Power Packed Peanut Butter Cookies

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I have this random memory of baking peanut butter cookies with my grandmother.   We were still living in NY, so I know I was under the age of five.  All I remember is sitting at the dining room table and using the fork to make the marks on the top of the cookies.  I can't remember eating them, but I remember thinking those fork marks were the coolest thing since ice cubes. 

Not really ice cubes, but in my world right now, ice cubes are very cool.  Our refrigerator stopped doing it's thing last week.  The repair man said it was a repair that his shop didn't do because of the risk involved.  Then, he said "Good news for the wife, she gets to go refrigerator shopping".  So NOT good news for me!!!  When he heard I was on the market for a new computer and replacing our frig was the least exciting thing I could think of, he gave us an idea that "could" work.  To make a long story short, we tried his idea of drilling holes in the wall seperating the frig and freezer.  The verdict...ice is now a commodity in my house!  The rigging works one day and not the next, so the ice melts and gets the contents of the freezer all wet.  It's a big mess.  The good news...I have a new computer!!   The bad news...I will probably have to one day soon, unfortunately, break down and go refrigerator shopping...urghhh.

Although it has given me the chance to clean out the frig.  Like the three containers of store-bought
hummus that expired a year ago that were still in there.  Might I mention, the gross part is I think they could have still been eatable!!

Anyways...back to peanut butter cookies!!  I used organic peanut butter I made at the local health food store.  They have one of those fun machines that you just flip the switch and out comes peanut butter.  I like this because I know that there is absolutely nothing in my peanut butter but peanuts.   It's also better on the environment because there is no manufacturing, no packaging and less shipping.  Then, my favorite part...it hasn't sat on the shelves so long that the oil rises to the top and you have to stir it back in.  The stirring thing drives me crazy!  It never stays in the container and I always have a giant, oily mess spilling down the sides of the container and all over the countertop.

Peanuts are an excellent source of Vitamin E, niacin, folate, protein and manganese.  The fat in peanuts is what you would consider a good fat promoting heart health and disease resistance.  Peanuts also contain high levels of antioxidants rivaling those of pomegranates and berries.  Just one serving a day can help an average American obtain important nutrients that they otherwise would normally be lacking with their daily eating habits.  Please note, I said one serving...because a good thing will always become a bad thing if you eat too much of it. 

Instead of sugar, I used raw, local honey.  Honey has a lower glycemic index and lots of great health benefits.  It is a great source of Vitamin C, calcium and iron.  It too is a wonderful antioxidant while also energizing and boosting the immune sysytem.  I vote honey as the best choice all around when it comes to sweeteners.  In this recipe, you don't have to use much, because the organic peanuts have a natural sweetness already.   That is tops on my list of favorites about organic food.  Who doesn't love a little natural sweetness?

To tip the scales and make these cookies perfectly healthy, I used fresh milled wheat flour, ground flax seed and the most beautiful free range egg I have seen in a while.  I wish I had taken a picture of this egg.  The yolk was this deep orangy, yellow color.  I'm thinking about my breakfast egg in the morning and hoping the rest of the carton is just like that! 

Let me just end by saying this is one of simplest cookie recipes ever!!   It would be a fun one to make (and eat) with the kids :). 

POWER PACKED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE RECIPE

1/2 c. Organic Peanut Butter
1/4 c. Raw Honey (local if you can find it)
1 Egg (try to get these from your local farmers market, promise you will never go back)
2 Tbsp Organic Ground Flax Seed
1/2 c. Organic Fresh Milled Wheat Flour (store bought White Wheat or Wheat Pastry Flour will work too)

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the peanut butter and honey together thoroughly.  Add the egg and mix in well.  Add flax seed and flour.  Mix until combined. 

Roll in 18 equal sized balls.  Press the balls flat using the back side of a fork to make the cool fork marks.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.

If you're having one of those days like I was and feeling a little spunky, melt down some organic 85% cacao chocolate and drizzle it over the tops of these babies...yummo!!!   I promise, you will be loving me for that new addiction :) 

Happy Baking!!