Grain Free “Nutter Butters”

I have a fierce cookie craving tonight. I managed to talk myself out of making a batch of gluten free but very high carb Chinese almond cookies (hooray for not having almond extract!), but the craving was still there.

I started wishing for Nutter Butters. They were always one of my serious junk food vices, and honestly they’re one thing I really miss. I did some hunting online and stumbled on Foodie Fiasco’s recipe for gluten free, grain free, low carb Nutter Butters. I’ve made a couple of her cookie recipes before and although they are not *quite* like your typical sugar bomb, gluten-loaded cookies, they are pretty darn good, and super easy to boot. As an added bonus, these are vegan, so they occupy that weird liminal space on the Venn diagram of “Things paleo loonies and vegan loonies can finally agree on” 😉

Also, I know, I know, I know — peanuts aren’t paleo. I know. This is the “not-really-paleo” part of the byline, okay? I decided a while ago that you will pry my peanuts from my cold, dead, aflatoxinned hands. I bet you could make these from almond butter instead.

Anyway, here’s my adaptation of her recipe:

Filling:

1 T Adam’s creamy peanut butter1 T unsweetened almond milk (I use Almond Breeze)
1/2 tsp coconut sugar or any sweetener you prefer (stevia, honey, whatever)
pinch salt (optional)

Cookies:

2 T Adam’s creamy peanut butter
6 T unsweetened almond milk, divided
2 tsp coconut sugar (or sweetener of choice as above)
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt, or to taste

Filling: In a microwave safe container, mix the peanut butter, sweetener, and almond milk together, then microwave in three 15 second bursts, stirring in between. Transfer to freezer.

Cookies: Again using a microwave safe container (I just used a Pyrex measuring cup), mix the peanut butter and 3 tablespoons of the almond milk. Cook for 30 seconds, stir, cook another 30 seconds, stir again. Add the sweetener, salt, vanilla extract, and baking powder, and mix well. Stir in the coconut flour, then add the almond milk 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring well, until you get a cookie dough consistency.

Divide dough into 8 balls, roll each into a log, and flatten each end of each log with a fork, making a little cross-hatch and a peanut shape. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350. Take filling out of freezer and spread a little bit on the bottoms of half the cookies, then put the other cookies on them to make little cookie sandwiches.

Makes 4 extremely rich and filling cookie sandwiches.

These were tasty. Not really Nutter Butters (they don’t have that absurdly crunchy thing going on, and they weren’t anywhere close to as sweet as the “real deal”), but still great.