After dinner the other night, I had the most intense craving for something sweet. I immediately knew I wanted to make cookies, but one look into my pantry and I realized I was out of flour. To say I was disappointed is an understatement, but as I sat on my couch debating whether to make the trek to Jewel, I suddenly remembered this recipe.
Not only do these flourless cookies come together in just half an hour, but you can also get creative with the ingredients. Once you have the peanut butter, egg, baking soda and agave syrup (or honey), you can add anything you want — white chocolate chips, pecans, espresso powder, M&Ms, almond butter, shredded coconut. Best of all, these cookies are 100% gluten-free. Here’s one possible version. Enjoy!
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: Makes about 10 large cookies
Ingredients: 1 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, your preference) 1/3 cup honey or agave syrup 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 large egg ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla ½ teaspoon espresso powder (optional) ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ cup chocolate chips
Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. 2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine all the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) until a very moist batter forms. The consistency is not like normal cookie recipes because of the lack of flour, but they will come together when they bake.
Photo by Danny Schuleman
Photo by Danny Schuleman
3. Fold in the chocolate chips. 4. Using a spoon, drop tablespoon-sized scoops of dough onto the cookie sheet about an inch apart.
Photo by Danny Schuleman
5. Bake for 8-12 minutes (depending on your oven and the size of the cookies). 6. With a spatula, carefully check the bottom of the cookies to see if they’re done. When the bottom reaches a golden brown color, they are ready! Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies rest for 5 minutes. This ensures that the cookies will be firm.
Photo by Danny Schuleman
7. When they are cool enough to move, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to completely cool.
Photo by Danny Schuleman