Inside Out Buckeye Ball cookies melt in your mouth and are perfect for your gluten free and vegan friends!

People often ask me, “What is your favorite recipe?”. My typical response is that there are just too many to name and basically that I love anything with peanut butter and chocolate. Well, that really narrows it down. Not. Well, my friends, this little delight, called the Inside-Out Buckeye Ball Cookie, has turned into one of my favorites.

They are gluten free and if you use dairy free chocolate, they’re vegan too!

I was sneaky and used an assortment of chocolate inside my cookies. Some, I stacked dark chocolate chunks and some I stuffed with something magical.

Viba.

Erin, who lives in Germany, got me hooked on this stuff. It’s a nougat chocolate (not vegan) that comes in all different varieties, my favorite being the dark chocolate. I hate to tease you with this next photo, but the Viba stuffed cookies were quite incredible. I mean, I can accidentally down an entire Viba roll by myself. It’s that good. Then, stuff it inside a peanut butter cookie. Melt me.

And let’s just put it on the record that if there were some way for me to get Viba to US stores, that would amazing. Just saying.

Thanks again Erin!

Inside Out Buckeye Ball Cookies 

slightly adapted from Ari’s Menu

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, for rolling
• 4 ounces dark chocolate, in small squares (it’s okay to stack the pieces, too)

How-To

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and corn starch together.
2. In a large bowl with a spatula, stir the apple sauce, peanut butter, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla together until combined.
3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until combined. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 4 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Put the powdered sugar in a bowl to prepare for rolling.
5. Using a 1″ ice cream scoop, scoop out balls, stuff them with the chocolate and roll them into circles in the palm of your hand. Roll the balls in the prepared powdered sugar and lay them on the prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart.
6. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until they are cracked and just barely set. Be sure not to over bake. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheets.