Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

There are a few staples in our house, simple staples, trusted. Peanut butter is at the top of the list. Fresh fruit and coffee make the cut.

While living in a van for a large chunk of our post college years we became very efficient at living on little as we could, rarely anything perishable. What were our staples while sustaining on primarly dry goods? Peanut butter, bananas, coffee. Dessert? Peanut butter. Peanut butter on a spoon or smeared on Frosted Mini Wheats.

Most of this trip was spent in Mexico where meals were taco trucks, street vendors and avacados smashed over tortilla chips.We ate incredibly well without a fridge and a makeshift stove/grill.

We were climbing everyday and biking in between, it was the life, we did exactly what we wanted to do. We were active and ate anything including several jars of peanut butter a week.

It has been a couple years since climbing was a daily activity, we sold the van, real jobs have replaced endless free time. Times change, we were ready to settle down. We still have peanut butter for dessert, ride bikes, climb.

J and I have are very fortunate in many ways but I know that we are going to grow old, happy and healthy together. We know what we like to do, we both find incredible confidence, satisfaction and general well being in health and general fitness. We both strive to be better and being active is the cornerstone to our well being.

Being active means that healthy food must take precedence in our lives.  I am not about to give up some of my favorite things, I enjoy everything in moderation. When a cookie can be simple, satisfying my hunger for sweet treats without making me feel sluggish, I am eager to warm up the oven and crank out a batch to nibble on all week.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from Joy the Baker

makes about two dozen cookies

1 cup all-natural chunky or smooth peanut butter

1 cup raw sugar

1/3 cup roughly chopped peanuts

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet with butter and set aside. In a mixer combine peanut butter, chopped peanuts and sugars until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and baking soda and mix for another 2 minutes. Roll into walnut sized balls (1 tablespoon of dough) and flatten with your palm. If you’d like, add a few chocolate pieces to the top of the cookies. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool on a baking sheet for two minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peanut Power

The first thing that I learned to bake were cookies. Double batches of cookies. Double batches of peanut butter cookies. Double batches of peanut butter cookies for my dad.
I love to bake cookies.
I love to bake cookies for other people. A dozen cookies might be the perfect gift and it might be the way that I get out of my desk/office job. YEP, I could make cookies for everyone. I have found the perfect peanut butter cookie recipe after years of "research." Three batches later and several tasters agree, this might be the best so far.
I of course made my pops a big batch of fresh peanut butter cookies for fathers day - what else does he need - really? They were a hit. I have won over many hearts with the standard "Cronk" recipe, I have tried rolled peanut swirls with a ribbon of peanut butter, or the standard with a chocolate "kiss" on the center of baked cookies, but I have finally landed on a peanut winner.
J can eat peanuts like he was from the south and actually knows that peanuts grow under ground as like us born and raised on raspberries and salmon know that salmon is better bbq'd than in croques..... So he loves his peanut butter cookies just as much as my dad but J prefers them not too sweet - with a good peanut taste. Folks here we go - the cookie to win the hearts of every nut lover.......

Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
Makes about 2 doezen cookies
Prep time: 5 minutes

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup extra crunchy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup dry roasted salted peanuts, ground fine in a food processor

1. Preheat oven to 350 degress
2. Whisk the flour, salt, soda, and baking powder together and set aside.
3. Beat the butter and sugars together in a large bowl ( preferably with an electric mixer for 3-6 minutes) until light and fluffy. Beat in the peanut butter until fully incorperated, about a minute. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds.
4. Slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the ground peanuts until incorperated.
5. Working with 3 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets spaced about 2 inches apart. Using a fork, flatten the cookies making a crosshatch design. Bake until the edges are golden and the centers have puffed and are beginning to deflate, about 10-12 minutes.
6. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes - eat warm or let cool on wire racks.