Raw Peanut Butter Patties

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Stack of homemade Vegan Peanut Butter Patties

Six weeks ago, I was in full-fledged holiday baking mode and my mom joined me one evening for some girl time, Baileys, and coffee and a semi-professional cookie decorating contest. She won, I think, on account of finishing all of her Baileys and half of mine. Touche, Mom. Touche.

Over the course of a few hours we dipped pretzels in chocolate, sprinkled peppermint on chocolate bark and crowned peanut butter blossoms with a Hershey’s kiss. And you know what happened next? I practically ate a dozen of everything.

I think this is the part where I say, “Hi, my name’s Dana and I have…a cookie problem.”

Peanuts and almonds for making a delicious vegan treat

Good news, though. Since then I haven’t inhaled a tin of chocolate bark, licked gobs of frosting off my fingers or made a game of seeing how many white chocolate pretzel sticks I can stick in my mouth at one time (although, now that I mention it, that sounds like an awesome idea).

And it’s not because I’ve had a deep look inside myself and wrestled the will to take control of my raging sweet tooth. It’s because I haven’t had the junk in in my house. It’s that simple. Junk food makes me feel terrible and I’ve been having an increasingly difficult time ignoring my conscience anytime I’m tempted to put something less-than-wholesome in my mouth. (Is this what they call becoming an adult?)

After all, we only get so many meals in a day and I want to make sure all of mine count, for good.

Measuring cup of peanut butter for making Vegan Peanut Butter Patties

Lucky for me these cookies are full-on wholesome. They’re vegan, gluten free and contain no added sugar.  Just dates, peanuts, oats, almonds and dark chocolate. They also match the likeness of a popular Girl Scout Cookie, only without all the partially hydrogenated what have yous and high fructose devil syrups.

Batch of Raw Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies on a piece of parchment paper

This is pure hippie dessert heaven. The centers are tender, peanut-y and slightly salty thanks to salted, natural peanut butter (I made mine from scratch), and have just a hint of sweetness from a handful of dates. You could certainly leave them as is for a healthy snack, or you could cover them in dark chocolate to elevate them to dessert status.

Batch of Vegan Peanut Butter Patties dipped in dark chocolate
Batch of our homemade Vegan Peanut Butter Patties recipe

Besides being simple to make, these little guys stay forever in the freezer so you can pop one out any time you want for an occasional treat. Alternatively, they’d make great gifts wrapped up all pretty – Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, after all.

Homemade Raw Peanut Butter Patties setting up on a parchment-lined cutting board
Stacks of homemade Peanut Butter Patties for a simple vegan dessert

Raw Peanut Butter Patties

A raw, vegan, gluten-free cookie reminiscent of a peanut butter pattie. The soft, peanut butter center contains peanut butter, almonds, oats and dates, and the outer shell is nothing but rich dark chocolate.
Author Minimalist Baker
Print
Stack of homemade Vegan Peanut Butter Patties
4.89 from 9 votes
Prep Time 45 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 32 (cookies)
Course Dessert
Cuisine Gluten-Free, Vegan
Freezer Friendly 1 month
Does it keep? 1 Week

Ingredients

  • 1 cup raw salted peanut butter*
  • 1 cup raw almonds
  • 1 cup raw peanuts*
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats (GF if needed)
  • 5 pitted dates (deglet noor or medjool)
  • 1 1/2 cups dairy-free quality dark or semisweet chocolate

Instructions

  • Add your oats to the food processor and mix until small pieces remain. Then add dates and process again until only small bits remain. Remove from processor and set aside.
  • Next add almonds and peanuts to the food processor and mix until they turn to meal – a few small chunks are OK.
  • Next add peanut butter to the nut meal and pulse until well combined. Then add dates and oats and process until the mixture forms a loose dough. If it seems too wet to handle, add more oats. If it seems too dry, add a few more dates.
  • Scoop out small handfuls of dough and form into small discs. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and pop in the freezer to harden for 30 minutes.
  • Around the 25-minute mark, melt your dark chocolate over a double boiler. Then work in small batches to coat the cookies. Take only 5 cookies out of the freezer at a time for dipping.
  • To dip, drop cookies one at a time into the chocolate, flip once, pick up with a fork and tap on the rim of the bowl to remove excess chocolate. Place back on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pop back in the freezer to set.
  • Repeat until all cookies are dipped, re-warming chocolate as needed.
  • For optimum freshness, store cookies in an air-tight container in the fridge or freezer until serving.

Notes

*Truly raw foods should not be heated over 118°F, 42°C. To keep these completely raw, use raw (unroasted) nut butter (I only had roasted on hand) and do not heat your chocolate over that temperature. For those less stringent on the raw food principle, roasted is fine and the flavor will be great either way.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.

Nutrition (1 of 32 servings)

Serving: 1 cookies Calories: 141 Carbohydrates: 10.6 g Protein: 4.4 g Fat: 10 g Saturated Fat: 2.5 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 22 mg Fiber: 2.2 g Sugar: 6.2 g

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  1. LT says

    I made this for thanksgiving dessert a few days ahead of time to reduce time spent in the kitchen day of. I had to substitute cashews for the peanuts as I am allergic. Well I liked them so much, they were gone before thanksgiving (made a half batch, no judgements) but second try was amazing! I did the almonds with almond butter, subbed cashews for peanuts and coconut for oats and wow. Just a tiny bit of maple syrup to make it super dessert-y and this may be my new favorite thing!!

  2. Danielle says

    These sound amaaaazing! Also, can you share your recipe for homemade peanut butter or is there somewhere I can find it? Thank you!!

