Chocolate Peanut Butter-filled Chewies

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

This week has sure gone by quickly and has been a productive week. After a busy LAST week, it was nice to be a little more relaxed even though we are in Holland this weekend again. After our huge snow fall on Tuesday night, the snow has been slowly melting. It has been easier though to work from home and to make yummy lunches this week without being hurried for time.

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

After a nice shoveling session on Wednesday, preparing lunch was very much needed. I was able to use hemp seeds for the first time for a yummy pita wrap with hummus, cherry tomatoes, spinach and grilled zucchini. It was definitely a delicious lunch after shoveling for an hour! I was glad that the neighbors were able to finish shoveling the rest of the driveway since it ended up being way too much for me! Thankfully I was not too sore the next day but I was glad to have a break.

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

I finally got to bake this week. I try not to have too many sweets in the house, but I have been wanting to try a new vegan cookie recipe that I decided to have something prepared after Ryan returned from rehearsal. He was intrigued by the smell of baking when he arrived home but I would not share what I was doing because I tend to keep things as a surprise.

I later took some of the baked goods to the choral library to have some of the graduate students taste test them and everyone seemed to like them. They were surprised at how good vegan cookies tasted. The cookie itself is a corss between a brownie and a cookie, a bit chewy and a but crunchy. The center is filled with a mixture of peanut butter, agave, and powdered sugar. Make it for your Valentine this weekend and enjoy over a hot cup of coffee!

From An Opera Singer in the Kitchen

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter-filled Chewies

makes 2 dozen

Cookie
1-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup Earth Balance (1 stick or 8 Tbsp)
1/4 cup Tropical Traditions coconut peanut butter, softened (Regular peanut butter can be used too)
1/2 cup vegan sugar
1/2 cup Agave nectar
1 1/2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer
2 Tbsp water
1 tablespoon almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Filling
1/2 cup Tropical Traditions coconut peanut butter
1/2 cup sifted organic powdered sugar
2 Tbsp agave nectar


Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

For cookie mix:

In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat together Earth Balance, vegan sugar, agave, and the 1/4 cup peanut butter with an electric mixer until combined.

Add egg, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Beat in as much of the dry ingredients as you can with mixer.

Stir in remaining dry ingredients by hand with a wooden spoon. Form chocolate dough into 24 balls and set aside.

Filling :

In a medium mixing bowl combine powdered sugar, peanut butter and agave nectar until smooth. Shape mixture into 24 balls. [These will be smaller since they will be filling the cookie dough.]

Take 1 Tbsp of cookie dough and place one peanut butter ball in the center. Slowly roll the cookie dough around the filling between your hands until it covers the filling. Repeat with the rest of dough.

Place coookie balls 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake cookies for 12 to 15 minutes.

Let cookies stand for 1 minute and then transfer cookies to wire racks and cool.