Tuesday 25 May 2010

GF Peanut Butter & Choc Chip Cookies

I had thought that I would get this post up last night but life is always unpredictable. Instead I did my first samurai sudoku that I have done for months. It used to be one of the weekend pleasures to sit down and complete the samurai sudoku from the weekend newspaper but these days I barely have time to glance at it.

The only reason I felt compelled to complete it last night was that I had been in the car with Sylvia and instead of her sleeping on the journey, she went to sleep 5 minutes before I arrived at the shopping centre. I had my sudoku with me and spent an hour doing it while she slept in the car. So I finished it last night while watching Masterchef, instead of blogging and knitting as I had planned.

Speaking of which, I couldn't believe it when I was looking at the toys yesterday and found that there is now junior Masterchef kitchen equipment packs for kids. I was also amused when I heard that E had shared the last leg of his flight home with Gary Mehigan, one of the Masterchef judges. E joked that he had overheard Gary chiding the air steward about plating up his breakfast.

Seriously though, I had intended to make E some of his favourite choc chip cookies but I was tempted into unknown waters by Cakelaw's GF Peanut Butter and Choc Chip Cookies. I was intrigued by the cup of peanut butter in the mixture where you might usually find butter and flour. When I told my mum she thought it was outrageous - we have to agree to differ on this. I believe you can never have enough peanut butter. These cookies were light and buttery with a slight chewy texture.

What I loved about these cookies is that they are easy and accessible. You would never guess they were flourless. It seems that the crunchy bits of peanut are the main clues to the peanut butter in them. I am curious to try baking them with smooth peanut butter. The ingredients are easy to find in most pantries or any supermarket. But the downside is that they would not be welcome at many children's parties, schools or child care centres due to the nut content. In fact, Sylvia has not even tried them because she is too young for peanut butter or chocolate (and she is quite happy with gingerbread).

However I think Sylvia's new doll would quite fancy a taste. (You can see her in the top photo.) She was a present from a family friend and came back from Scotland in E's suitcase. Gorgeous, isn't she?

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Preserved Lemon Stews and Intuition
This time two years ago: Rethinking Bread and Butter Pudding
This year three years ago: MM #12: A marriage of vanilla and chocolate

Peanut butter & chocolate chip cookies
From Emma Worthingto in Fresh Living magazine 31 January 2005 via Taste.com
Makes about 30

1 cup (260g) crunchy peanut butter
1 cup (200g) brown sugar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (185g) dark choc bits

Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease and line two baking trays. Combine peanut butter, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and egg in a mixing bowl. Stir in choc bits.

Roll teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls and press lightly with a fork or do as I did and drop teaspoonfuls on the prepared trays. I did as Cakelaw wisely suggested and left plenty of room between cookies because they spread a lot. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until light golden. Leave to cool on the trays for at least 10 minutes or until cool. Store in an airtight container.

On the Stereo:
John Barleycorn Reborn: Dark Britannica – Various Artists

14 comments:

  1. Yum! I've been using the peanut butter/chocolate combination here too. I used to bake a very similar (maybe even the same!) recipe back in Brisbane. I wonder now whether some powdered egg replacer or arrowroot might do the binding job and push these over to vegan-friendly as well.

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  2. Oh, I've got that recipe (or one very similar) stashed away in my incredibly-long document of collected recipes! Now that you've given me a trustworthy review of them, they'll definitely be comign out of my oven soon.

    Also, "you can never have enough peanut butter"? Amen, sister. A-men.

    P.S. That doll is *precisely* the kind of doll I longed for in my childhood. And congratulations on completely the sudoku! Now that I'm back home with the internet, I've been very remiss with my cross-stitch again...

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  3. hey, its been a while...but, i wanted to tell you the difference between cavatelli and gnocchi is that the former is more flour and has more bite where the latter is fluffier like a pillow.

    And, I must say, I am thinking about trying this cookie though with almond butter. We don't eat peanuts.

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  4. Oh yum yum yum! I have to make these.

    I ahve not done a sudoku for ages. I rember when they first came out over here. Christmas 7 or 8 years ago I think? My parent's and I were fighting over who got ot do it.

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  5. Hello - I just found your blog via Where's the Beef and it's great!

    In a spooky coincidence, we may have been two strangers in the same city baking the same cookies on the same day. See: http://afterapple-picking.blogspot.com/2010/05/three-kinds-of-good-all-kinds-of-wrong.html

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  6. I am with you, Johanna. I do enjoy different aspects of life now and blogging has to wait, sometime :)

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  7. Thanks Cindy - I had thought this was close to gf and vegan but wasn't sure how much the eggs contributed - would love to see how you go if you do try and gf vegan version

    Thanks Hannah - yes give them a try - definitely a gf recipe that works well - and I would have loved a doll like this too when I was little.. good luck with completing your lovely cross stitch

    Thanks Maybelle's Mum - have never been enough of a connoisseur of gnocchi to realise there were different types - but am sure I would love it all ways - and am interested in how different nut butters would go in this biscuit - or even tahini

    Thanks Helen - I took to sudoku so easily once a friend insisted I learn and always loved it but it is so hard to find the time right now

    Thanks Lexi - you are very welcome - and since we share such good taste in cookies that I am pleased you like the blog

    Thanks Anh - oh yes - life must go on!

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  8. Mmm two of my favourites foods together. A match made in heaven!

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  9. Wow Johanna, this just shows how behind I am with looking at other peoples blogs too, but congratulations on your beautiful daughter! My complaints of having no time to blog seem ridiculous in comparison to you having a little one to take care of..

    I'm bookmarking these cookies for later and I have to agree, you can never have enough peanut butter - It is delicious straight from the jar :)

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  10. Thanks Vegetation - oh yes my favourites too - chocolate and peanut butter make a house a home

    Thanks Tara - it's not so difficult as it might seem - a baby means it is easier blogging when it is harder to go out - actually these biscuits reminded me of the peanut butter brownies I got from your blog - so so good

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  11. I saw the cup of peanut butter and thought "No way!" too! But these cookies turned out fabulously. So glad that you (and dolly!) liked them too.

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  12. those look DELICIOUS!

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  13. I love making cookies for my family. They love i so much! Thanks for sharing a new recipe.

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  14. Ooo yum! These cookies look delicious. I've heard about peanut butter cookie recipes that don't use flour but have yet to try them.

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