Vegan Fluffernutter Cookies
Vegan, gluten-free
Is there anything better than a fluffernutter? I think not. Don’t know what the heck that is? Let me enlighten you.
Marshmallow Fluff was invented in Somerville, MA in 1917 by a guy with quite the name, Archibald Query. Sure, some scandal around that; did he really invent it? Or did he steal the recipe? Either way, his sale to a Boston candy giant made it go big. It was instant love in the city of Boston. There is a still a festival every year in Somerville to celebrate the sweet, fluffy spread. One of the most popular uses of fluff is in the eponymous sandwich, the Fluffernutter.
When I was younger, I was not really into fluffernutters; I liked the classic PB&J. However, when I moved to New York City after college, I lived in NoHo/Washington Square. I walked the city, exploring neighborhoods and I stumbled upon the Peanut Butter & Co. cafe (now closed). Peanut Butter & Co was my PB of choice in college (particularly their cinnamon raisin), so it was a serious find. I am pretty sure that I went there for a cinnamon raisin fluffernutter about 2 times a week. As a college student now thrust into adulthood in a new city, with a job and, you know, adulting, the fluffernutter was my little taste of home, childhood and comfort.
I still love a good fluffernutter these days. So why not try to make it into a cookie?
Peanut Butter
Some may say that I connoisseur of peanut butter. Others might say that I am obsessive. Either way, I strive to find the best. There are 3 peanut butters that I love: Teddie, Wild Friends and Peanut Butter & Co.. I eat Teddie every day in my yogurt, on toast and sometimes in baking. It is the one I grew up with. Peanut Butter & Co. I eat out of the jar with a spoon. And Wild Friends is the one I use for baking quite a bit.
For these cookies, I like to use nice runny peanut butter (like Wild Friends), which means the natural PB. Do not use the no stir kind and always use salted. I just think that salted peanut butter is the only one that makes sense.
Gluten-free Flour
When I can, I like to make things myself. I am pretty sure that my obsessive nature is behind that…Anyway, I like to make my own gluten-free flour mix for cookies and bars. I use a combination of oat flour, teff flour and potato starch. I mix together 1 cup (160g) oat flour, 1/2 cup teff (80g) and potato starch (90g). Do you have to do that for these cookies? No. There are a lot of flours you could use.
You can use a gluten-free flour mix (Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 is my favorite). All almond flour would be yummy; the texture will be different and you will need to use a bit more. Try all oat flour, which will be delicious, but could make the cookies a bit more cake-like. If you are not worried about gluten, then use all purpose flour, maybe some spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour.
Vegan Marshmallows
Weirdly, I always have marshmallows in my pantry. It is a long story. I do not love the classic ones that I grew up using for s’mores, but locally made or vegan ones. Some marshmallows, when baked, will just turn into a puddle of sweet goo in the center of a baked good. That is not a bad thing, but for these cookies, I wanted to keep the integrity of the marshmallows. Vegan marshmallows like Dandies have a soft texture when baked, do not dissolve into a puddle of goo in a cookie and get crispy on the edges.
And now, let’s go for cookies.
RECIPE
171g (6oz) runny, smooth peanut butter (don’t use the no-stir PB)
41g (~3tbsp) refined coconut oil, melted
55g (2oz) maple syrup
122g (3/4 cup) coconut sugar (cane sugar is a great substitute too)
10g (1.5 tbsp) ground flax
38g (1/4 cup) hot coffee
113g (3/4 cup) GF Flour mix (I make my own, but Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free Measure-for-Measure flour is a great option)
1/2 tsp (4g) baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt (cut in half if you are using salted peanut butter)
83g (1 cup) vegan mini marshmallows (Dandies are my favorite)
In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, including the marshmallows. Set aside.
In a roomy bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup and coconut sugar until smooth. Add the ground flax and the coffee and whisk until smooth. I do not mix the flax and water beforehand like many do; it’s better like this, trust me.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine with a spatula. Cover the dough, stash it in the fridge and start your oven. Preheat your oven to 375F and leave the cookie dough in the oven while it heats up.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (do not use a silicone baking mat for these cookies) and scoop 2 tablespoons of cookie dough onto the baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each mound.
Bake for 12-14 minutes; the longer you bake them, the crisper they will be. I like them soft and chewy so I bake for 13 minutes.
Let cool for 15 minutes before picking up a cookie from the baking sheet, putting on a plate and eating it with a glass of almond milk.