(Flourless) Peanut Butter Cookies: Three Ways!

Sometimes I surprise myself. (I like to think of this as a good thing. It keeps life interesting.)

I slept in a tent on Saturday night. Granted, the tent was in a backyard, and there were clean, functioning bathrooms no more than 100 yards away. (Give or take. I have a rough estimating distance brain.) But! I slept in a tent, without peer pressure, or an air mattress, and it…wasn’t terrible. This is making great strides for my camping self.

I did laundry all afternoon. It probably had something to do with the smokey clothes everywhere. Total pet peeve.

I’m making plans around a dollar hot dog baseball game. And hot dogs are generally my last choice cookout food.

I baked cookies with zero flour and zero butter. Just five other typical cookie suspects, adapted three ways to keep things fancy…and people happy.

(one) peanut butter, (two) brown sugar, (three) granulated sugar, (four) an egg, (five) baking soda. These foods make dense cookies with a front and center peanut butter flavor.

One batch of cookies is left basic, to make cookies with the typical fork hash marks. (These are comfort things.)

One batch of cookies is balled, and rolled in shredded coconut. Not all the coconut sticks perfectly. It needs a little stuff it down in there encouragement. It’s worth it…just deal.

And, mini Reese peanut butter cups are chopped and folded into the dough of the third batch. Chocolate and peanut butter is always my favorite. I just can’t help it.

Five ingredient base. Three quick adaptations. Everyone’s pleased. (And, surprised I slept in a tent without major complaints too.)

(Flourless) Peanut Butter Cookies
recipe adapted from Joy the Baker

1 cup peanut butter (I used creamy.)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda

*(3/4 cup shredded coconut)
**(1 cup mini Reese cups, chopped)

Cream peanut butter and sugars in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add egg and beat until smooth. Stir in baking soda. Roll dough into small balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Using the back of a dinner fork, press hash marks in two directions, flattening each cookie slightly. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 10 minutes. Let cool for five minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Yields: about 16 cookies.

*To create coconut adaptation, fold shredded coconut into dough as you form each ball. Press with a fork and bake as instructed.

**To create peanut butter cup adaptation, chop peanut butter cups and fold into dough before forming balls. Then, roll into balls, press with a fork and bake as instructed.