These Peanut Butter Hemp Cookies are melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Made with whole foods, healthy fats and pressed into pretty leaf shapes. These are so simple to make, you will wonder why you haven’t been making them this whole time.
Made With Whole Grain Oats
I’m going to give up the secret ingredient right away because it’s too good to keep in – whole grain oats.
Not just any type of whole grain oats, though. I make my own cereal for Carrington by grinding whoa grain oats in my Vitamix. One day, Carrington decided she’s grown out of this cereal and I was left with a jar full of ground-up oats. As you know, I hate to waste food. I decided to add the ground oats in a cookie and when they came out of the oven, they were soft, tender and melted in my mouth.
Can These Cookie Be Gluten-Free?
Absolutely! If you’re gluten-free, simply swap the oats for gluten-free oats. There are a few more ingredients that lend to these Peanut Butter Hemp Cookies being some of the tastiest, ever!
Dark Brown Sugar
This sugar creates a complex warm caramel note when paired with the peanut butter. If you only have light brown sugar, don’t worry! You can use the brown sugar you have on hand but the taste will be slightly different. The difference comes from the amount of molasses that is used during the sugar-making process.
What is Molasses?
Molasses is a sweetener that is formed as a by-product of the sugar-making process. First, sugar cane or sugar beets are crushed and the juice is extracted. The juice is then boiled down to form sugar crystals, which are removed from the liquid. Molasses is the thick, brown syrup left after the sugar has been removed from the juice. This process is repeated several times, and each time a different type of molasses is produced. Molasses is high in vitamin B6, calcium, iron, magnesium and selenium.
Hemp Hearts
This adds a nutty flavour! If you do not have any hand, simply omit them from the recipe and add them next time. They are not crucial to making the cookies delicious but do add that extra zing! Hemp Hearts are nutritious, high in protein and rich in two essential fatty acids: linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3). They are a great source of vitamin E and minerals.
More Recipes to Enjoy
If you’re looking for more baking options, check out my recipes for
Blueberry Chia Twist Bread, Baked Vegan Apple Fritters, Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal and 3-ingredient Energy Bars.
Put on a pot of tea or heat up some non-dairy milk for these bite-sized tasties! Scroll below for a full list of ingredients and instructions. Let me know how you enjoy this recipe in the comment section below or find me at @SusanCooksVegan on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter!
Peanut Butter Hemp Cookies
These Peanut Butter Hemp Cookies are so simple to make, you’ll wonder why you haven’t been making them this whole time!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 12 – 16 cookies 1x
- Category: Baking, Dessert, Cookies
- Method: Bake
Ingredients
- 1 cup of smooth peanut butter
- 1 cup of dark brown sugar (or light brown sugar)
- 3/4 cup of oat flour (swap to gluten-free or make your own via grinding oats in a Vitamix)
- 2 tbsp hemp hearts
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp of salt
- ¼ cup of almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, stand mixer or fork, cream together the peanut butter and brown sugar (about 1 minute).
- Add in vanilla extract and beat for another 30 seconds
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (oat flour, hemp hearts, baking soda and salt).
- While beating the peanut butter mixture, slowly add the dry ingredients and beat until a crumbly dough forms. Add the water and continue to beat until distributed.
- Roll the dough into balls (about 1 ½ – 2 tbsp per cookie).
- Push the dough into leaf-shaped cookie cutters or drop the dough balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and flatten with a fork one way then the other to create a crisscross pattern.
- Bake for 8-12 mins or until just starting to turn golden at the edges. Cookies bake fast so watch them carefully.
- Allow cookies to cool completely on the pan or they may break.
- Store in an airtight container to keep soft and chewy.
