I had every intention of making tofu casserole today but when I opened the oven door, what should I find inside but these enormously moist and wonderfully delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
You just never know what the universe is going to throw at you.
Happily, I have strong adaptive skills.
February is birthday month in this family and since none of us are big cake people, I thought these cookies might be a nice switch up.
I generally use olive oil in baking however for these cookies, I chose butter. Yes, that’s right folks, butter. A good old fashion saturated fat.
The big message from the public health world and food manufacturers since the 1970s has been that saturated fat is the cause of heart disease. Over the years, this lipid hypothesis has gradually been disproven and very few credible scientists currently hold this view. Yet the demonization of saturated fat has been so effective and well entrenched in the minds of consumers, that many of us are still operating under the assumption that we shouldn’t be eating saturated fat /dietary cholesterol.
Scientists have moved away from the lipid hypothesis and have begun to turn their attention increasingly to inflammation as a cause of heart disease and the fact that refined carbohydrates appear to increase inflammation and metabolic syndrome.
For anyone interested in a primer on fats, Michael Pollan does a nice job summarizing the scientific literature in his readable book In Defense of Food. For a more detailed scientific discussion, I recommend Mary Enig’s Know Your Fats.
Whole Grain Peanut Butter Cookies with Dark Chocolate Chips
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1 cup spelt flour
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1/3 cup ground flaxseed
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1 tsp baking soda
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1 tsp baking powder
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1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
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½ cup butter
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½ cup palm sugar
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1 egg
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1 ½ tsp vanilla
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1 cup just nuts peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
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350 F.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together. Add egg and vanilla and finally peanut butter beating to combine.
In a separate smaller bowl, combine spelt flour, ground flaxseed, baking soda and baking powder, mixing to combine. Add chocolate chips.
Add dry ingredients to wet, mixing just until combine.
On a non-stick baking sheet, drop peanut butter chocolate cookies by tablespoon full, pressing down gently on each.
Bake cookies for approximately 10 minutes, or until they are just beginning to brown but still soft inside.
Allow cookies to cool before enjoying…
Easy,simple and affordable recipe. Another great ideas from you. Thank you dear.
Here is my take on butter: if you’re using a big brand product like Land O Lakes you’re probably no better off than the margarine users. Go for butter made from grass-fed cows.
Hee.hee, I love your attitude! :)
I need your oven! These are delightful cookies and I adore flaxseed! I so agree about butter, love the stuff ;) Still balance is the key for me, and cookies really help balance out all of my salads I say :)
Thanks Sarah… have a great evening.
Yay!!
Right.
I love my magic oven.
I fully understand – this has been a very powerful message for many, many years… Cheers Alyssa.
Indeed.
Eat food.
Perfect! Yes, focus on the good stuff and crowd out the less good :) I like that philosophy too.
Thanks Stephanie ~ carbs taste so darn good indeed… :)
Everything in moderation
haha! Thanks Kay – have a great evening!
yes, unfortunately, the first generation of margarines contained trans fats – they have since reinvented margarine that is trans fat free however, I cannot think of a more synthetic product. You can’t outsmart mother nature ;-)Cheers Sissi.
Thanks Eva –
I will be thinking of your mom too…
Moderation indeed ;0)
Thanks Georgia ~ I appreciate you dropping by.
Merci ma belle –
Food manufacturers are powerful messagers of information. My personal favourite are the “no cholesterol” labels on plant-based oils… that’s when you know you’re really being laughed at.
Thanks Angie ~ and the big bonus is that they taste great! :)
Hallelujah sister!
I’m particularly happy with the ground flaxseed in these puppies… I think it’s a worthwhile, quality addition. Your chocolate cookies are dynamite Charles!
I think our grandparents will be outliving us… your grandpa rocks!
Thanks Yummy!
Orange cream sauce? mmmmm…..
Thanks Linda – yes, I think the idea is to keep it real. We keep trying to outsmart mother nature. We have to learn to let it be.
Ha.ha, thanks MJ. That hand churned butter sounds pretty wonderful… cheers.
These sound (and look) fantastic! Love the whole grains…and the butter!
peanut butter and dark chocolate are my favorite combo. yummy!!!
All things in moderation, right? And if my oven chose to hand me a batch of these cookies…I wouldn’t fight it either. Delicious!
