PB & J is one of the best food combinations I can think of! As a matter of fact, I've never met a peanut butter and jam sandwich I didn't like. Those sweet and salty flavors just can't be beat! In honor of National Peanut Butter & Jam day, I wanted to take these nostalgic ingredients and do more than smack 'em between some white bread. These delectable little peanut butter & jam sandwich cookies are a surefire hit and they're totally vegan!
The inspiration for these cookies came from Earth Balance. This recipe is packed with their Creamy Coconut & Peanut Spread, and it definitely makes these cookies extra special. It's used in both the peanut butter cookies and the creamy peanut butter filling that goes in between them. And don't worry, you don't have to be a baking whiz to make stacked cookie sandwiches! It's a super simple process and actually pretty fun to slather the jam and peanut butter filling on 'em. Plus I'm pretty sure in this case, 2 cookies counts as 1, so you can eat extras... right?
Oh, and I genuinely went a bit crazy after making these peanut butter and jam sandwich cookies. I wanted to test what other vegan PB & J goodness could be created! Go wild by trying these flavors in squares or french toast sandwiches, and thank me later.
peanut butter & jam sandwich cookies
Ingredients
peanut butter cookie
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- ⅔ C rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 ¼ C Earth Balance Buttery Spread, cold
- 1 C Earth Balance Creamy Coconut & Peanut Spread
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ C brown sugar
filling
- ¼ C Earth Balance Creamy Coconut & Peanut Spread
- 3 tablespoon Earth Balance Buttery Spread, cold
- 1 ¼ C confectioners sugar
- 1-2 tablespoon nondairy milk
- ¼ C raspberry jam
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the flour, rolled oats, baking powder, and sea salt. Whiz it around on low until the rolled oats are broken down. Add brown sugar, vanilla extract, and coconut peanut spread and start the machine up again. Add chunks of cold Earth Balance butter gradually while you're processing the cookie dough. Once it starts to come together and everything looks combined, you can remove it and transfer into a mixing bowl and lightly combine the last bit of dry crumbs with your hands, if necessary.
- Handle the dough with your hands to form a ball and refrigerate the dough for about 10 minutes. If you're doing this in advance, just be sure to let the dough sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before handling and rolling out.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and lay parchment paper onto your baking sheets.
- Roll out the cookie dough evenly onto a lightly floured surface and use a circular cookie cutter (or shape of your choice) to cut out cookies. This will make 48 cookies (approximately 2-inches wide) and 24 sandwiches. So on 24 cut out cookies, you want to create a hole through the middle. I did it by pushing a chopstick through the centre very gently while I held the cookie in the palm of my hand. The dough is easy to handle, but just be delicate!
- Bake cookies for 12 minutes and allow to cool completely before filling and assembling into sandwiches.
- Make the filling using a hand mixer. Cream together the Earth Balance butter and peanut coconut spread. Gradually add in confectioners sugar and as it gets more stiff, start to add nondairy milk and continue beating until combined. You want a thick consistency like icing, and not too liquidy like that of yogurt. If you find your filling needs adjusting, you can add more confectioners sugar to thicken or nondairy milk to thin out.
- Using a small icing spatula or a small spoon, take a small amount (just less than a tablespoon, but depends on the size of your cookies) of peanut butter filling and spread it onto a bottom cookie. Add a smaller amount of jam on top and gently press a top cookie on top. You want a little bit of oozing out the side and through the hole at the top, but not so that it's dripping. These cookies are best served right away or refrigerate them until you want a sweet snack!
Jennifer P
Oh my! These almost remind me of the pb&j oatmeal cookie sandwiches Little Debbie used to produce. They were a favorite of mine as kid - so happy to find this recipe!
Amanda Erickson
Can plain peanut butter be substituted for the coconut and peanut spread? Thank you.