If you like peanut butter cups and ginger, these cookies are for you. These chocolate peanut butter cookies are kissed with candied ginger. I've used a variety of sugars, syrups, and nut butters but one type of each will certainly do. (i.e. use 1/2 cup of a nut butter, 1/4 cup of syrup, 1 1/4 cup of sugar) Use a vegetable shortening in place of butter and all except for the addition of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups these cookies are vegan.

Chocolate Ginger Peanut Butter Cookies
Yield: approximately 3 dozen

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 T dark semisweet cocoa powder

1/2 cup softened organic butter (or vegan shortening)
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/8 cup cashew butter
1/8 cup almond butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 cup liquid measure sorghum syrup
1/8 cup liquid measure molasses
1/2 cup soy milk

1 cup raw demerara sugar
1/4 cup sucanat sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped dried ginger
1/2 bag of individually wrapped Reese's Miniature Peanut Butter Cups, chopped coarsely

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl sift together the dry ingredients- flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa powder.

Cream the butter and nut butters together in a separate mixing bowl. Add syrups, extract, sugars, and soy milk. Mix thoroughly. Set the mixer on low and gradually add the dry ingredients to form a moist dough. Fold in the chopped ginger and peanut butter cups. You can make the dough in advanced and place the dough into the refrigerator for an hour or two or work with it as it is.

Using a teaspoon, drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto the baking sheet and bake approximately 10 minutes. Cookies will flatten out as they bake. Rotate sheets if necessary. Cookies are finished when the tops form deep crevices. Cookies burn easily watch them carefully. Upon removing sheet from the oven, let cookies sit on the sheet briefly before moving to a cooling rack. Cookies will harden as they cool. If soft cookies are desired, reduce the baking time or place a piece of bread in the cookie tin or box. Enjoy!

One of my favorite recipes from the Veganomicon cookbook is for Peanut Ginger Sesame Cookies. I've made them for family on multiple occasions. Now, I'm whipping up a batch for our friends we're going to visit in Germany.

My adaptation makes this recipe not Vegan. I use real butter. My flours and syrups are different as well. I add more ginger and omit the extracts.

Peanut Ginger Sesame Cookies
Adapted from the Veganomicon Cookbook

1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1 /2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup super chunky peanut butter
1/8 cup (dry measure) sorghum syrup
1/8 cup (dry measure) baking molasses
1 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup soy milk
4-6oz dried candied ginger, diced into pieces
white and black sesame seeds (if desired) for rolling

Preheat: 350 degrees

In a medium to large mixing bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground ginger and cinnamon together. In a large stand mixing bowl, cream the butter, and add peanut butter, sorghum syrup and molasses, sugar and soy milk. Slowly add the flour mixture to combine. Fold in the chopped ginger.

Roll into walnut sized balls, roll the balls into sesame seeds and bake, 10-15 mins. I like them soft and chewy, so I only bake them for about 10 minutes.