Very interesting about butter…I was under the impression that it wasn’t heart healthy too so I don’t cook with it often. Thanks for a little education on the subject. I love the cookies! Making them whole grain is even better
These look delicious! When I bake, I like to use either olive oil or butter – mostly butter. I’ve found that I’m not a fan of margarine. My theory is both olive oil and butter are FOOD. …and these cookies look AMAZING! Happy Valentines Day!
Definitely bumped to my “To Try…Soon!” list. Love that they’re whole wheat and I agree about the butter. I think there should be more of a focus on moderation versus “bad” foods.
Great cookies, Kelly! I also appreciate what you said about saturated fats like butter. I try not to eat a ton of it, but I have no issues using it in my cooking for the exact reasons you stated above. Darn those evil carbs!
Kelly.. I am in love with a cookie LOL. I will no longer deny that I adore this whole grain peanut butter cookie nd I can’t wait to make it :)
Kelly, the cookies look deliciously crunchy and chocolatey. Spelt flour is the healthy, original touch I am always so happy to find in your recipes. I am happy you bring up the butter subject. The worst in these anti-butter times was not the use of oil, but margarin. (I’m also sure the producers made everything they could to convince peopel how great margarin was since it was much cheaper to produce). Luckily my mum was the margarin victim for a very short time and only partly (we always had both butter and margarine in the fridge), but I still remember how awfully it tastes on bread… Cakes baked with neutral tasting oils can sometimes be softer and in general nice, but I have never tasted a cake which is better with margarine than with butter. I’m happy the margarin mania has stopped.
Looks delicious Kelly. Happy Birthday month! My Mom’s birthday was in February too; we always try to get together with my brothers family to remember. I’ll need some health-conscious treats for that day, and this recipe might just be it. It’s nice to hear that butter isn’t the bad boy we all thought it was. What is that saying, everything in moderation…
Wow, Kelly, these cookies look amazing! So big and chewy and I bet really delicious. Love your choice of ingredients too, and I commend using good ole, REAL butter whenever possible. ;) Thanks for sharing your recipe.
OOOO, these are melting in my mouth this very moment, dearest…
Xxx
My Inner Chick http://myinnerchick.com
These cookies look delightful. Peanut butter is my favorite dessert flavor. I’m also so glad to hear more and more people spreading the good word about butter. It’s been so demonized that I still get feedback that because my recipes often include butter that they aren’t healthy. I rarely know where to begin. Thanks for the great post.
Spelt, flaxseed, and peanut butter…those are definitely my type of cookies!
I love me a stick of butter. Hell yes I do.
Hi Kelly – since these are whole-grain then it means I can eat several score of them instead of just the one or two, right? :D
They look fantastic – I actually made some cookies myself today too. Not quite as health-aware as yours… I actually have a load of spelt flour in the cupboard – I should play about a bit with it!
I’m all for butter! No but seriously, I think in moderation it’s fine to eat saturated fats…my great grandpa ate bacon sandwiches daily and lived into his 90s. These cookies look nice and thick and chewy like I like ’em!
Wow! Healthy and yummy. Thumbs up!
Hee.hee, magic oven indeed! Thanks Eliot ;-)
I love a person who adapts to unexpected changes. A clear sign of wisdom.
I was very firm on the idea of having my high protein pancake for lunch with a bit of cottage cheese on the side. But, when I opened the fridge, I saw this small bowl of leftover black pasta with orange cream sauce.
I adapted. I mean, what else could I possibly have done?
I feel much better now and can enjoy my butter without guilt!! I do use butter, real butter. In fact I like the European butter that really does smell like butter!! And with that butter I’m definitely making these! Yum..really comfort cookies!
I love your “in the defense of butter”! I’m sorry, but having been raised on hand churned butter, I’ve never been able to use margarine. I was thrilled when I started finding the same studies as you that inflammation has more to do with heart disease than saturated fats. It’s not that I eat a lot of it, but now I don’t feel so guilty – whoops – I never did feel guilty – who am I fooling? :) Anyhoo – your cookies look fabulous – butter and all! Both Bobby and I would definitely prefer these cookies over a cake any day!
Oh, my. Where did you get that magical oven? These look wonderful! I am sure they will be a hit for all the b-days.