Healthy Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies 🍪
Christmas really flew by this year! While I watched plenty of Christmas movies, I mostly watched the Great British Baking Show and crammed Christmas shopping into literally 2 days (which is so unlike me. I normally spend at least a week or two browsing for people’s gifts after I make a list!). But no fretting, I got it all done, but I did have to find a last minute recipe to bake as Christmas presents. Each year I usually give all my family something baked, as well as add baked goods to others’ gifts.
There is truly something special about baking something for someone. I could buy people candy (that I wouldn’t even eat myself) or give them chocolates, but there is just something special about homemade baked goods. They warm my heart, and it shows that someone took the time to give something tasty that they love!
I have a sweet spot and hobby of making baked goods healthier. Instead of using the conventional butter, sugar, etc, I try to find alternatives - not the sugar free, artificial alternatives, but using real foods to sweeten or add flavor to foods, in their most natural form. I feel this goes best with the lifestyle that I live, and I want to show people that good foods can taste good without all of the unnecessary things we often add to them.
I tried these cookies out at a surprise party about a month before Christmas, and they were gone before the party was even over. I had really positive feedback from people, so I decided that THAT is what people would be getting for Christmas presents. So, per request, here are the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that I made for Christmas. Enjoy. :) Take pictures if you make them and please send them to me! I’d love to see :)
Makes 15 (ish) cookies
Ingredients:
WET:
1 cup of Natural Peanut Butter (the peanut butter needs to be slightly firm so that you can make the cookies stick, so ground peanut butter at your local Whole Foods or Natural store is best- I get mine at Natural Grocers for these cookies because it is firmer)
2/3 cup of all natural (and preferably local) honey
2 teaspoons of vanilla extrac
6 tablespoons of all natural applesauce. (I use the Santa Cruz brand)
DRY:
2 teaspoons of baking soda
A pinch of salt
8 tablespoons of gluten-free flour (almond, buckwheat, or gluten-free all purpose flour work great
1/3 cup dark (preferably dairy free) chocolate chips
Recipe:
First, put on some good music. This is a key step in making the cookies.
Once all the ingredients are measured out, mix all of the wet together, mix all of the dry together, then combine. Add in the chocolate chips. The dough should be slightly sticky, but not too wet.
Leave in the bowl and set the bowl in the fridge for 1-2 hours. You can also place this dough in the fridge for up to a day or two and make the cookies later.
After letting the dough sit, grab a baking sheet and line it with aluminum foil. Set the oven to 350*, and then begin to roll the dough into small balls and place them on the sheet. I find that they are easier to roll if I slightly dampen my hands after rolling a few balls. The cookies can be close together since they won’t expand much on the sheet. If you want to, you can also press the top with a fork for a prettier look.
Place in the oven for 10 minutes. They cookies will look underdone when you take them out, but they are meant to be soft baked so this is good. There should by just a slight cracking of the dough when you take it out.
Let the cookies sit for about 15 minutes to cool, and then enjoy with a cup of tea. :)