Years ago, I had the chance to partner up with my friend Hannah, as she wrote her first cookbook, My Sweet Vegan. She has since written several other vegan cookbooks, including new Real Food, Real Fast. But this lucky peanut butter lentil cookies recipe is a flashback to her original title. She originally created this treat to symbolically bring health and good fortune into the new year.
Hannah says these lentil cookies are, “unassuming from afar, tempting upon closer inspection, and hauntingly delicious at first bite.” They are nutty, soft and chewy, with a crisp exterior, much like traditional peanut butter cookies. But there is something slightly different and special about these protein-rich treats.
Special Diet Notes: Peanut Butter Lentil Cookies
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, tree nut-free, soy-free, vegan, plant-based and vegetarian.
For peanut-free lentil cookies, you can substitute sunflower seed butter for the peanut butter. But be aware that sunflower seed butter can react with baking soda to create a greenish hue. It’s harmless, but can look less appealing.
- ½ cup dry red lentils
- ½ cup dairy-free milk beverage
- ¼ cup instant mashed potato flakes
- 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
- ¾ cup sugar (can sub your granulated sweetener of choice)
- ¼ cup cornstarch (can sub tapioca starch)
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Grind the lentils in your spice grinder or food processor until completely powdered. This might take several minutes.
- Put the combine milk beverage and potato flakes in a microwave-safe bowl and whisk to combine. Heat on high for 1 minute. Let cool for a few minutes.
- Transfer the potato mixture to a mixing bowl. Add the lentil powder, peanut butter, and sugar. Beat with a hand mixer until combined. Sprinkle on the starch and beat until well combined. And the cream of tartar, baking soda, vanilla, and salt and beat until combined.
- Scoop the dough by the tablespoonful onto your prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, before removing the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze the cookies to enjoy later.
Key Pantry Supplies: Peanut Butter Lentil Cookies
More Unique Lentil Dishes
Marinated Mushroom Bowls (vegan, gluten-free & optionally allergy-friendly)
Apples ‘n Spice Breakfast Lentils (vegan, gluten-free & allergy-friendly)
Instant Pot Lentils & Rice (vegan, gluten-free & allergy-friendly)
5 Comments
Wow, talk about a blast from the past! These photos are downright embarrassing now, but the flavors remain true, and I’m happy to see this recipe get some love once again. Speaking of which, thank you so much for the incredibly thoughtful introduction! I feel so lucky to have met you at the very start of this wild ride. 🙂
Of course your photography has improved, but these still look pretty darn appealing. Maybe they’ll get a reshoot in MSV 2? 🙂 I’ve got a few of your classic recipes on here – just breathing new life into them so they don’t get overlooked!!
What could I substitute the: ¼ cup instant mashed potato flakes with? I can’t eat nightshade vegetables, But this recipe sounds yummy.
That’s a tough one. This isn’t my recipe, but that ratio of flakes to milk beverage makes very runny mashed potatoes. So I might just omit the flakes and try increasing the starch, possibly to 1/3 cup. You can heat a little bit of the starch with the milk to thicken it. It’s hard to say without testing it though! Another option that might work is swapping in something else that will thicken the milk beverage a bit, like ground flaxseeds or chia seeds.
Thank you! This was my question, too. I try to avoid nightshades.