Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

There are people who are just drawn to the splendid concoction of chocolate and peanut butter… in the same way that some can’t get over the whole chocolate-mint thing. (I happen to love both, by the way. Oh, and chocolate with caramel. Don’t forget chocolate and coconut, though- there’s a time and a place for that winning duo, too.) So when you know you like chocolate and peanut butter (Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups make a regular appearance in your chocolate bar rotation, don’t they?), why not add a little honey to the party? And why not health-ify a batch of cookies by eliminating the oil or butter, and adding whole wheat to take the whole “dessert-guilt” edge off?

Done.

(Oh- one more thing: these cookies are the easiest cookies e v e r to make.)

(Last point: they are dairy-free, in case you or anyone in your life cares about that sort of thing.)

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chocolate chips (ideally dark chocolate)

1/4 cup peanuts, chopped (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and stir until well combined. Scoop dough (about the size of a tablespoon) onto parchment paper and bake for about 10 – 12 minutes, until lightly browned and fragrant. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Tips:
- If your peanut butter is particularly stiff, add up to 1/4 cup more honey. If your PB is runny, use a bit less honey. (Bottom line- you’re looking for a scoopable texture of dough that will hold its shape on your parchment paper.) If your PB is really hard to stir, use your stand or hand mixer- why fight with a wooden spoon?
- Unsweetened PB is the healthiest route to take, but if you want to use the regular sweetened & salted stuff, I’m not going to hold you back.
- Mini chocolate chips work really well in this recipe, but by all means- use chocolate chunks.
- Skipping the cocoa powder is a good (but wistfully sad) way to keep the recipe high on the health scale. Just use a few chocolate chips to keep the fun factor at an enjoyable level- that’s all I ask. :)
- Whole wheat pastry flour is different than whole wheat flour (it’s lighter and bakes almost exactly as light as all-purpose flour). If you don’t have wwpf, then use half ww and half ap. Got that?
- The dough won’t spread as it bakes, so the shape you put on the baking sheet is pretty much the shape you’re going to end up with. (Translation: use a cookie scoop to get nice-looking cookies, if you care.) If you like squishy, sof cookies, under bake a bit. Crispy cookie monster? Bake a bit longer to get that crunch.
- Be sure to tell people that these are relatively guilt-free cookies. Tell yourself that too when you’re on your eighth one in a row.
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December 1st, 2012 | More Sweets Please | 2 Comments | Tags: Cookies, Dairy-Free

2 Responses and Counting...

Haley Burgstahler 12.01.2012

Dear Jodi,
Searching through all your recipes I came across your “healthy” items. I found it pleasing how you substitute the butter and oil with whole wheat. I am lactose intolerant and cannot eat butter so I am going to give this a try! I am curious how you started your blog? What advise would you give someone just starting out?

Thank you,
Haley Burgstahler
More Sweets Please

Hi there Haley… I am amazed at how many great cakes can be made without butter- like the Old-Fashioned (Vegan!) Chocolate Cake, the Classic Carrot Cake, and the Zucchini Bread (look them all up on this site!).
I started my blog out of a desire to do something creative a few years ago, and haven’t looked back. I didn’t know if I wanted to turn this into a fully functioning business (I still don’t) and am totally keeping options open- but for now love baking twice a week and telling the stories about it on the blog along the way.
Advice? Do it! (And don’t expect it to take off right away.) Do it if it would make you just as happy if 3 people read it or 3,000 or 300,000… oh, and don’t underestimate the time it takes. I’ll bake no matter what, and the photos don’t take that much time, but man- it does take a while to type out recipes. Beware of the time, which I suppose won’t matter if you love doing it just to do it for yourself. Good luck, and be sure to share your site when you launch!