In my opinion, the best two things ever made with peanuts (or groundnuts, as we call them here in India) are peanut butter and Indian style peanut-jaggery brittle called “chikki”. I know there are many who wouldn’t agree and I would love to know what your favourite peanut confection/ concoction is.
Cookies with peanut butter are probably as common as plain chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal cookies, and I’m sure that almost everyone who bakes has a peanut butter cookie recipe that they fall back on.
But I, who really enjoy peanut butter and usually have it in stock, have never ever made cookies with peanut butter before!
As many of you would have noticed, I have been absent from the virtual world for about a week now. I was away from Goa last weekend, and returned to find that my computer was dead! Well, it did make a couple of rather half hearted attempts at switching on before deciding the effort was too much and then died on me.
A rather sustained effort by experts in the matter finally brought my computer back to life, with a warning that they didn’t know how much more time it had.
I have decided to make the best of whatever time the computer and I have together and hope to be more consistent with all matters related to blogging.
I just accidentally discovered that today, the 24th of January, apparently is the National Peanut Butter Day (in the U.S.)! This is not to be confused with the National Peanut Butter Lovers’ Day on the 1st of March, the National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day which would be the 2nd of April or the National Peanut Day which is on the 13th of September!
In my mind, I can hear my daughter saying “Duuuh!” and I’m totally with her on this one.
Now I don’t really need a particular day to celebrate my love of anything but I needed to make some cookies and since “peanut butter” caught my eye, that’s the direction I went along.
As usual, the net threw up countless number of options. Most of the peanut butter recipes I looked seemed to require quite a bit a peanut butter (naturally!) but equal or larger amounts of butter as well.
I finally found this simple recipe which looked promising without all the butter the others required. It uses a bit of oil instead (which is still fat), but it looks like these cookies do need that.
I adapted this recipe to make it eggless and substituted some of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. I also reduced the sugar a bit.
I found the cookies slightly crunchy on the outside but a bit cake-like towards the centre, which I liked. What I liked most was that the peanut butter flavour was unmistakable but not too strong.
Here’s my eggless version of these cookies. I would recommend that you go through the original recipe and the reviews/ comments there before making these cookies.
Somewhat Healthier Eggless Peanut Butter -Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup sugar granulated
- 1/2 cup peanut butter creamy (I used crunchy)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp flax seed water powdered mixed with warm in 3 tbsps
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate semisweet mini chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine first 8 ingredients
- Using an electric mixer, beat at medium speed until the mixture is smooth
- Combine the all purpose and whole wheat flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Stir with a whisk. Add this flour mixture to peanut butter mixture, stirring everything just until combined. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
- Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheets. I found the dough dry enough to roll into small balls and flatten them slightly.
- Bake the cookies at 180C for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.
- This recipe gave me about 30 cookies (approximately 2 1/2u201d diameter)
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
“this day” and “that day” is everyday event in here like we Hindus have everyday festival of some kind or the other! :)Peanut butter cookies look yum. Wish your PC a long life, whatever we do without it, no?
Peanut but are always welcome and yours look beautiful. The companies set these dates, peanut day, nutella day etc., so that they can sell more products.My computer also died on me early this month and I bought a new laptop. After a lot of effort my son managed to “ressurect” mine and now I am stuck with two computers:)Make sure to back-up your files.
Yummy these looks delicious.Nice click too
Lovely cookies. I guess you are getting a new computer..All the very best1
mmm…Tempting peanut butter cookies:)
Hehe.. like your disclaimer of “somewhat healthier” ;-))Btw I actually hate peanut butter or peanut sauce etc.. that is not to say I don’t like peanuts. My fav way of eating it is by boiling fresh groundnuts in a lot of salt and even better the “masala groundnuts” that you get roadside in India tossed with onions, carrots, chillies & coriander.. just love that!!! :)) Like chikkies also.. LOL, actually just had one (imported from chennai;-))
I love the photographs.I pray the computer hangs in there…
So good to see you back Aparna..I’ve not been around too of late,blame it on my Cam:)I am not so much a fan of Pb,but love the flavor in cookies.I once tried making cookies when the Peanut butter I brought refused to spread on the bread[Pre-Sundrop brand Peanut butter days].Your recipe seems easy to put together.As Asha said..long live your PC:):)
Welcome back! I love a classic cookie. But the salty peanutty flavor is also a nice surprise! 🙂
Welcome back dear!!! the cookie is really perfect and now its treat for our eyes.
great cookies hope your computer is ok lol Rebecca
I have not made cookies since last August! I have have have to start.
Perfect peanut butter cookies and nice click too!
Love PB CC cookies.I too had made flourless PB cookies.I did not add chocchips,but Dipped partially in ganache. LONG LIVE YOUR PC.
I love chikki more than peanut butter.Cookies look yumm. I would be too afraid tha tmy cookies will drop into the tea while taking pic 🙂
How was Goa? Too bad about your computer – I have been having problems with mine as well.. time I think for an upgrade! Im interested to see what chikki looks like!
I love peanut butter. But chikkis take the first place. Was wondering why your break was getting longer. Wish your PC doesn’t take another break.
The cookies look just perfect and healthy too
i’ve been wanting to try out pbc’s forever now…maybe i shoudl after reading this post… goodluck with the computer
I love peanut butter cookies, and I love crunchy peanut butter in them the best of all! These sound great. Now I also do love peanut brittle, but I haven’t had chikkis before – know of a good recipe?
Healthy is good. It’s my new years resolution this year:) Thank you for sharing your recipe with us. Your cooking look great!
ure pictures are amazing. even the recipes. Cookies with milk…….my all time comfort food. Loved ure header pic.
Ultimate combo…peanut butter and chocolate! WOW! I really am craving for one of those.Waiting for the days when I can bake again! SIGH!
The cookies look delicious, even though I don’t really like peanut butter! How do you always convert recipes into eggless ones?
i love roasted peanuts, boiled peanuts, salted, fried ones and my favourite is my dad’s peanut chutney. yum! eggless peanut butter, chocolate chip, sounds great and looks good too!
the cookies are soo cute – especially with the mini chocolate chips!
Add my Duuuuuuuuuuuuh! to those! I was introduced relatively late to peanut butter and have liked it ever since. The chikki my gran used to make was a dark caramel that I’ve never tasted anywhere else, it used to be heavenly. I also like the peanut-and-jaggery balls – when my gran/relatives made them, they were nice and dry, even somewhat powdery, that also I’ve never come across recently.
Love chikkis. “Somewhat Healthier” 🙂
Thanks. Can see my old trustworthy (?) PC is raising a lot of comments. Seems to be exercising a lot of charm that I wasn’t aware of. LOL