Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies (Vegan Gluten-Free)

These Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies are the most delicious chocolate chip cookies filled with a peanut butter caramel baked until gooey and golden. They are naturally vegan, easily gluten-free and so easy to make.

Watch the recipe video here.

These Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies are such a treat and I had so much fun making them. I am sharing the recipe below with Tiina’s permission as they are taken straight from her brand-new book, Fantastic Vegan Cookies. Tiina Strandberg aka the creator behind My Berry Forest is hugely talented and has become a dear friend of mine through social media. Her gorgeous new book features 60 plant-based cookie recipes for any and all occasions. Nicknamed, the ultimate go-to guide for exceptional vegan cookies, this book as it all. From Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies to Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cookie Butter Bars, Rainbow “Oreos” and Raspberry Cheesecake Cookies, there is something for everyone.

And the first recipe that caught my eye  was the Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Pizza (you can find it on pages 45-46 of the book) and although I did tweak it slightly to make these mini hearts, the recipe is all Tiina’s brilliance!

What makes these Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies so amazing?

These cookies are:

• Chocolatey, buttery and sweet
• Golden on the outside
• Tender and gooey inside
• Stuffed with a simple peanut butter caramel
• So easy to make
• Fun to make into single (or two-serve) cookie shapes
• Heart-shaped for your loved ones

If you are ready to make these stuffed cookies, skip ahead to the recipe card below, or first let’s see about the ingredients and method.

What ingredients go into these cookies?

We can split the recipe into two parts; the filling and the cookie.

For the filling, we need:

• Peanut butter: I used a smooth runny one and I can imagine any nut or seed butter will work instead if you are avoiding peanuts or fancy a change.
• Maple syrup: this makes the caramel sticky and other syrups will work like agave or vegan honey.
• Salt: for a lovely salted peanut caramel.

For the cookie dough:

• Flaxseed meal: I actually used ground chia seeds as I prefer baking with them. When mixed with water, this forms a gel which behaves like an egg in baking.
• Vegan butter: make sure it’s the block kind for the best cookies. It is important to allow the butter to rest at room temperature for an hour or so to soften.
• Light brown sugar: this adds a lovely richness to the cookies although I suggest coconut sugar would also be great. Failing that, white sugar will also work.
• Vanilla essence: this is not in the original recipe, but I added it for the flavour.
• Plain flour: this keeps the cookie dough light and I suggest swapping this for your favourite GF baking flour blend that contains xantham gum.
• Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda: for a slight rise.
• Chocolate chips: the essential part to any chocolate chip cookies. You can use regular chocolate simply chopped up for chunks, too.

How do I make these Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies?

My method differs when it comes to shaping and baking the cookies as Tiina makes one large cookie “pizza” and I have made 6 stuffed hearts, about the size of your whole hand. You can see how I made them here.

• Make the peanut caramel: stir together the ingredients until thick and smooth.
• Beat the butter and sugar: for the cookie dough until smooth.
• Add in the flax or chia seed gel: and beat again.
• Pour in the dry ingredients: and beat to reach a sticky, thick cookie dough.
• Fold in the chocolate chips: and bring to a ball of dough.
• Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces: and divide each piece into 2 to make 12 in total. We will use two pieces of dough per cookie.
• Use a heart-shaped cutter (or work by eye): and press one piece of cookie dough into the cutter to make a heart shape. My cutter was 8cm x 9cm. Use grease-proof paper to stop the cookies from sticking and lightly dust the surface with flour, if needed.
• Spread the cookie with peanut caramel: leaving a small border around the edges.
• Shape the second cookie into a heart: using the same method as above.
• Place the second heart on top of the caramel heart: and press down around the edges to seal in the caramel.
• Repeat to make 6 heart cookie sandwiches: and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. As we are making shapes rather than one circle, it helps to retain the cookie shape when the dough is chilled.
• Bake until golden and crisp: turn the cookies around while baking so they cook evenly.
• Enjoy warm or cold: these cookies are great still gooey from the oven and stay gooey in the centre when they cool.

Can I make other shapes?

Yes of course, the size of these hearts are quite large, each cookie serves 2 as they expand a lot while baking, so keep this in mind. But any shapes like circles, ovals etc will work. I would not suggest anything too intricate as the cookies expand and loose slightly their definition.

I would prefer one large cookie pizza, what should I do?

As Tiina’s recipe makes one large pizza, when the dough is mixed together, divide it into two and shape them both into large circles (9.5inches or 24cm in diameter) and spread the caramel over one half. Top with the second cookie and crimp the edges. Bake until golden and then allow to cool fully as it is rather gooey and messy.

What changes have you made to Tiina’s recipe?

The changes I made is to make the one cookie pizza into 6 smaller “pizzas” and then shaped these into hearts. I added vanilla essence into the cookie dough for flavour, and I also chill the hearts in the fridge before baking as we need to keep the shape of the cookies. The bake time is longer even though the cookies are smaller as the cookies begin baking from a cooler temperature and also they need to be firmer then Tiina’s pizza which is very gooey cand is best eaten with a spoon straight away! Or you can chill Tiina’s pizza in the fridge overnight in order to slice it the next day.

Can I make these cookies nut and gluten-free?

I hope Tiina would agree, but you can swap the peanut butter for any seed butter like tahini to make these nut-free (or swap for almond or cashew butter for example to make these cookies peanut-free). As for gluten-free, I recommend using your favourite GF baking blend.

How long will these last?

My Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies lasted a week in a sealed container at room temperature, but they are definitely best between 3-5 days. You can also freeze the cookies for up to 1 month and de-frost at room temperature.

I love these cookies, what other recipes can I make?

I hope you will love Tiina’s recipe for these Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies and for other cookies, how about my:

• Vegan Monster Cookies
• Strawberry Shortbread Sandwiches
• Carrot Cake Cookie Sandwiches (aka Whoopie Pies)
• Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies
• Vegan Slice and Bake Shortbread Cookies
• Look at Tiina’s book of amazing cookies

I hope you will love these Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies so please let me know what you think below. If you do make these, I would love to see so please tag me and Tiina in your bakes – I am @nourishing.amy on Instagram and Tiina is My Berry Forest. Please also use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

Here’s a reminder of her book: Fantastic Vegan Cookies.