I had planned a warming porridge for this past week’s post but a combination of weather (oppressively hot) and a new baby (not mine) queered the pitch.
That’s alright because in the process of being derailed, I discovered these obscenely delicious cookies. So I hope you don’t mind me interrupting your Sunday evening to bring them to you.
I still get nervous whenever I share cookies of this nature (you know, the weird unconventional kind) with another living being outside our family so it was not without some relief (and a great deal of pleasure) that I received a message (the very next day) from our lovely neighbor — and new mom — letting me know that there were no cookies left and could she please have the recipe.
With only 3 base ingredients in the batter, it’s the kind of recipe you look at and think, really? How is this ever going to work… and yet, it does. Every time. The cookies firm up on the exterior just like conventionally baked ones while remaining gorgeously moist and melt-in-your-mouth tender on the inside. A concentrated protein snack that delivers all the yumminess we occasionally crave without the usual load. And, it might take about 7 minutes to pull together.
My husband, who describes these nut butter bites simply as wicked, insisted that I blog the peanut butter/chocolate chip version (his favorite and the variety we made for our neighbor) but of course, you could experiment with other nut or seed butters here and play around with add-ins of choice. One of my favorite variations is with dried cranberry and shaved coconut in place of the chocolate and I also like to make these with almond butter ~ more expensive but another delicious and nutritious option.
For best results, be sure to read the Notes in the recipe card below and I invite you to drop in to let me know about your own variations and reactions to these kookie cookies!
- 1 cup all natural creamy peanut butter
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- scant ½ cup dark chocolate chips or alternate add-ins of choice: dried cranberry, apricot, cherry, raisin, coconut shavings, etc.
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Place peanut butter, egg and maple syrup in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fully integrated (only about 15 seconds).
- Add chocolate chips and mix by hand (with a spatula or wooden spoon).
- Drop the cookies by tablespoon full (or so) onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, allowing at least one inch between the cookies (they don't spread a great deal).
- Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes or until they are firm to the touch and just starting to take on a golden exterior.
- Remove the cookies from oven and allow then to cool on a rack before enjoying.
- Store any remaining cookies (!) in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The cookies will darken somewhat but will be equally (if not more) delicious.
Unsweetened PB: I used an unsweetened natural peanut butter in this recipe and determined the amount of maple syrup accordingly. If you are working with a sweetened PB, you may wish to adjust the syrup content (although this can sometime influence the result - the syrup assists with binding) so my best suggestion would be to wait until you need more nut butter and opt for unsweetened for the purposes of this particular recipe.
Allergies & Preferences: As mentioned in the post, you can experiment with any nut or seed butter here so don't be deterred by the use of peanuts in the demo recipe. Both sunflower seed and pumpkin seed are low allergens.
Additions & Substitutions: As mentioned in the post, feel free to sub other fruit/nuts/seeds in place of the chocolate in this recipe. Adding liquids (lemon, mint, vanilla, etc.) may influence the outcome though, so you might wish to start with increments (1 tsp for example) and see how the recipe responds.
Just had a taste of these lovely treats!
Made them as a treat for lunches.
Just loved loved loved my taste>Thanks Kelly love the cookie
so happy to hear that you enjoyed them! thanks so much for dropping by to let me know and spread the sunshine :) x
Kelly, our Healthy Living Group leader brought these cookies, made with almond butter and coconut to our meeting this week. Your husband was right!! they taste so decadent. Like something I shouldn’t eat. But I can.. Thanks for posting this. I want to try them with the dark chocolate chips too.
What a delight to read your message this morning Judy. I’m so happy to hear these cookies made a good impression with your group — yay! In addition to being on the healthier side, the recipe is also completely adaptive so have fun switching up the ingredients and seeing what works best for you :) I appreciate you taking the time to stop by… reader feedback fuels my work so thank you for the encouragement. Have a beautiful day.
Three ingredients….yes pleaaaaaaase!! I am moving into a house with my two best friends this week and one of them is celiac. It’s going to be an interesting adjustment to live in an entirely gluten-free household….but recipes like this give me comfort. We can have delicious flourless cookies- woohoo!!!!!
wonderful KoKo — good luck with the move! You’ll be happy to have this recipe in your back pocket during the busy transition. Not only is it gluten-free, it’s also supremely simple! (and rather delish :D) xx
While I won’t eat a chocolate cookie, as you know, one of my favorite PB cookies is flourless with maybe three ingredients. My mom makes them and I love them! They are chewy and soft. I don’t miss the flour at all. So I can imagine these are just as good (if you like chocolate). ;)
thanks for stopping by Kristy – have a lovely day.
