Okay, so I really should think of a better name, but right now, my brain is a little preoccupied convincing the rest of me to not finish off the rest of the batch. :) As usual, I was craving something sweet and I really needed a cookie. So, I was flipping through my King Arthur Flour cook book in search for a good peanut butter recipe (something with protein, so I could pretend I was eating healthily), without graham crackers (for a bar cookie) or too many other ingredients. Although I was feeling a craving, I was definitely on the lazy side. And there it was. A four-ingredient cookie. However, I had to put my own twist to it, otherwise it wouldn’t be fun, right? (Of course, this was five minutes after I had just thrown away my last disaster – chocolate-mint spritz cookies. I’ll be refining that recipe later).
The cookie has peanut butter, egg, baking soda and butter. Yummy!! But, I have issues with peanut butter on the market today, because of all the trans fats (basically, the hydrogen that is injected into oils to make them semi-solids – which, coincidently, our bodies are virtually never able to full break them down – which is why obesity is on the rise – which is why I am an OCD chef. See? A method to my madness.) Moving on – ah, yes. Peanut butter. So, I discovered a few different brands that don’t have any trans fat, and not just this *none per serving. I like real stuff. Oh, and words I can pronounce. So, I absolutely love Trader Joe’s salted and roasted chunky PB along with Peanut Butter and Co. flavored spreads. So, I used my own little concotion and came up with an absolutely yummy recipe! Well, at least to me. But, this is coming from the home-chef who’s first recipe is named “Invention,” in which contained peanut butter, honey, sugar, and whatever else I had in the house. I used to dip apples in it. Thank goodness for Moms who capture these moments and save my seven-year old hand-written recipe in my scrapbook.
I think that lots of different-flavored PB’s would be great here. But, I really do suggest you stay away from any that have trans fats. PB & Co has some great flavors I think would be fun, including White Chocolate or Cinnamon Raisin Swirl . Of course, you could stick with plain ‘ol P.B. ;)
So, here’s how I made it:
1 1/2 cups (9.5 oz) Dark Chocolate Dreams P.B. spread
1 large egg, slightly cold*, slightly beaten
1 cup (7 oz) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1. Adjust baking racks in upper-middle and lower-middle in oven. Preheat oven to 375º. Place parchment paper on two cookie sheets.
2. Throw all ingredients into KA Mixer with paddle, or hand-mixer with beaters, and beat until thoroughly mixed. Dough will began to clump and pull from sides, and have a smooth texture.
3. Using a tablespoon measurement or cookie scoop measure out dough, and roll into balls. Place two inches apart on cookie sheets.
4. Bake 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Remove cookies and leave on sheets for two minutes, then remove to cooling rack.
5. Enjoy. Sharing Optional!
*I did the egg slightly cold, because I felt that room-temp would have made the dough too soft, but straight from the fridge would have coagulated the dough; so, I warmed it slightly in warm water (about 60 seconds), then used it. Perfect consistency!
P.S. The raw dough is super yummy!