  3. Nicole says

    I made these last night for a bunch of my friends and they were INCREDIBLE. My friends didn’t eat too many because they had no idea they were even mildly healthy. Thank you!! These will be a new staple cookie along with your healthy oatmeal cookies! :)

  4. Lorenzo says

    Recipe seemed doable except part with running disks out of freezer 5 at a time and then putting them back in the freezer and then taking 5 out again while warm chocolate is sitting there. I just took all the family of disks out and just worked rapidly giving them their quick absolution in the hot stew chocolate bath. This seems like a great dessert but it’s pretty costly when you add up ingredients of almonds, nuts, peanut butter, dates, 12 ounces of chocolate. But it seemed worth it. Thank you.

  5. Hanner says

    Thank you so much for this recipe! I made it a few days ago and have been nibbling on the plain patties with just a square of 85% chocolate on the side. I am adoring the delightful comprise of good nutrition and satisfying indulgence.
    I used toasted nuts (a mix of peanut, almond, and hazelnuts) for a not-so-raw version. I also used some wizened medjools that had been lingering in the back corner of the fridge.
    I’m really pleased to find a simple, frugal, fiber/protein treat that pleases me so much. Excellent work!
    You may have seen a Swedish treat that is popular as an afternoon coffee break food: oats, cocoa/chocolate, coffee, sugar, vanilla/arrak flavor, and some fat (like coconut oil) are all mixed together & shaped into balls. Then it is rolled in chocolate sprinkles or coconut flakes. Very similar to yours (but far more health-challenged) in basic format and texture, but I like yours better!
    Again, many thanks for a treat that I like better each day!

  6. Olaf says

    Thanks for the instant response. Gotta say, I hate walnuts and sunflower seeds! Always have. Pecans might work, though. Never really eaten them, but I’ll give it a shot. I wonder if there’s any neutral bean that would work. I’ve never used beans in that way, but seems theoretically possible.

  7. Olaf says

    I’m allergic to peanuts (an allergy that developed after decades addicted to peanut butter in all forms) but have recently found some good almond butters that don’t have trace amounts of peanuts. They don’t taste just like pb, but it’s close enough for an addict. I’m not a big fan of almonds, though, so I’m not too hot on the idea of just replacing all the peanuts with more almonds. Anyone have any suggestions for other (non-nut) ingredients that could replace the peanuts (and maybe also the almonds) but still serve the same function in terms of helping the oats make the “dough” work properly?

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerDana @ Minimalist Baker says

      Olaf, I’d recommend walnuts as they have a similar texture and fairly neutral flavor. Otherwise, pecans or potentially even sunflower seeds may work. Hope that helps!

  8. Katie says

    I see you use a lot of nuts in your recipes. As do I….I also make all my own nut butters. Do you soak your nuts prior to use? I never do but I read a lot that you should.

  9. Heidi - Apples Under My Bed says

    Thank you, Dana! I adore these bites, they’re just divine! Made some for valentines day & they were much loved. I have a feeling I will be making these very often.
    Heidi xo

  10. Krista says

    These look delicious! I was wondering about substituting something for the almonds also, would it work with just more peanuts? Thank you for all the great recipes!

  11. Katie says

    These look AMAZING! Can’t wait to try them!

    Btw you’ve got a typo there – should be double boiler, not broiler. ;)

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerDana @ Minimalist Baker says

      fixed! Thanks. Broiler/boiler is one of those words I flip flop ALL the time. Thanks for the catch.

  12. Jess says

    Dana – these just made my peanut butter/chocolate loving heart skip a beat. I love that they look totally indulgent, but are quite a “good” treat. I only recently started making some of these desserts with dates in them, and I’m totally hooked. Will definitely be making these this weekend!

  13. Anjo Angela Lim says

    I am SO making these ASAP! They look wonderful! I never thought to sub rolled oats for ground graham crackers. Yuuuuuum!

  14. admattai says

    thanks for the great recipe! I’m obsessed with pb and chocolate at the moment so this was perfect for me. I added a few extra dates and some honey to the mix and they were awesome. Also, since I’m not raw vegan, I used regular pb and pre-roasted peanuts & almonds.

  15. Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says

    I love these. They remind me of an even better version of tagalong cookies, but with more peanut butter!

  16. Becca says

    Ohhhhhh sooo yummy!! I am back from a trip to Yosemite and I cannot wait to make these for the wee ones I missed so. Apart from the awesome scenery and wonderful companions, I had a wide range of food experiences! Some awesome, some not so great. I am thinking my next post will be on this wide range and how it impacts us and what we want to eat and what we end up wasting when the food is crappy & made in an industrial fashion. I will somehow figure out a way to make a link to your website because if more food was made like this there would be more intentional consuming and less waste! keep the yummy recipes coming. Can’t wait to see what is next!xxoo

  17. Tammy says

    You are killing me! These look amazing! Glad my husband runs a peanut butter plant…I have a source for all the nut stuff! Making this one tommorrow!

    Tammy

  18. Averie @ Averie Cooks says

    I’m like the biggest PB fan ever (and also of chocolate & no-bake treats) and this one hits the nail on the head! Delish, Dana! Gorgeous photos, as always!

  19. Aida says

    Sounds great, but it is not a raw recipe.

    -Roasted peanuts and roasted peanute butter?
    Has to be raw both.. also, microwave.. not a good idea..
    Chocolate can be warmed up, only up to 42C’

    otherwise, it really look like cool one and i will try the really raw version at home, thank you!

  20. Julie says

    Wow. Those look AMAZING and incredibly easy! Way to go, now I will be making a game of how many peanut butter patties I can fit in my mouth at one time…