Healthy Peanut Butter Brownies

Healthy brownies?!?!  If you are craving a yummy dessert, and want to skip the flour and processed sugar, then these light and chewy and ridiculously tasty brownies are for you.  They are sweetened with honey and are gluten free.  Next time you get the hankering for brownies, instead of reaching for the overly processed box of brownie mix,whip up a batch of these, you probably have the ingredients in your kitchen already. 

Peanut Butter Brownies:
Recipe adapted from Fly through our window

Ingredients:

16 oz of peanut butter (I use natural peanut butter)
2 eggs
1 cup honey or agave
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
5 ounces dark chocolate bar , chopped, or chocolate chips
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Mix peanut butter, eggs, & honey. Add in cocoa powder, salt, & baking soda. Fold in chopped dark chocolate/chips.
Spread into a greased  9×13 pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool before cutting.

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I made these cookies after a friend put the recipe on Facebook.  They are gluten-free, and possibly the quickest cookie to make in the entire world, mainly because of the lack of ingredients.  They are also super fun to make with kids!  Enjoy!


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Whip the first five ingredients together until thoroughly mixed.  Add the peanut butter and mix until creamy.  Mix in chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate, but any kind would do).  Bake for 12-15 minutes. 

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER

My "go to" cookie has always been the Nestle Toll House recipe on the back of the package of chocolate chips (with the addition of extra vanilla and a pinch of extra salt).  I always have the ingredients on hand, and it's incredibly easy, especially if you make them into bars...basically pouring all of the dough into a small cookie sheet.  Anyway, I was intrigued when I saw a recipe for "Chocolate Chip Cookies Reinvented" in an issue of Cooks Illustrated.  I was blown away at how much better this recipe could be...the only changes were browning the butter (which gave the cookies a toffee-like flavor), upping the brown sugar in the recipe, and the elimination of one egg white.  These are my new "go to" cookie, the are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside...the perfect cookie!   Anyway, try them out and enjoy!

1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18- by 12- inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.

3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use#24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but will require 3 batches.)

5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking seet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

Chocolate cookies

I love this simple chocolate cookie recipe from Martha Stewart.  They are perfectly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.  Normally, these cookies flatten out pretty well, but when I made them this time they stayed puffy.  I think it's because I used Silpats (silicone cookie sheet liners) instead of parchment paper.  I recently purchased a couple of them, and I'm still learning when to use them and when to not.  Flat or puffy, these cookies are tasty...enjoy!

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies (Martha Stewart)

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 sticks plus 4 tablespoons) unsalted, butter room temperature
2 cups sugar, plus more for dipping
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, 2 cups sugar, and eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix to combine. Gradually add dry ingredients, and combine with mixer on low speed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and chill until dough is firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Dip top of each ball into sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.