Friday, July 4, 2008

Almost Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Sometimes traditions need a little bit of an alteration.  Like the one where my dad always stops at a fast food place or gas station and buys peanut butter cookies for a road trip.  They are full of hydrogenated fats, animal ingredients and other things that are not healthy.  But it's just not a road trip without his beloved peanut butter cookies.

So I baked a batch of organic cookies for him to take along on his trip that are lower in fat, and way lower on the glycemic index than their sugary cousins at the convenience store.  Stevia has 0 calories and registers 0 on the GI.  Agave nectar is quite low as well.

I used a recipe from La Dolce Vegan as a base, but only followed it halfway as I needed to make these more diabetic-friendly and lower in fat.  Plus, I didn't quite have enough peanut butter so I topped up my measuring cup with tahini. (it was either that or pumpkin seed butter, which I might try next time)  The result is a moist cookie that is not overly sweet.  If you like your cookies sweeter, it's probably better to stick to the original La Dolce recipe, which I have made before and I can tell you they are really good. 

Almost Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground sea salt
1 "flax egg" (2 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water)
2 tbsp stevia
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup tahini (or other nut/seed butter)
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips*

Preheat oven to 375.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt and stevia in a medium bowl.  In a seperate bowl, stir together "flax egg," peanut butter, tahini, agave nectar, vanilla and water.  Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir until mixed, adding in the chocolate chips last.  Spoon onto a baking stone or lightly oiled baking sheet. Press cookies down a little bit and bake for 12 minutes.  Makes 16 cookies.

* I wouldn't recommend carob chips for this recipe as they tend to be bitter and may not compliment the subtle sweetness of the other ingredients.

11 comments:

bee said...

thanks for dropping by. this is a fantastic recipe. i'll try it soon, replacing the w.w. flour with w.w. pastry flour.

Rose said...

I love it when cookies get a healthy makeover!

Thistlemoon said...

These sound delicious! I am always looking for new and healthier ways to make old standbys - what a nice thing you did for your dad! Did he like them?

Welcome to The Foodie Blogroll! Hope to see you on the forum!

Anonymous said...

I haven't had much luck baking with Stevia but these cookies sound wonderful. I think where peanut butter is concerned, sweetness isn't necessary.

ShellyH said...

wow! I never thought I would see a healthier cookie! Welcome to the foodie blog roll!

Sal - AlienOnToast said...

I bought some stevia a while back and never used it! These look really good though.

Janet said...

Who ever thought "healthy" and "cookie" could be in the same sentence? Thanks for your comments everybody. Jenndz - Sadly, he forgot to take the cookies with him (!!!!!) They are in the freezer now, anxiously awaiting his return.

Anonymous said...

Sounds good, we will try this recipe!

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

I've never used stevia in my baking before! I'll have to try this. I love pb cookies.

cheap wow gold said...
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Jenny said...

This looked like a fantastic recipe, but I found that there was way too much Stevia--so much, in fact, that it tasted bitter. Also, they turned out disappointingly like little raised, soft breads instead of cookies. Definitely needs a little tweaking...