Howdy, all!

I cook a lot of GF-friendly meals and figured I'd post one or two... Anywho, I'm a big fan of chocolate and peanut butter. I also try to eat a lot of protein, and I shy clear of refined sugars, don't eat a lot of grains, etc. I do, however, also have a helluva sweet tooth. The solution?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

You'll need the following:

1 cup peanut butter (I used chunky, but you can also use smooth) <<-- MAKE SURE THEY HAVEN'T ADDED SALT!
1/3 cup honey (or 3 tblsp honey and a dropper of liquid stevia if you're watching your sugar)
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
chocolate chips to your liking (I used about 1/2 cup 85% dark chocolate)

You will also need a cookie sheet, silicone mat or parchment paper, a measuring cup, a spatula, and a cookie spoon (optional, not shown). You will also, of course, require an oven.

Preheat that oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 1: Mixin' It Up

Mix together you peanut butter, honey (and stevia, if you're using it), and egg until combined. Add in the salt and baking powder and stir in again. Chop up your chocolate into the desired chunk sizes or, if you're a normal human being, your chocolate is probably already in chip form. Either way, load that ish into the bowl and fold it into the sweet, peanut butter-y goodness.

Step 2: Portioning and Baking

Line your cookie sheet with your silicone mat or parchment paper, and use either a cookie scoop, spoon, or the ability to consistently measure cookie dough (a priceless skill!) to make about 15-18 little battle of dough spaced out across your cookie sheet. Flatten them out a bit. The dough is way stickier than traditional cookie dough, so you can wet your hands a bit to help keep it all from sticking to your fingers... Because then you'd have to lick it all off of your hands... And that would be bad... Apparently.

Either way! Once you're all set, place that tray into your preheated oven and wait for 8-10 minutes. They are done when they have just begun to brown! Overcooking them yields an unsweetened peanut butter chore of a cookie.

But it's not over yet.

Step 3: Chocolate Magicalness

The cooking have to be left to rest on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, during which time they will firm up. Try and eat them right out of the oven and they'll be a delicious crumbly mess...

But 10 minutes can feel like an eternity when you can see and smell the cookies you've just devoted your time and peanut butter to, so we need to do something to fill that time.

ENTER: Chocolate. BONUS!

You're just going to need a microwave, a microwave-safe bowl, another spatula, some chocolate (whatever your favourite bar or chips is or are), and coconut oil.

Heat up 1 cup of the chocolate chips/chunks/squares in the microwave for 1:00 at a time until melted, stirring between heatwaves. Fold in 1/4 cup of coconut oil to make a ganache.

Step 4: Cookie Time!

Once your cookies are cool enough, you can either dip them in the chocolate, coat them in the chocolate, drizzle chocolate over them, or use the chocolate ganache to sandwich them together. Any option is BEAUTIFUL. Just set them on wax or parchment paper or another silicone mat to let the chocolate set.

Approximate nutritional information (since a lot of GF folks are also watching their diets in general) for 15 cookies*:
130 cal.
10g fat (2 sat. fat)
11 g carbs (1.5 fibre, 8.5 sugar)
4.5 g protein

*This is as I made them, with the full volume of honey, no stevia, and not counting the ganache because that can vary greatly depending on how or even if you decide to use it.

If you're Paleo or have a peanut allergy, you can substitute another nut butter for this recipe. I've had really good results using almond butter to make a cookie dough base, and it goes very well with everything from chocolate to chopped nuts to cranberries to coconut. The possibilities are pretty extensive, and the results are delicious.

Enjoy!