Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Monday is not my favorite day of the week. I have a hard time coming back to work, especially after a fun holiday weekend. We went hiking and spent time at the Dewey's. We enjoyed the pool, a bbq, fireworks, etc. It was a perfect weekend.

On Saturday while the guys were playing "blood ball" in the pool, I baked cookies. Josh was outside and the Dewey's love peanut butter so I tried a flourless peanut butter cookie. No flour in a cookie? You read it right. I was intrigued too. The recipe called for peanut butter, sugar, baking soda, and an egg. How easy! Of course I had to play around a little, so I added vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, and chocolate chips.

The cookies melt in your mouth. They are soft, delicate, and full of peanut butter goodness. I am glad I added the chocolate chips, everyone loved the peanut butter and chocolate combo. When I told the group there was no flour in the cookies, they were amazed. No one even missed it! I will have to kick Josh out of the house so I can bake these again:)





Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Joy the Baker

(Printable Recipe)

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup brown sugar & 1/2 cup white sugar)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray.
2. Mix the peanut butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth.
3. Add in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
4. Stir in the salt, baking soda, and chocolate chips.
5. Spoon dough into balls, about 1 Tablespoon of dough for each cookie. Place them on the cookie sheets, about 2 inches apart.
6. Smash with a fork and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes. Move to a wire rack and cool. Make sure you don't overbake. They will set up and you want them to be soft.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

Today is our last day of vacation in Palm Beach, sad! The week flew by! We've had a great time. I will do a trip post soon, but today I want to share my chocolate peanut butter brownie wedges. I made these on Memorial Day and they were a crowd pleaser.

Fudgy brownies are one of my favorite treats. I made my basic brownie recipe and added in chopped up Reese's peanut butter cups. I also swirled in peanut butter with a toothpick. I wanted these to be extra peanut buttery!

The brownies were gooey, fudgy, and loaded with peanut butter goodness. I cut the brownies in wedges and served them with a mini peanut butter cup on top! If you are a sucker for chocolate and peanut butter, you will adore these brownies. I know I will be baking them again!





Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies

(Printable Recipe)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate, (2 ounces) coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp table salt
1/3 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Reese's peanut butter cups, chopped (I didn't measure, add what you want)
Peanut butter-I used creamy, about a 1/3 of a cup

Position an oven rack on the middle rung. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake or pie pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add in the chocolate chunks. Whisk until blended.
In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, eggs, and extract with a fork until just blended.
Pour the liquid over the flour mixture and mix with a rubber spatula until just blended. The batter will be kind of dry, don’t worry. Add in the peanut butter cups and stir until combined.

Scrape the mixture in to the pan and spread evenly. You might have to press the mixture in to the sides if you are having trouble spreading with a spatula. Swirl in the peanut butter with a toothpick or knife.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in to the center comes out with only a few gooey pieces clinging to it. Transfer the baking dish to a cooling rack and let cool. Cut into wedges. Add a mini peanut butter cup on top, if you wish!

Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Buter Chips

Did everyone have a nice Memorial Day weekend? We sure did. We spent the weekend at the Dewey's. We adopted ourselves into their family:) We had a couple of bbq's, enjoyed some pool time, basketball, baking, movies, runs/walks, and movies. The perfect weekend. It was hard to come back to work today.

I made several treats over the weekend. I love baking for crowds. Everything gets gobbled up which means no temptation for me:) I usually don't bake peanut butter treats because Josh is allergic, but I knew everyone else would love them.

I made chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips. A very chocolaty cookie, more like a brownie with peanut butter chips. Nothing too special or out of the ordinary, but just a good cookie. I did use yogurt and I am glad I did. The cookies were really soft. You really can't go wrong with the chocolate and peanut butter combo.

Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips

(Printable Recipe)

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter
7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used fat free)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350ºF; line 2 baking sheets with baking paper, lightly coated with cooking spray. I used Silpats! Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Sift together flour, soda, and salt; set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat; stir in cocoa powder and sugars (mixture will resemble coarse sand). Add yogurt and vanilla, stirring to combine. Add flour mixture, stirring until moist. Stir in peanut butter chips. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes or until almost set. Cool on pans 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

First of all, thanks to everyone for your kind comments!! You are all too nice!!

Yes, you read the title correctly, PEANUT BUTTER cookies!! As most of you know, my Joshua is VERY allergic to nuts. I know he can't help it so I am not mad or angry at the world, I just miss my nuts! He doesn't mind if I eat them, but I usually try to omit them from all of the recipes, just to be safe.

Lincoln and Gram, two of our favorite people, both had birthdays recently. Josh suggested that we bake them a PB treat! They love all things peanut butter. I was thrilled, but what to bake? I rarely get to use peanut butter so I was having a hard time choosing a recipe. There are so many out there that I want to make.

Well, when in doubt, turn to Dorie. She has all of the answers. I decided to make her Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters. Every time I get out BFMHTY, I turn to that page and wish I could bake them. Technically, I could bake them anytime, but that would mean me eating them ALL and that is not necessary:) So, I am glad I finally had a good "excuse" to try these cookies.

I loved the oats, cinnamon, and nutmeg with the peanut butter. Just the right flavor, and of course the chocolate chips enhanced the cookie's goodness. I also added in some peanut butter chips that were hiding in the freezer. I forgot how much I love peanut butter, these cookies really hit the spot. And most importantly, Lincoln and Gram loved them. I am so glad they enjoyed their extra special birthday treat!

Thanks Dorie for another fabulous sweet treat!

Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters

From Baking, From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan

(Printable Recipe)

The recipe below makes about 60 cookies. I made a half batch and it was still plenty of cookies. These do freeze well though, so go wild and make a big batch.

~3 cups old fashioned oats
~1 cup all purpose flour
~1 tsp baking soda
~2 tsp ground cinnamon
~1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
~1/4 tsp salt
~2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
~1 cup peanut butter--I used chunky, Dorie's favorite too:)
~1 cup sugar ~1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
~2 large eggs
~1 tsp pure vanilla extract
~9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 1/2 cups store-bought chocolate chips or chunks (I used chocolate and peanut butter chips)

Getting Ready: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating only until blended. Mix in the chips.

If you have the time, cover and chill the dough for about 2 hours or for up to one day. (Chilling the dough will give you more evenly shaped cookies.) If the dough is not chilled, drop rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the baking sheets. If the dough is chilled, scoop up rounded tablespoons, roll the balls between your palms and place them 2 inches apart on the sheets. Press the chilled balls gently with the heel of your hand until they are about 1/2 inch thick.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 7 minutes. The cookies should be golden and just firm around the edges. Lift the cookies onto cooling racks with a wide metal spatula - they'll firm as they cool.