5 Ingredient Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
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| halfbakedharvest.com |
Originally, these cookies were supposed to be Friday’s post, but when I sat down to write today’s post, I really just wanted to write about cookies. Granted it’s currently very, very cold, and very, very snowy outside, so talking about a green salad, just didn’t seem right. Snow days need cookies, and hey, at least these cookies are healthy…ish!
Real talk for a second? Well I’ve loved creating some seriously bright recipes this January for our Healthy January, the one thing I have struggled with is healthier desserts. I always find healthier desserts a little harder than say, just throwing a whole bunch of extra vibrant food in a bowl and calling it a day. Unlike savory foods, desserts usually need a little sugar, and if there’s one thing all health experts agree on, it’s that sugar is pretty bad for us.
UGH. But what about our chocolate sweets, you know?
I’m not one to give up on a good challenge, so I had to start getting a little creative when it came to healthier sweets.
Enter these cookies. They are flourless, butterless, and contain no processed sugar.
Aside from the dates, these cookies are made up of four other ingredients: peanut butter, vanilla extract, an egg, and a generous amount of dark chocolate.
The peanut butter is the key flavor here and I LOVE it…but I’m sure you guys could have guess that. Peanut butter and chocolate are definitely one of my favorite combos. That said, if you’re opposed, or want to switch things up, these work with just about any other nut butter. I’ve made them with almond butter and they are equally delicious and cashew butter sounds like a genius idea.
A few notes.
I use organic, salted peanut butter that has no added oil or sugars. Just be sure whatever you are using is salted. If it’s not salted, make sure to add a pinch of salt to the dough.
If your dates are feeling dry, soak them in warm water for fifteen minutes or so to plump them up again. Drain the water off before using.
As for your chocolate, mine was only seventy-two percent dark. I could have definitely used a darker bar, but I just didn’t have any hand. You can use whatever percent chocolate you’d like. Milk, semi-sweet, or extra, extra dark, it all works. Just depends how healthy…ish you want to be.
Most important tip? Do not over bake these cookies…always under bake. Guys, there is no butter, no sugar, and no flour, if you over bake you are going to get a dry, burnt tasting cookie, and that’s not good. So set a timer when you put these in the oven and watch closely. Got it? Good.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter or almond butter
- 8 ounces pitted medjool dates ( 1 cup packed dates)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 8 ounces melted dark chocolate
- roasted peanuts, for topping (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the peanut butter, dates, and vanilla. Pulse until well combined and no large chunks of dates remain. Add the egg and pulse to combine. Roll the dough 14-15 balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Using a fork, gently press down on each dough ball to flatten and create a cross hatch pattern. Transfer to the oven and bake for 9-10 minutes. It's important not to over bake these cookies, so set a timer!
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool. To make dipping easier, freeze the cookies for 10-15 minutes. Then drizzle or dip the cookies in chocolate and sprinkle with peanuts. Eat...or let the chocolate harden and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Enjoy!
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