This past weekend I coordinated a formal dinner and dance for my son’s youth group. That means I made dinner for fifty kids, plus about twenty adult helpers. As expected when cooking for that many people, there were food allergies and intolerances that needed to be accommodated. One gal doesn’t eat red meat, another can’t have gluten, and two girls can’t stomach dairy. One of the dairy-free girls can’t even eat butter. (Gasp!) I mean, can you imagine living without butter?? For her dessert I decided to make a cookie recipe I love, minus the dairy. I also wanted to convert it to sourdough. And it resulted in these super soft sourdough peanut butter cookies.
practically healthy
I believe that good quality butter is actually good for you. However, these cookies needed to be totally dairy-free, so I substituted coconut oil. Which I also believe to be beneficial for your health.
As far as the peanut butter, I would of course recommend using a natural peanut butter. That means that the ingredient list says- you guessed it- “peanuts”. It might also say “salt”. If it says anything else, don’t use it. Our family loves Adams. Crunchy or creamy would work in this recipe, but we prefer crunchy.
In addition to these healthy fats, the cookies are fermented by the sourdough starter for at least an hour. So basically, they are practically healthy!
perhaps a little too delicious…
Like I said, I made these cookies for a gal with a dairy intolerance who attended the youth group winter formal. However, my family loved them so much that they were all eaten before the day of the formal! But not to worry, I had so many lovely ladies who contributed desserts that there were lots of options, even for the poor girls with food allergies.
Our family loves dessert, and we are always making something yummy! Follow along by subscribing to my emails so that you never miss a recipe!
sourdough peanut butter cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut oil, melted, then cooled
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup natural peanut butter (I like Adams crunchy)
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup sourdough starter
- 2 cups flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Cream the oil and sugar. Add in eggs, 1 at a time, scrapping the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Add peanut butter, vanilla, and sourdough starter
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients
- Add the dry ingredients to the oil mixture and beat together until just combined
- Cover and let sit at least 1 hour, up to overnight*
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, then press slightly with a fork to flatten
- Bake 10 minutes
Notes
*I have never been uncomfortable leaving a sourdough recipe with egg in it on the counter overnight. However, if this makes you uncomfortable, you can put it in the refrigerator overnight. If you do so, make sure to bring it back to room temperature before scooping the dough out.
[…] in order to do a longer ferment. Make sure to not over-bake them so that they don’t dry out. Sourdough cookies always turn out so soft, and seem to be even softer the next day after […]