“…queered the pitch”! Are you a recovering lawyer, by chance? I love it!
And clearly we were having very similar cookie thoughts last week. So funny. I am also hesitant to impose my healthy cookies on others, but I figure as long as they taste good what’s the risk? Right? Right. I’ve won many people over with my sunflower butter cookies, and another recipe for double chocolate sunflower seed cookies, which is surprisingly nutritious and oh so so so delicious! I will have to put that one up on my blog.
Your new mom friend is a lucky lady :-).
yeah, my concern is a bit how I described it to Eva above — what if I’m just accustomed :)) sunflower butter is DELISH and yes, cookies on the mind! digital telepathy ;p
I made a similar recipe a couple of years ago and was scratching my head the entire time…how does it work? One of my dear friend’s kid made the recipe from the back of a commercial PB and I gave it a try. Surprising that it works so beautifully! I then proceeded to make them with natural PB (to be honest, we can’t stand the commercial sugar loaded stuff). I’ve used crunchy PB to get the texture without adding extra nuts. Stirring the stuff is indeed a good workout! I love that you used maple syrup too, such a good alternative to processed sugar and it would add a lovely flavour.
I remember the first time I tasted natural (unsalted, unsweetened) peanut butter at a co-op in Montreal (health food stores evolved from there) I was in my early twenties (dat was a long time ago!) anyway, I thought it was awful — dry, bland and generally unpalatable in comparison to the commercial stuff we grew up on … funny how that works. It’s all what you get used to :) cheers Eva.
“queered the pitch” what a great expression! I had to look that one up :) you always bring a smile. You are the Queen of invention when it comes to cookies and bars Kelly. I love how you refashion recipes to minimize the ingredients none of us need while still preserving the yum factor that keeps us coming back for more. Cannot wait to try this version – they look delicious (love the milk glass).
gotta love those lesser-known dated phrases :)) so glad you like these flourless bites Elizabeth – let me know if you get a chance to make them. I use that little glass mostly for flowers but thought it might be fun in this image – thank you !
Color me intrigued…. I am not too fond of peanut butter in sweet stuff, but I know Phil would love these\
I might make a batch and bring to the department – although, I’ve been recently accused as responsible for some folks here gaining weight. So very unfair! ;-)
almond butter is always an option :) yes, haha, I’m not sure I’d want to be in the department either with all your irresistible goodies Sally…
Oh, I’d love to have you around…. I promise to exercise moderation!
;-)
I made these this afternoon – quick & easy! I used crunchy, organic PB from Trader Joe’s – worked just fine. I did add a little salt & vanilla.
so happy to get your note! thanks so much for letting us know and pleased to hear they worked out for you.
Peanut butter cookies are my favorite cookie, but I’ve never had one that wasn’t full of butter. OMG Kelly…these are fantastic! I can’t wait to make them! I happen to have a jar of natural PB that I bought thinking Bobby would use it for his PB&Js. Well, that didn’t work. He prefers the commercial brands, so now I know what I’m going to do with that jar of PB! Thanks! However, I guess I should mention that it’s a crunchy natural PB. Do you think that would still work?
I have every reason to believe that crunchy PB would be absolutely delish :) and as I read through the comments this morning I see that Runner Girl (below) has already tried the experiment and reported back to us! Thanks RunnerGirl :)
Have a great day MJ and do let me know if you give them a try!
I adore flourless cookies. These are definitely a must-have in my life.
me too :) specially ones that allow the natural ingredients to shine. Cheers Angie.
i love that your husband used the word “wicked” to describe these! i’ve been enjoying justin’s vanilla almond butter lately, seems i need to use it to make cookies soon :) and thanks for experimenting with maple syrup instead of sugar, not typical of most flourless recipes. xo
it always amazes me when these little experiments work out — it’s no mystery when using 1 or 2 cups of coarse sugar :p but a little less predictable with scant quantities of syrup. thanks Amanda – have a great day.
They look delicious ! Love the simple and healthy ingredients. Can’t wait to try these!
thanks so much Lynn! let me know if you give them a try :)
i always have problems sneaking an “untraditional” cookie by The Hubs. i think I will try my sneakiness again with these.
heeheeh, let me know if you pull it off! :D
Three ingredients? I’m in awe! They must be so chewy and yummy… I’m usually not a big fan of peanut butter in sweets, but now I’m tempted to empty my jar of peanut butter open for ages… Thank you for such an inspiring recipe!
it’s very yummy but you certainly don’t have to limit yourself to PB – you could experiment with any seed or nut butter here :)
Thank you for the idea… I would never think of other nut butters, but recently I was very surprised to see the big choice in my shop.