Happy Christmas and a Few Recipes

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon baking gluten free and low sugar treats.

Peanut butter cookies. Fudge peanut and peanut butter oatmeal ones. And my black bean brownies.

The cookies are all peanut butter based. 

Instead of white sugar, I use either stevia, honey, guava, or maple syrup.

I thought I'd share 2 recipes today.

Gluten-free Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup of peanut butter

1 cup of sugar--Note: if you want to use another sweetener you may have to use less or more. Since I used stevia, I only used 2 tablespoons. It's much sweeter than sugar by taste.

1 large egg

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Beat the egg and peanut butter together. Then, mix in your sugar or sweetener. 

Drop teaspoonfuls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Parchment paper is much better. The cookies are less likely to stick to your pan.

Bake at 8 minutes. 

You can also double this recipe.

Store in the fridge after you cool them off. They're really delish the next day with a glass of milk or a cup of hot tea.

Black Bean Brownies

1-15 oz can of black beans rinsed and drained

2 TBS cocoa or more if you like. I stick with 2.

1/2 cup quick oats

1/4 TSP salt

1/3 cup honey, maple, or Aguave syrup

2 packets of stevia or more if you like. Since I don't care for anything overly sweet, I use the required amount.

1/4 cup of  coconut oil

2 TSP vanilla extract

1/2 TSP baking powder

1/2 cup to 2/3 cups chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350. Bake in a greased 8 inch square pan for 15 to 18 minutes.

Combine all ingredients preferably in a food processor without the chips.If you don't have one, mash your beans before mixing all your ingredients together.

Once you've mixed everything together then add your chips. You can even add another 1/2 cup to the top before baking them.

Store them in the fridge.

I can tell you this much, my daughters can scarf these down in a matter of minutes. They love them.

Want to make Christmas or Hanukkah cookies with your tot? Here's a nifty idea!

Make a batch of Rice Krispie Treats. Have your tot cut shapes with a cookie cutter of their choice.

You can decorate them however you wish. I used colored sugar. It's fast and easy and kept Glowstick's attention. Less mess, too.

This concludes this post.  I hope you all enjoy these recipes, your families, and have a Merry Christmas!

Hugs and chocolate, all!

Shelly