BYOFood – Peanut Butter Blossoms Gone Good!
Here they are! I made 5 different versions and they all were delicious! We couldn’t find soy free kisses or “blossoms” so we popped some enjoy life chocolate on top. Squares from a high quality chocolate bar would be lovely!
What to bring? What to bring? Hmmmmm…..
Peanut butter blossoms gone good!!!
I asked a few weeks back what holiday treats people would like healthified and Peanut Butter Blossoms were high on the list for lots of folks.
I wanted to create a no muss no fuss cookie. The fewer ingredients the better. I also was curious if I could create a cookie with other kinds of nuts or seeds (the answer is yes). I tried some different sweeteners in place of cane sugar with great results too!
Perhaps you have seen the famous 1egg, 1 cup pb, 1 cup sugar recipe out there? This is the basic ratio I began with and worked from there.
What did I discover:
*if you use real peanut butter, sun butter, almond butter, cashew butter they all work
* it helps to use a little bit of quick oatmeal or oat flour to stabilize it a bit (please use the real nut butters they are much better for your health – check the ingredients – no hydrogenated oils, low in sugar)
*you can mostly trade in and out any kind of nut or seed butter – of course they will have varying tastes
*you must let these cool completely on the pan or very very gently take them off the sheet onto drying racks, these stay very soft until cool – but don’t worry they will get more solid!
*these freeze beautifully!
*the sweeteners I used were far sweeter than refined sugar and I was able to cut the sweetener in half and it tasted much better!
*your sweetener should equal 1/2 cup total – I preferred the 1/4xylitol 1/4coconut sugar mix – but mix it up or use 1/2 cup of any of the following – xylitol, coconut sugar, or honey
*use whatever chocolate you prefer – you can see we used Enjoy life chocolate chunks – this brand is free of the top 8 allergens so it is our go to for chocolate
Here are 4 different versions! You can’t tell a difference, can you? Each one had a different quality but all were sooooo good. The ones made without the oat flour were much more moist and were amazing frozen! (just fyi)
Okay here is what worked the best for me!
“Peanut” Butter Blossoms
1 cup peanut butter (or other nut or seed butter)
1/4 cup oat flour (or quick oats)
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup xylitol
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 egg
Mix with a mixer – drop onto parchment lined baking sheets – press down with chocolate pieces of choice
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes (or till a little brown on edges)
let cool completely before eating! these will set up as they cool.
Ingredients – with sunflower seed butter shown
yum!
Here it is all mixed up. I was surprised at how thick the batter got even with honey. The combination seems to react and thicken.
Put tbls on parchment lined baking sheets and press in your desired chocolate!
Each flavor had its own unique loveliness. Of course,if you feel nostalgic use the pb, but the others were scrumptious too!
What are you making this year? Have you tried making your traditional foods healthier? Leave a comment below!
8 Comments
The PB I get always has a layer of oil at the top. I find that pouring off most of the oil makes for a more normal cookie texture. And when I was at Penland School of Craft, they beat the dough until fluffy which also made the cookie texture better, reducing the need to add any grain.
Great suggestions! I am going to try beating it a little longer! I was thinking about adding a little coconut flour for stability in place of oat, but I was peanut butter blossomed out that day!
Thanks for this tip as I am grain free..
By the way I also tried egg free! I used a chia egg instead. I still worked well but the cookies stayed kind of moist. But they were amazing frozen!! Did I mention that in my post?
Okay, what is xylilol? I know I should know the answer, but I am stumped. Did you put the chocolate pieces on before or after you baked them?
Xylitol is a sweetener made from birch bark. It does not cause a spike in blood sugar like most sweeteners. It is actually really good for your teeth too! You will see it listed as an ingredient in many mouthwashes and toothpastes and some gum, it is also in some nasal sprays (I think it has anti-bacterial qualities too!). It comes in crystals like sugar does. It can cause a bit of stomach upset if eaten in large amounts – but too many cookies will do that anyhow! I like to mix it up in my baked goods just to avoid that, but we have not had any issue (and I have a pretty sensitive stomach). It can be ground up to make a powdered sugar too (I may try to use it for meringues this weekend).
Hope that helps! You can get it on amazon for a good price I think.
Why do you use both xylitol and coconut sugar?
I really like the low low glycemic index of Xylitol but I find that too much of it can make our bellies a little gassy. So my next favorite for granulated sugars is coconut sugar so I mix them up. You could use entirely one or the other if you prefer they will both work well. I hope you give them a try! It might sound strange but I really like them straight from the freezer the best! Thanks for reading 🙂