My pre-wedding/New Year eating resolve was to try out the Primal Diet, which basically means try to eat like a cave [wo]man, aka no processed stuff, no grains, no refined sugar, no delicious pasta, bread etc. But hey, lots of kale. I will openly admit that I only eat primal 80 70 percent of the time. But even that much really does make me feel awesome.
These cookies are NOT primal. But they are flowerless, so that should count for something. And they are quite possibly the best peanut butter cookies ever. I first had them when Amanda threw a party for all my former students so we could squeal over engagement stuff. And in comparison with the copious amounts of pizza rolls, mini cupcakes, and cheesy dip that I consumed, these cookies were practically primal.
Out of Control Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies
1 cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky/crunchy
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional—mini, regular size, or chocolate chunks)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients (except chocolate chips) together well. Last, add chocolate chips (if desired) and mix well. Grease or moisten hands slightly and form dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls on ungreased cookie sheet. (DO NOT press down as in some traditional recipes.) Bake 8 – 10 minutes or until golden brown and cookies look “set,” but not done. Do not overcook. Then allow cookies to sit on cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes. (This step is very important, because cookies finish cooking during this time and totally set up. They also taste much better when the have re-solidified and are really great a couple hours later.) Remove cookies for cooling. Makes about 24 – 30 cookies.
The Art in Life 
Wonderful! I was trying to think of something gluten free to bake for an upcoming bake sale, as those on a gluten-free diet are so often left behind during such events. I was trying to find recipes without costly recipes such as xantham gum and rice flour. Thank you for this timely post!
And, once again, CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement. I’m having fun gleaning inspiration from your wedding board on Pinterest.
Suzy, I agree! I started doing occasional gluten free baking when a close friend had to give up gluten and I found that a) cooking those really complex “replacement” type of recipes are very expensive and b) they rarely taste as good as the flour versions. Thus I am all about finding recipes that just ARE gluten free in their original state.
And thanks — same to you!!!!! : )
Hannah,
I found this recipe a few months ago and we’ve had them 3 or 4 times since then. LOVE the recipe! So easy! We tried a few variations – Almond butter was a flop, crunchy PB was a hit.
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Omg. Thank you! These cookies… You weren’t kidding, these really are out of control. I switched it up a little bit by subbing organic coconut sugar in place of regular Brown sugar, and I used 25% peanut butter, 75% sunbutter. I also doubled the recipe. I melted Enjoy Life chocolate chips with coconut oil in a double burner and then used a small round ice mold tray to freeze my own little chocolates. I pressed them into the cookies, and voila! Peanut Butter blossoms! I could have eaten 3 dozen by myself. I’m about to make them again to reward myself after labor! (38 weeks preggo, lol)