Peanut Butter, Cinnamon, Chocolate Chip Cookies

I went to the library to pick up some books yesterday, which is nothing out of the ordinary. There was a line at the circulation desk, so I went to browse my very favorite Dewey Decimal section: 641--the cookbooks. I can never resist the siren call of the cookbooks. One book that really caught my eye this time was the Martha Stewart Cookies cookbook. I know, I know. Martha is definitely not vegan. Not even close. So, what I decided to do is to veganize some of her recipes just to see what happens. I have veganized one of her other recipes to great success: Cowboy Cookies. So, I'm thinking that this will be a fun (and fattening) little experiment.

Aside from simply veganizing, I had to alter this recipe just a little because I didn't have the roasted peanuts the recipe called for. Instead I used crunchy peanut butter in place of the smooth and cut out the additional peanuts. No worries, though. These babies are killer....especially if you have a peanut allergy. Ha. I crack myself up. But, really, I never thought I would like the peanut-cinnamon combo. Sounds weird, tastes great.

Makes 18 2-1/2 inch cookies.

What You'll Need:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt (I used a slightly heaped 1/2 tsp of kosher salt)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup vegan butter, softened, but not melted
• 1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 flax egg (1 TB ground flax plus 2 1/2 TB hot water. Let set to gel for 3-5 minutes)
• 1/2 cup (or more if you want) chocolate chips. I always use Ghirardelli semi-sweet
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

What You Do:

1. Preheat your oven to 350. Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside for now.
2. Blend your peanut butter and butter until nice and creamy. Add the sugars and vanilla and mix again. Now add the flax egg, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix until just combined and you don't see any dry spots. Fold in the chocolate chips. The dough will look a little crumbly, and that's fine. 
3. Pop the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes to cool.
4. Now, roll the cookie dough into balls just under 1-inch in diameter. You'll have to squeeze them a litle to get them to stick together. Place them 2 inches apart on your baking sheets and lightly press them down just alittle. 
5. Cook for about 13-14 minutes, until the edges are just set. I rotated the pans halfway through cooking to keep them even. Remove them from the pans and put on a cooling rack for a few minutes. I dare you not to eat at least 2 while they're still hot!!