, then roll into balls and place on a greased/parchment-lined cookie sheet. Press down lightly with your fingers on each cookie, flattening out slightly. Bake for 9 minutes. After removing from the oven, let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
Just look at these. What’s not to love? I’m kind of obsessed. For about 110 calories per cookie, I’d say that’s a smart way to kick those ridiculous dessert cravings.
Wow… looks amazing, and who knew there was avocado in these little gems! I have a chocolate cupcake recipe to try out still that uses avocado as the chocolate frosting!
I love to see “sweet” recipes that add vegetables in the ingredients, genius!
Cheers~
Thank you! I’ve seen avocado frosting recipes before and I’ve definitely been tempted, because I can eat avocado any time of day, and pretty much on anything. You’ll have to let me know how it turns out!
I love the look of these!! Yum!
I am always looking for ways to make dessert healthier because I love it so much and you have certainly done that with these cookies! My oh my, do they sound good. I will have to give these a try for sure!
These look so good & I CANNOT wait to make them! (I also could eat avocado in pretty much anything) :)
These were AWESOME! I doubled the recipe, used real eggs (we have happy ducks in the backyard!), used 1/2 cup sugar (just cause), and almond butter (’cause apparently I am out of peanut butter). Soooooo goood! Thank you! My boys chowed through them and I took them to a pool party and they were very thrilled! This recipe needed no changes, but it’s nice to see that it’s flexible!
Those sound like good changes – I LOVE almond butter. I’m glad they were a hit! :)
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This wasn’t my first time making vegan cookies, but it was my first time using avocado in a sweet. I was hoping it wouldn’t make a difference, but it really did make a difference– for the better! It made them so thick and cakey without sacrificing any softness, and I also think decreasing my typical 1:3 flax/water proportion to your 2:5 helped too. Thank you for this! I just discovered you and can’t wait to try out so much more! I’m an amateur cook/baker and a wanna-be vegan and yours is the most yummy approachable recipe compilations I’ve found. :)
How would you recommend storing them to keep them soft?
Thank you so much for the sweet comment! I’m happy you enjoyed them :) I usually store my cookies in an airtight container with a slice or two of bread – it keeps the cookies soft for days!
What a nice idea to add some avocado instead of another “greasy” ingredient !! Thanks to share !! Can’t wait to try.
These looking amazing! I will definitely be making these soon!
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Super super yummy!! i added coconut oil instead of earth balance and came out great!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I omitted the Earth Balance component completely and doubled the avocado quantity. Worked really well – the cookies are moist, soft, and NOT green :)
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Just wondering how long would these cookies last before they go off? Just so if they last long I could make a bigger batch. Thanks
Just tried this recipe. It’s my first time ever making cookies and it turned out to taste like the real thing
Some minor changes I did
1. Use 1/2 cup of brown sugar instead of 3/4
2. Replace the vegan butter with coconut oil
3. Removed the peanut butter since the coconut oil has a flavour very similar to peanut