Vegan Peaches and Cream Cookies

One thing I love about this time of year is the awesome produce, especially the stone fruits!  I am really loving the fresh peaches right now!  They smell amazing as you walk past them at the store, and I have been buying a bunch of them and just snacking on them as well as making desserts.  Last weekend I wanted to make some cookies, and thought that peach cookies sounded awesome so I made some Vegan Peaches and Cream Cookies!

I loved the peaches and cream scones that I used to make at my old job so I thought why not cookies?!  For the base of these cookies, I used my chocolate chip cookie recipe but swapped the brown sugar for granulated. I used whole wheat pastry flour for the flour in these but if you prefer all purpose instead you could use that as well, or even gluten free all purpose baking flour if you wanted to make them gluten free.  I have used Bob's Red Mill gluten free all purpose baking flour and had success with it.

These use coconut oil for the fat, which I always have on hand which is why I prefer to use it.  In place of eggs, they use applesauce and it makes them soft and chewy in the middle, which I love!  I used vanilla powder in these to give them a heavenly aroma but if you prefer extract you could use that as well.  These have plenty of fresh peaches, and they smelled sooo good and so heavenly while baking!  I could not wait to try them!

When I did they were super delicious!  Soft and chewy, scented with heavenly vanilla and sweet jammy peaches!  It is hard to just eat one of these, especially if you have them cooling on the counter and they are still warm!  If you are a fan of peaches, and looking to bake something delicious, definitely give these Vegan Peaches and Cream Cookies a try this summer!

Vegan Peaches and Cream Cookies

Makes 16

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup applesauce at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla bean powder or pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour (for a lighter colored cookie)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh ripe peaches, cut into small pieces
• sugar for topping

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees, and line two sheet pans with parchment.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the coconut oil, sugar, apple sauce and vanilla extract  until well blended.
3. Mix in the salt, baking soda and baking powder then the flour until smooth.
4. Stir in the peaches until they are evenly distributed.
5. Form the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on the cookie trays about 2 inches apart.
6. Press the dough balls down slightly and sprinkle with sugar.
7. Place the pans in the oven and bake for about 7 minutes, then rotate them and bake another 7 or so until the cookies are done and lightly brown at the edges.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool at least 15 minutes before enjoying.