Don't sweat it ..... it's just PEANUTS!!!

The two little munchkins at  home were planning for their auntie's birthday. Through an elaborate discussion of me asking the questions and they meowed in reply, we agreed on the good old gluten free peanut butter cookies.



"Happy Birthday, Auntie Cathy. We will have our catnip tea and you have your peanut cookies!!"

I always tried to do some experimentation each time I make them, and this time, I made four varieties. I read about the current trend in adding salt to baking, probably to enhance the sweetness, and in my recipe, I cut down the sugar by half, so it could use a little boost. Diabetes and hypertension are a concern for most people but hey you only go around once.



From left to right, top to bottom, chocolate chips, chopped peanuts, salts, and everything included

I only tried two cookies so far and they were delicious and froze the rest. I confess to keeping my cookies in the icebox for months without problem :p I used the basic flour-less peanut butter cookies recipe. The general proportion is 1 egg, 1 cup of peanut butter and 1 cup of white caster sugar (1/4 tsp. of baking soda optional). Each time I made these cookies, I would change the recipe a little bit to see how far I can stretch it to reduce the amount of sugar used. I figured the structure of these cookies, without flour, would be solely resting on the egg and sugar, so cutting down sugar might make a difference. The amount of peanut butter used will also do something to the dough as it is rich in protein. Although with all these proteins from eggs and peanut butter, still without gluten, do not expect these cookies to look like the "floured" type, as it is more delicate and holding its shape is not their strong suit :(, meaning those crisscross markings will not be as nicely and properly displayed.



Salted peanut butter cookie with a trace of the crisscross pattern

Let me write down the recipe I used this time for future reference :)

Ingredients
2 extra large eggs (room temperature)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup white granulating sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups chunky peanut butter (room temperature)
1/4 cup chopped peanuts, toasted and salted (room temperature)
1/4 cup gluten free chocolate chips
pinches of salt (preferably coarse grain)


1. In a large mixing bowl, beat 2 eggs lightly with a whisk. Add in the brown and white sugar, and continue beating until the mixture looks slightly thicken up and creamy.
2. Change to a large spatula or wooden spoon and fold in the peanut butter. Add more peanut butter if needed, to get the mixture into a smooth and thick consistency.  The mixture should be easily scrapped off from the side of the bowl. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or more (overnight will be fine).
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F and lined the cookie tray with parchment paper.  Take the chilled dough out. It should be firm enough to be handle without overly sticky. Scoop out heapful of tablespoon of the dough and gently roll it into a ball around 1.5" in diameter. Place the dough ball onto the cookie tray about 2" apart. Use the palm of your hand to press it down slightly.  Sprinkle and press in peanuts, chocolate chips and salts as preferred. Return the cookie tray with its content to the ice box for a few minutes before putting into the oven for baking.
4. Once you put the cookie dough into the oven, stared at it and when the top of the cookie starts to crack, it is time to come out :)  Let the cookies rest on the hot tray for another 5 minutes or until firming up before transferring to the cooling rack. Makes 21 cookies.

For me, I made one tray (6 cookies) of plain with salt, one (6 cookies) of salted peanuts, one (6 cookies) of chocolate chips and half tray (3 cookies) of salt, salted peanuts and chocolate chips.  The dough did spread, so make sure they are given enough rooms in between on the tray. I did not have coarse grain salt at home, so I used table salt instead :(  I am expecting a better presentation with a coarser grain and better taste as well compare to fine table salt .... oh well.

When I am doing step 3, I did not need to use any oil or starch to handle the dough on the spoon or my hands. The chilled dough should be firm enough and the oil in the dough will prevent it from being too sticky.

You can see the crisscross markings on the plain cookies are not as neat as expected, so pretty sure you can take this decorative step off (or if that decoration is important to you, try to use the full amount of sugar .... that will be 2 cups of white caster sugar .... no brown sugar as the water in it will weight the structure down, cut down the baking soda to 1/4 tsp. or even to none, and really give the rolled dough a good final chill before putting into the oven .... good luck :p)

If you are making a genuine gluten free version, please ensure no cross contamination in the kitchen and check the ingredients in the peanut butter to ensure no added wheat or gluten components.  Baking soda should be pretty well free of gluten and making sure it is 100% sodium bicarbonate will ensure that. I am pretty sure eggs are 100% gluten free (they feed hens with corn I think, but I am no farmer :p)  The chocolate chips I used are everything free including soy, diary and gluten, so you will be pretty hard not to ask the question what is in it?  I am not going there :p, just have everything in moderation :D Peanuts too, should be 100% gluten free but could be contaminated during handling in the factory, storage and transportation. So I guess the lesson here is nothing is 100% guarantee in life (if there is, it will cost you a leg and an arm). For testing please send cookie samples to Mike.

"Yummy, we ate all the cookies ... good luck next time Auntie Cathy :p"