Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten Free)

This Disney copycat recipe, filled with chunks of peanut butter fudge, are the best gluten free peanut butter cookies that I have tried.

Peanut Butter Fudge Chunks:
1 cup smooth peanut butter (not natural) (240 g)
½ cup Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol (Powdered) (63 g)
½ cup refined coconut oil (100 g)

Cookie Dough:
1 cup butter, softened (226 g)
1 cup Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol (Granular) (200 g)
1 cup Erythritol Gold, loosely packed (200 g)
2¼ cups smooth peanut butter (not natural) (540 g)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
2⅓ cups gluten free all-purpose flour blend (327 g)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder

Make Peanut Butter Fudge Chunks:
Place peanut butter and coconut oil in a heat-proof bowl over a pot of simmering water (double-boiler), stirring until melted; add in powdered sweetener and whisk until smooth. Ensure no lumps remain. Pour into a parchment-lined small baking sheet (I use a very small 6x9", or ⅛ sheet pan size). Freeze until firm, 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Make Cookie Dough:
Cream together butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl) until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, followed by peanut butter and mix until smooth.

Add flour blend, baking powder, baking soda and salt; pulse mixer on low while adding and beat until fully combined.

Remove peanut butter fudge from freezer and break into irregular-sized pieces. Toss into cookie dough and fold throughout.

Use a large cookie scoop to scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets. Only put 5 cookies onto one baking sheet as they will spread. Use a fork to make a criss-cross pattern onto the top of each cookie, being careful not to flatten them too much. They should be at least ½" thick.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to at least 10 minutes on the baking sheets before placing the entire baking sheet in the refrigerator to cool completely.

Cookies are best kept in the refrigerator for up to a week. They are simply divine straight from the fridge, but can be brought to room temperature, but they will be gooey and may cause peanut buttery fingers.

Makes 15 large cookies.

Cook's Notes: To make smaller cookies, break the peanut butter chunks into smaller pieces and use a smaller cookie scoop. Bake for 6-8 minutes, depending on the size.