Raw Peanut Butter Cookies

Over the past year or so I've been especially interested in creating my own energy snacks and bars at home. Not only do you have control over the ingredients you use, it's far cheaper than buying store-bought variations that are often laden with sugar and additives. In addition to nuts and dried fruits, peanut butter is often a feature of such snacks made in my kitchen because I admit that peanut butter is a weakness of mine. It is not unusual to see me eating peanut butter on one or more occasions in some form or other throughout the day.

My latest experiment was inspired by a cookbook I received for possible review entitled Rawsome Vegan Baking: An Un-cookbook for Raw, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Beautiful and Sinfully Sweet Cookies, Cakes, Bars & Cupcakes by Emily von Euw. I'll be having more to say about this beautiful and unique book again soon. For now, I will just say it is lavishly illustrated, featuring unique vegan and raw takes on old favorites. Pretty much all of the ingredients are staples you're likely have on hand in your kitchen, so no hunting around specialty stores or roaming the grocery aisle for additions that you may rarely have occasion to use again.

Although I was tempted by pretty much every recipe between the covers, my first choice was a raw version of peanut butter cookies. I have fond childhood memories of my mom's peanut butter cookies, and over the years I have experimented with different variations. As I move more and more away from refined sugars, this unbaked and raw version was especially appealing. Eggless and flourless, the sweetness comes from dried fruits. Soft and chewy, they are even better if you use chunky peanut butter. An additional bonus is that the cookies come together in hardly anytime at all if you have a food processor.

These cookies are so healthy and guilt-free, you won't feel bad at all about eating cookies for breakfast.

Raw Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Rawsome Vegan Baking: An Un-cookbook for Raw, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Beautiful and Sinfully Sweet Cookies, Cakes, Bars & Cupcakes Published on April 7, 2014 Easy, moist, soft and chewy no-bake peanut butter cookies sweetened with dried fruit — a raw, delicious and wholesome treat Preparation: 15 minutes Print this recipe Ingredients: 1 cup raw almonds 1/3 cup chunky natural peanut butter 1/2 cup pitted dates 1/2 cup prunes 1 teaspoon vanilla extract sea salt to taste Instructions: In a food processor, pulse the almonds into a flour. Add the peanut butter, dates, prunes and vanilla and process until combined into a rather crumbly dough that holds together when pressed between your fingers. Form the dough into small roughly 1 1/2 inch balls. Flatten the balls slightly and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. With a fork, make crosswise indentations. Sprinkle lightly with salt and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Makes 9 to 12 cookies

More healthy snacks and treats from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:
Cherry Nut Bars
Cocoa Fruit Energy Bites
Cocoa Fruit Treats
No Bake Peanut Butter Carob Balls

Other peanut butter cookies from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites
Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies
Cayenne Peanut Butter Cookies