Congratulations to Katie C. the winner of the Uncommon Goods Giveaway! I know you will enjoy the gifts as much as I did!
Hi friends. It has been way too long. I am back from vacation in San Diego and totally behind schedule. I planned on blogging while I was there but I took my lap top which I don’t usually blog from and it was so slow that I couldn’t handle wasting precious vacation time trying to post. I didn’t take many real photos but if you are on instagram you can see a few of the ones I did take while in San Diego (click on the IG button up top). We hit up Disneyland, California Adventure park AND Sea World! Then we drove 20 hours home to Washington. We are a bit tired over here.
To be quite honest, ever since the tragedy struck Newton, I have had no desire to think about food or write about it. I am still in mourning, like so many of you, for those families who lost loved ones. I know that this particular tragedy really hit close to home because I have a 6 year old. He started kindergarten this year. I can’t imagine life without him and can’t stop thinking about this horrible, senseless act of violence. Now when I walk into his school I think about how no one is safe. It makes me so terribly sad and angry. There isn’t much else to say. I will continue to hold those people of Newton close to my heart. I will continue to pray for the mentally ill and sick people in our world and hope that they get the help they need.
I will most likey take a mini break from blogging over the next week or two as needed because quite honestly I’d rather prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth with my family. I know you understand.
Before I go, I do want to share this flourless peanut butter cookie recipe I made a couple weeks ago. This is what I’d consider a lightened version of the original peanut butter blossom cookie. These are perfect for your gluten free friends and family and perfect for Santa who might need a slightly lighter treat. Not only did I cut OUT the flour, I reduced the sugar by half and surprisingly I like them even better than regular ones. I also used a dark chocolate kiss instead of milk chocolate for the extra bit of antioxidants (like how I justified that one).
It’s nice to have a treat on hand to accommodate gluten free guests but sometimes I just get lazy and the less ingredients the better! You will thank me for this one. I plan on doing a lot of baking with the kids this week and am going to make another batch of these.
So grab these simple 5 ingredients (only FOUR to make the actual cookie) and bake some cookies with your loved ones. I will see you back here soon friends!
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter (I use Jif's Natural)
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 14 Hershey's dark chocolate kisses
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat brown sugar, peanut butter, egg and vanilla extract in a medium bowl and blend until smooth.
- Scoop 1 Tablespoon of dough and shape into a 1½ inch ball. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until set (note that dough will still be very soft at this point). Press chocolate kiss gently into center of cookie and let cool for ~5-10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to cooking rack. Let cookies cool completely until fully set.
Question: have you ever made flourless cookies? What is on your Christmas baking list?
Peanut Butter Pancakes
Roasted Tomato Salsa
Honey Peanut Chicken Satay
Easy Vegetable Soup
These cookies look great. Peanut Butter Blossoms are my boyfriend’s favorite cookie and I am planning on making them later today. I’m putting together a round up of Christmas Cookies and I’d love to feature these, if you don’t mind!
Sylvia @ Frolic Through Life recently posted..Panera Soup to the Rescue
That would be great Sylvia! Thanks and look forward to seeing your round up. 🙂
I kind of feel the same way. I’m still blogging but I just don’t have the “oomph” right now. I think there’s so many other things going on that it’s not the right time. I’m sure we’ll feel revived in the new year!
The PB Kiss cookies are my favorite. It’s funny how they become a staple at any cookie swap from Halloween (witches hats!) to Christmas. What’s not to love, too – chocolate and PB!
Angela @ Happy Fit Mama recently posted..Street Food
Yes, I am sure our “oomph” will return with time. Enjoy the rest of year! 🙂
Those cookies look delicious.
I think when a horrible event like in Newtown happens, especially when children are the victims, it is difficult to go on as if nothing is different. We all write about various aspects of our lives, which is fine, but they seem so unimportant for a while. I think, though we need to hold on to the regular, light things that we do, because otherwise these events would be even more overwhelming.
Debbie @ Live from La Quinta recently posted..Weekly Reader: Christmas Shopping Inspiration
That is such a good point Debbie. It can be a good distraction. I don’t want to fall into the trap of being glued to the tv/computer re the tragedy which totally drains me. Thanks for the comment. 🙂
Thank you so much! I know I will love them!
I will be making these cookies, for sure. They look so good and easy!
katie @ fromicecreamtomarathon recently posted..Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Review and Giveaway!
That makes so much sense– take time to celebrate Christmas and be with your family… having a 6 year old would really hit close to home.
Amazing recipe! Pb and dark chocolate are my two favorite foods. 🙂
Thanks Laura! My fav foods too. 😉
These cookies look fantastic! I have a peanut butter and chocoholic in my house who will want to try and make them herself! Thanks for the recipe.
Recently, I’ve been experimenting with flourless baking, substituting almond and coconut flours (technically, not flours, right?) for wheat-based products. The more I read about wheat the less I want to include it in family’s diet.
Tamara recently posted..5 reasons to trade your glasses for contact lenses during exercise
Thanks Tamara! Bob’s Red Mill products inspire me to experiment more. It’s funny how those used to be such unusual products but they are becoming more popular.
I’m in a grief haze from last week’s tragedy too and having a hard time finding meaning in things that normally bring me joy–like baking and blogging. But it was also a powerful reminder of just how much I have to be grateful for this season and always.
I’ve had good luck with several gluten free peanut butter cookies, but never thought to try the peanut blossoms without flour. Genius! My holiday baking for the season is almost complete, but I’m bookmarking these for next year.
Wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas Melanie.
love,
Bobbi
Bobbi recently posted..The End of the World and Salted Chocolate Chip Shortbread
Thank you for this recipe! I don’t eat butter for health reasons so I usually do not eat any holiday treats. I have been looking for more recipes such as this one. I made these last night and they were so easy to make. I thought the dough might be hard to handle but it was easy to form the balls of dough. These were a hit with the family, I got 18 out of the recipe and think I might have to make another batch this week.
You are so welcome! I am glad you can enjoy some treats too. I thought they were even better the next couple days and I froze half which I just defrosted and they still taste great. I always tend to have a heavy hand when forming cookies or scooping cupcakes. 😉 Happy Holidays!
Thanks for this recipe. Just a heads up, the special dark chocolate Hershey’s Kisses are not considered gluten-free. (http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/GlutenFreeSnacks/f/Hersheys-Kisses-Gluten-Free.htm)
Alysa (InspiredRD) recently posted..Advent Conspiracy Coffee Stand is Open!
Hi! I’ve made the flourless peanut butter cookie with 1 cup of white sugar many times. We love them! I tried a batch with the 1/2 cup of brown sugar (I only had dark brown) and I didn’t have kisses, so I put made a thumbprint in each baked cookie and added 5 sugar free chocolate chips. I put them in the oven for another minute do they could melt a little and sprinkled them with red, white and green sprinkles for Christmas. They taste better with the brown sugar. Plus it was half the amount! Are white and brown sugar the same sugar grams per ounce? Thank you for the recipe. I’m so glad I found you. =)