This is a real peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie, not the version that's just peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla. Nonetheless, this recipe doesn't require eggs or butter. The cookies come out of the air fryer crispy on the edges, soft in the centers, full of peanut butter and chocolate flavor, and with the added goodness of flaxseed meal and oatmeal. If you haven't tried substituting flaxseed meal for eggs in some baked products, it's time. Ground flaxseed has a very slight nutty taste, is easy to substitute for eggs in many baked goods, and it's rich in omega-3 fatty acids and fiber (i.e., it's good for you). Plus, eggs are sky-high in cost at the grocery stores. Our local discount market is charging $5 a dozen for eggs this week, and eggs at the regular markets are even more costly. Butter also is quite pricey. So, improvisation is in order. In this case, you won't miss the eggs or butter, because the cookies come out of the air fryer at least as good--maybe better--than the original version with eggs and butter. The cookies are sweet but not cloyingly so, and we like them with a cup of tea or coffee and with our fruit for dessert. Enjoy!
Air Fryer No Eggs/No Butter Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies -- Makes 12+
1 tablespoon of flaxseed meal
3 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of canola oil
1/4 cup of peanut butter
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of quick oats
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
Cut small pieces of baking parchment to fit your air fryer basket. In a medium bowl combine the flaxseed meal, water, brown sugar, sugar, oil, and peanut butter and mix them well. You want all of the wet ingredients to be well mixed and the flaxseed meal to be fully incorporated into the wet mixture. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the wet mixture and stir them in. Stir in the oats and chocolate chips until incorporated. Drop 1 1/2 tablespoon scoops of dough onto the prepared baking parchment, spacing the dough mounds 1 1/2 - 2 inches apart. Flatten the dough mounds slightly with damp fingers (you want the mounds to be about an inch thick. Put one dough-topped piece of parchment in your air fryer basket, put the basket in the air fryer, and air fry the dough for about 10 minutes or until the cookies are puffy, golden brown, and just set. Remove the cookies from the air fryer to cool and repeat the cooking process with the remaining dough. You can also cook part of the dough, wrap up the remaining dough well in plastic wrap, and refrigerate the unbaked dough to bake another day.
