Gluten + Dairy Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwiches

Ok friends, here's another really super tasty gluten and dairy free recipe that is sure to remind you of the Girl Scout Peanut Butter Patty cookies (you know the delicious peanut butter cookie covered in chocolate??).  I found the recipe for Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches on one of my favorite recipe websites - Texanerin Baking.  She's got great recipes, so make sure to check her out!

Up front I'll go ahead and toss out the fact that my sister loved these and said they didn't taste "healthy" or "gluten free" at all.  Without further ado, here's my barely adjusted version of Erin's recipe.

Ingredients:
For cookies...
1 1/4 cup crunchy unsalted almond butter, very well-stirred so it's not too oily coming out of the jar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate, melted

For filling...
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp coconut oil

Directions:
1. Mix all the cookie ingredients, except for melted chocolate, in a large bowl.

2. Once combined, add melted chocolate and stir until well mixed.

3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour - this will keep your dough from seeming too oily and sticky to work with.

4. While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and prepare the filling.

5. Mix the filling ingredients in a small bowl until well combined.  You can place this in the refrigerator too, just make sure to remove it a while before you place it between the cookies because it does harden a good bit.

6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Roll your refrigerated dough into small balls, about 3/4" in diameter, and place them 1 1/2" apart.

7. Bake for 4-6 minutes.  4 minutes for fudge-y cookies and 6 minutes for a less doughy cookie.  (Both versions tasted great to me.)  Then remove cookies from oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet.

 (4 min fudge-y batch)

(6 min less doughy batch)

8. Once the cookies are cool, make the sandwiches by placing a small amount of filling between two cookies then press them gently together.  Then serve and enjoy!

These didn't last a night in our house (with guests) but Erin says they can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.  I dare you!!

(FYI - There are far prettier pictures and more recipe details on Erin's Texanerin Baking blog.)