Peanut Butter and Jelly Coconut Cashew Sandwich Cookies
These healthy, all-natural little sandwich cookies are make quickly and easily in a food processor, by blending nuts and coconut, before filling them with peanut butter and jelly. The cookie 'dough' is made from nuts, coconut flakes, and agave. It's full of rich nutty flavor, and packed with texture from the coconut flakes and nuts. It's just lightly sweetened, making it the perfect canvas to be layer with creamy peanut butter and sweet jelly. A fast, easy, vegan, gluten-free, and healthy twist on peanut butter and jelly - and on sandwich cookies.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Total Time10 minutesmins
Course: Cookies
Servings: 8
Calories: 311kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
1 ¼cupscashewsI use raw, unsalted from Trader Joe's
¼cupstrawberry jamor your favorite flavor, divided
Instructions
Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
To the canister of a food processor, combine 1 cup cashews, walnuts, coconut, agave, cinnamon, vanilla, optional salt and process for about 30 seconds, or pulse as needed until mixture breaks down and combines. Mixture will likely be on the wet side and if so, add the remaining 1/4 cup of cashews and pulse to incorporate.
The dough should come together in a well-formed mass; it's a good sign if it's slapping around the food processor like a tennis ball in the dryer. Because ingredients vary and not all nuts and coconut have the same moisture levels, you may have to play around with the ratios slightly, adding a pinch more coconut or more nuts, or an additional drizzle of agave, for dough to combine. Dough will be dense and when squeezed between fingers, it should hold it’s shape, not fall apart, nor be crumbly. The goal is a dough that is dense, thick, holds it shape, can be packed into a pan, and when sliced, will hold it’s shape in bar form.
With your hands or a spatula, press dough into prepared pan, packing it down, pushing it into the corners, and smooth it with a spatula. Dough layer will seem a little thin and a bit skimpy in the pan but is later doubled up for sandwich cookies. Refrigerate pan for at least two hours, or overnight, until dough firms up and can be sliced. You could probably shortcut this by placing pan in the freezer briefly; just don't let it freeze.
Slice dough into 16 equal-sized 2-inch square pieces. Add a layer of peanut butter to half the pieces. Add jelly to the other half. Pair them up and make sandwiches. Cookies will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container at room temperature, or up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. I store mine in the refrigerator.