One of the first cookie recipes I posted on the blog were these PB&J Thumbprint Cookies. I had recently received the Forks Over Knives cookbook from my sister-in-law after going vegan and was excitedly trying out different recipes. I actually forgot I even had that cookbook until a few days ago! The recipes I made when I first got it were good, but I quickly found that it's not that great of a cookbook. So many of the recipes require batches of previous recipes. So while it may look like a 4-ingredient recipe, it's really a 10-ingredient recipe. I still want to look through it a little more and try out a couple more recipes before I forget about it again.
If you check out the PB&J Thumbprint Cookies, you can tell I've come a long way in my food photography skills. We had horrible lighting in our apartment in Florida and never seemed to make food at the right time of day so that I could photograph it well. There is still much I hope to learn and hopefully once I get a DLSR camera I'll improve even more. Brett and I are actually looking at cameras right now so hopefully the food I blog about will look even more delicious in the near future.
But whether these Vegan Snickers Thumbprint Cookies look delicious or not, they really are! I've been wanting to make a dessert using Date Caramel for a while now and finally had the opportunity to give it ago. Success! I brought these cookies to a church gathering and they were gone before we left. An empty plate is always a good thing in my opinion. Thankfully I got to try one before they were all eaten and I too approve.
When Brett tested one of these cookies before we took them to the gathering he loved them! He didn't know how to describe them though except by saying, "it's like a party in your mouth." I'll take it. There really are a lot of amazing flavor combinations happening in these cookies, but it works. The base is a peanut butter and oatmeal cookie that is sweet and chewy. Then you have the date caramel which is rich and dense. Then you taste the sweet chocolate drizzle and get a little crunch from the chopped peanuts on top. Yum!
That's one of the things I love most about thumbprint cookies. You don't have to settle on one flavor, but can choose two (or three!) that complement each other and merge them into one, amazing flavor combination. Give these a try! You won't be disappointed.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Snicker Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES:
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter
- ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup natural cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups oat flour*
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup old fashioned oats
- ½ cup peanuts finely chopped
DATE CARAMEL:
- 1 cup Medjool dates soak the dates in hot water for 15 minutes and drain
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- water if necessary
GARNISH:
- ¼ cup chocolate chips melted
- Chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the peanut butter, applesauce, sugar and flaxseed until combined. Then add in the vanilla extract and stir a little more.
- Add in the oat flour, baking soda and sea salt and mix well. Then fold in the old fashioned oats and chopped peanuts.
- Scoop out two tablespoons of dough at a time and roll it into a ball and place it on the lined baking sheet. You can probably fit all 20 cookies on one sheet because they won’t expand while baking.
- Once all the dough has been placed on your baking sheet, wet your thumb with some water and press a deep thumbprint into the center of each ball of dough.
- Bake for the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown.
- While the cookies are baking make your Date Caramel Sauce by placing the soaked and drained dates into a food processor and processing until mostly smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in the remaining ingredients and continue processing until as smooth as possible. Add in water one teaspoon at a time if necessary.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and press down on the thumbprint again as the indent may have puffed up while baking. Be careful not to burn yourself! Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a rack or plate.
- Place a heaping teaspoon of Date Caramel into the center of the thumbprint and spread it around so it fills the entire thumbprint. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top and garnish with chopped peanuts.
Brig says
Made these at Christmas. Oh boy had the husband and kids fighting over who had how many... haahahah there are so great.. what a truly yummy treat
Faith says
That's music to my ears Brig!! I'm so glad you all liked them. Thanks so much for letting me know! They don't last long when I make them either:)
The Peace Patch says
Thanks for sharing the recipe...they look crazy yumful! Happy National Chocolate Day! 🙂
Faith says
You're welcome! Happy National Chocolate Day to you too! 🙂
Amy @ Parsley In My Teeth says
Congrats on the VVLP win this week - much deserved! These looks fabulous!
Emma says
Wow! These look insanely good! Snickers, especially the ice cream bars, were my favourite growing up!
Love that these are practically oil-free too.
Faith says
Oh man! Ice cream was my everyday night time snack growing up! I think these are a slightly healthier option:) Thanks for stopping by Emma!
Kyra says
Oh WOW! These are droolworthy. Seriously. I need to make these!
Faith says
Thanks Kyra!! Please let me know if you do:)
Nicole @ Fitful Focus says
Stopping by from the VVP link up. These look AMAZING!!! I can't wait to try them 🙂
Faith says
Hey Nicole! Thanks so much! I'd love to know what you think if you make them:)
Annie says
Uummmmm...these look killer, Faith!!
Faith says
Thanks Annie! They're delicious:)
Tina Muir says
These sound lovely!!! YUM! What is your twitter? Trying to share your hummus 🙂
Faith says
😀 Thanks! And my twitter is: Consciouly_Eat