Anthea’s Chocolate Brownie Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

This week I had a chance to take a break from my own recipe creation and dive right into baking from my Aussie-based blogging pal Anthea Cheng's new cookbook, Incredible Plant-Based Desserts. I gotta say, it's one of the loveliest cookbooks I've ever owned. The desserts are amazing with a colorful, vibrant, and quirky vibe. The photography is straight up gorgeous and inspiring. I even love the matte paper and the smell of the book haha.

One of my favorite things from the book were these gluten-free vegan chocolate brownie peanut butter sandwich cookies, which Anthea allowed me to share here with you on the blog (scroll down for the recipe) as a small sample of the delicious things in store should you decide to grab a copy of her cookbook or check out her creations over on her website Rainbow Nourishments. You can have a little peek inside the book over on my instagram page if you're curious.

Anthea's beautiful recipes are pretty versatile, with lots of ideas of how to customize things for special diets. All the recipes are vegan, most are gluten-free.

Although I picked cookies from her book, what I know and admire Anthea most for are her absolutely stunning fairy tale-like cakes. You can see some of them on her instagram page here. <<< If you've seen them, you'll know I'm not exaggerating. Seriously talented. Here's a must-see. Here's another. You get the idea. In the book you can find recipes for some truly gorgeous cakes too (amidst all kinds of other colorful tastiness, of course).

Now about these cookie brownies... they were absolutely delish and a breeze to make. Although I must admit my version looks a little on the "pudgier" side than Anthea's original brookies :D. These are the original cuties below so you can see what they are meant to look like:

I made mine larger, hence the "pudginess". In hindsight, smaller cookies make more sense. But size aside, they were pretty darn delicious. So no complaints from us here. Besides, it's hard to complain about more cookie, right? ;)

The brownie part is very fudgey, moist, and chocolatey. And well, what can you say about the peanut butter + chocolate combo, other than that it's the best!

And when you see a snap of Anthea eating cookies in her book, you know this person is serious about good sandwich cookies! :D

Anywhoo, def give these sandwich cookies a try -- they're soooo good with a glass of vanilla almond milk. And the brookies smell wonderful as they bake.

In the book she describes them as:

"Oh my, oh my, these brownie cookies -- or brookies -- are divine! A crispy and chewy cookie exterior envelopes the most heavenly and fudgey brownie and a peanut butter filling. The brownie cookies are pretty decadent, so you could also have them without the peanut butter filling. The almond meal gives the brownies moisture, which is sooo important for any epic dessert. I used coconut flour in the filling to firm up the peanut butter so it doesn't melt at room temperature, but you can omit the flour and use straight up peanut butter."

Thank you Anthea for this recipe and for the beautiful book!

And now to cookies... :)

Chocolate Brownie Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

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A crispy and chewy cookie on the outside with a moist and fudgey brownie on the inside, filled with peanut butter. Vegan and gluten-free. Recipe from Incredible Plant-Based Desserts by Anthea Cheng.

• Author: Audrey @ Unconventional Baker
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 10-12 sandwich cookies
• Category: Cookies
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: Dessert

Ingredients

Brownie Cookies

• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1 ¼ cup almond meal
• ¾ cup white rice flour
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder or raw cacao powder
• 1 tbsp ground chia or flax seeds
• ½ tsp baking powder (gf)
• pinch of salt
• ¼ cup light-tasting vegetable oil, such as sunflower
• ⅓ cup plant-based milk, such as almond, soy, or coconut

Peanut Butter Filling

• ¾ cup smooth or chunky peanut butter
• ¼ cup coconut flour
• maple, ice malt syrup, or any other plant-based liquid sweetener, to taste

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. To make the cookies: Add all brownie cookie dry ingredients to a medium-size bowl. Mix until combined and there are no lumps. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix and squeeze with your hands until combined. The mixture should be pliable enough to be rolled into balls. Add a splash of milk if necessary.

3. Grab about 2 tablespoon of the batter, roll into balls, and flatten on a lined baking tray. Leave some space in between the cookies for spreading. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the brownie cookies are dry to the touch. Allow them to cool on the baking tray and to set further.

4. To make the peanut butter filling: Add all ingredients to a small bowl and mix until combined. The filling should feel like a wet dough.

5. To assemble: Scoop the peanut butter filling on top of half of the brownie cookies. Sandwich the filling with the remainder of the brownie cookies.

6. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.