Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies for Japan!

In my do-gooder ways, I recently participated in Katie's bake sale fundraiser for Japan. To benefit Japan, she generously hosted an online bake sale, in which various participants (like me!) baked up vegan treats for bidders, with all proceeds going to Japan! I was more than excited to help out, and we managed to raise over $2500!

Totally awesome (did I just say that? Yes, I did!)! I volunteered with vegan peanut butter cookies, made with the following recipe. I really hope that the winner of my treats enjoys them! They are so easy, I thought I'd share!

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
sprinkle of sea salt

Preheat oven to 350. Blend together the peanut butter, sugar, water, and salt until smooth. Add flour and baking soda. Once they are well mixed, roll into small balls (or larger, depending on how big you want your cookies), and place onto a greased cookie sheet. Press down with a fork. Bake until edges are slightly brown (about 15 minutes). Allow to cool, and enjoy!!

Gluten-free Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Holy geez! I'm on such a PB craving lately. I think that I dream about it. Must be something with the oncoming fall weather, because I'm wanting PB sauce on everything. Finally, I decided that some peanut butter cookies were in order. I found a recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies, but it used a TON of white sugar, and nothing else, and that's simply not my style. So, I dressed it up a bit to make it a little less sweet and a little more diet friendly to come up with this recipe! And so awesome that it's GF!!!

First, the ingredients:

1 cup natural peanut butter, crunchy or smooth (I used Trader Joe's salted crunchy natural)
1 extra large egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup GF old-fashioned oats (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1 tsp GF baking powder (Rumsford and Clabber Girl are both GF)

Yield is about 8 cookies, so double or triple, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

While the oven is heating, mix all ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended.

After the ingredients are well-mixed, using a large spoon, ladle them onto a cookie sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes, or until the tops are slightly dark. Allow to cool for one minute, then enjoy! These also keep awesome in the fridge!

PB & J cupcakes

When I was little, my grandmother made this peanut butter snack cake that was bursting with peanut flavor had perfect texture and crumb. She'd bake it in an 8 X 8 dish, then cut it into squares and serve without frosting, sometimes as a casual dessert, or as an after-school snack. I've always loved peanut butter cakes, but I've never been able to duplicate the texture or flavor of that cake. These cupcakes are not an exact match, but they're pretty close. I've fancied them up a bit to include another childhood taste by adding homemade strawberry jam and a simple peanut butter buttercream frosting. I love putting fruit filling into cakes, and unfrosted, they look a bit like tarts, and reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, so I left a couple unfrosted just to mix it up. These cupcakes are delicious any way that you decide to dress them up. They take a bit of time to construct, but are easy enough for even a novice baker.  Recipe for the jam can be found on this blog.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat, but plain white would be fine)
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/4 cup milk (I used almond, but soy or regular would work as well)
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 very ripe banana
1 egg
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

For the frosting:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter (softened)
2 tbsp powdered sugar (or more to taste)

For the filling:
Strawberry jam, homemade or purchased

Yield 8 cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a muffin tin with 8 cupcake papers.

Cupcakes:
In a bowl, mash the banana until it is very mushy, then add the peanut butter, egg, milk, and brown sugar. Mix well.

Next, add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to overmix; this can yield tough cupcakes.

Once they are well mixed, use a spoon to ladle the mix into the cupcake papers, filling about 3/4.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool in the pan on a cooling rack.

Once the cupcakes are well cooled, using a paring knife, cut a cone out of the top of the cupcake, as shown in the photo.

Ladle the strawberry jam into the cupcake, then replace the top.

Frosting:

In a bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, butter, and milk until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar, until sweetened to taste.

Using a spoon or spatula, generously spread onto the cupcakes as desired.