These melt-in-your-mouth VEGAN Peanut Shortbread Cookies pair excellently with your evening cup of tea or coffee. Don’t forget to dunk!
Growing up in India, I was raised on British words for things: Flat (apartment), indicator (turn signal), rubber (eraser), postman (mailman), lorry (truck), lift(elevator) – you get the idea! While I’ve managed to come to grips with most of the American alternatives after 4 years here, the word ‘cookie’ is proving to be quite challenging. I just can’t seem to stop calling them ‘biscuits’, only to have locals look at me quizzically, because ‘biscuits’, especially in the South where I live, refers to a salty, leavened lump of dough (more like a scone) that is typically served with fried chicken and gravy. And don’t even get me started on the spellings!
But call them what you will – cookie/biscuit, these are delicious little things that will make your coffee/tea time a little extra special.
If you, like me, grew up in India, then you’d be familiar with butter biscuits – my favorite things to dunk into coffee. They soak up the liquid (and flavor) within a second, and combined with their innate buttery softness, turns every bite magical.
These Peanut Shortbread Cookies are the plant-based, dairy-free versions of the butter biscuit I know and love, and since I made the first batch, I’ve made two more batches in less than a week, not just because the recipe needed testing, but because 1. I’ve been eating them non-stop all week and 2. it is quite flexible – you can top it with so many things, cut them out into shapes, pipe them, dip them, etc.
This base recipe can turn into oh-so-many-wonderful things and that makes it a keeper!
Coconut oil (particularly if stored in the kitchen cupboard) tends to be liquid in form. But for the ease of kneading, it’s best to work with the coconut oil in a slightly firmed-up, scoopable consistency. And for that, after weighing the coconut oil, put it in the fridge for a couple of minutes. Stir it once or twice while chilling, until it turns grainy, white and pudding-like.
And no, if you’re wondering, you wont smell or taste the coconut oil one bit. In fact, it smells ‘buttery’ and I have no idea how, but hey! I’m not complaining!
This VEGAN Peanut Shortbread Cookie is a simple, fuss-free snack that comes together in no time at all. And I am thinking they’d make excellent favors at Christmas! All you gotta do is find a pretty tin to put them in!
When you make these delicious VEGAN Peanut Shortbread Cookies (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here!
VEGAN Peanut Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a medium baking tray with parchment paper.
- Refrigerate the coconut oil until it is of a scoopable, grainy consistency. You have to keep a close eye on it - takes about 5-8 minutes. Stir 2-3 times as it chills in the fridge to prevent freezing solid.
- Combine flour, icing sugar, vanilla and salt in a bowl. Stir to distribute ingredients evenly.
- Add the grainy coconut oil to the flour mixture and knead to a smooth dough.
- Scoop 1 tbsp of dough and roll into a ball between your palms. Place on prepared baking tray. Repeat until you run out of batter.
- Using the tips of your fingers, pat down the dough balls to form flattened discs about 1/4" in thickness.
- Top each cookie with a pinch of salt and a generous sprinkle of sugar. Pile crushed peanuts on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 180°C/350°F for 12-14 minutes. The edges and bottom should turn golden brown but the top remain white.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Keeps well for 1-2 weeks at room temperature.
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