Well I made it 4 days into December before breaking down and making Christmas cookies. I couldn’t hold up to the pressure any longer.

The truth is I’m not the biggest cookie fan. I have my favorites(like peanut butter cookies) but on the whole would rather have something else. One cookie I love is the peanut butter cookie from Wildflour Bakery which is gluten-free and vegan. It’s so sweet and soft and falls apart in your mouth. I thought I might try to make a cookie like theirs; this isn’t nearly the same, but I like it in its own respect which is why I’m posting the recipe. It’s less sweet but much more peanut buttery; it almost tastes like eating a spoonful of peanut butter in cookie form.

This recipe can easily be made vegan by using a dairy-free butter substitute. I would not recommend subbing in coconut oil for the butter in a 1:1 ratio because they do not act the same in baking and I can’t say for how it would turn out.

Egg-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 16-18 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies):

• 1 cup no-oil added peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 3/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch(or corn starch)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a couple baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Beat together all of the ingredients. Put the batter in the refrigerator of freezer to harden until you can handle the dough and roll it into balls.
3. Once the dough has reached that stage, scoop the dough and roll it into balls. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on the baking trays.
4. Bake for 16-20 minutes until the outside is golden. The cookies will still be very soft to the touch when they’re done.
5. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely before handling. As they cool, the outside will harden up and make them less fragile.
6. Store sealed in an airtight container at room temperature when not eating.

While I definitely have a sweet tooth, you could count the different candies I like with one hand: peanut butter cups, Snickers, Swedish fish, and Peppermint Patties. Oh, and candied ginger, but that doesn’t really count; I mean, it has ginger in it so that practically makes it a medicine.

I might be jumping the gun with Halloween still over a month away, but I’ve been really excited to make my own candy for a while. The last time I made these peppermint patties was for a New Years Eve party, so almost 9 months ago. That’s way too long for something this good. The filling is soft, smooth, and refreshing while the outside is dark and crunchy. Well I don’t need to tell you—you’ve probably had a Peppermint Patty before, and these taste just like the real deal!

Homemade Peppermint Patties(gluten-free/vegan) recipe here.

Recipe notes:

• I had to use more than the amount of powdered sugar listed in the ingredients. My best guess is that the temperature affected the dough since the last time I made them was the dead of Winter. Just keep adding powdered sugar by the 1/4 cup until you can break off a piece and roll it into a ball without the sugar sticking to your hand.
• I froze completely the filling part before dipping it in chocolate, which I think made the process easier.
• I used chocolate chips again, but I think real bakers chocolate would be better since the coating had some trouble staying hard after being melted.
• I froze the filling and finished patties on aluminum foil and it didn’t stick like I thought it might.

I was debating covering the tops with white non-perils but the chocolate hardened before I got a chance so I didn’t bother. You could spend the extra time to make sure all the sides are covered evenly and the coating is smooth; I, however, like when not every dessert is identical or perfect. It shows that it’s homemade and unique.

This week I made brownies for the first time in months. MONTHS. Who am I? The thing is these aren’t even for me; I’m still trying to get in better shape for marathon training. The last thing I need on my plate(literally) is brownies.

I’m not saying I didn’t steal a taste, but as soon as these were cooled, cut, and photographed I sealed them up to bring to the Healthy Living Summit to share with friends and this girl for hosting me for a night. If you’re going, too, please find me and say hi. I’ll be the one trying to buy friends with brownies.

 I made these by modifying my outrageous triple chocolate brownies recipe and—dare I say?—I like these better. Cooked they taste the same but the raw batter is much more delicious since it doesn’t have that funky gluten-free flavor to it. And it requires no special flour/starch blend, just plain old almond flour. Since I always keep these ingredients on hand, I can tell this will be my new go-to brownie recipe. 

Almond Flour Brownies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 8 x 8 pan):

• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar*
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules(optional)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 7oz semisweet or bittersweet baking chocolate, divided OR 3/4 cup chocolate chips

*You can replace the cane sugar in this recipe with 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons of liquid sweetener like maple syrup, honey, agave, or corn syrup. 

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together the almond flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, melt together 4 ounces of chocolate or a scant 1/2 cup chocolate chips with the butter.
4. While the chocolate is melting, beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and coffee granules if using.
5. Slowly pour the melted chocolate and butter into the egg/sugar mixture while whisking until fully incorporated. Don’t go too fast so that the raw eggs don’t cook upon contact.
6. Add the chocolate mixture in with the dry ingredients and mix completely.
7. Pour the batter in an 8 x 8 pan.
8. Sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate and gently press it into the batter.
9. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let these cool completely before cutting in.

The first time I made these I took them out of the oven after only 25 minutes. 2 hours later I cut in to a gooey and basically raw center. Oops. I stuck them back into the oven and—of course—got distracted, baking them a little too long and burning the tops of the ones towards the back. The lesson is bake as I say, not as I do.

Normally I like fudgy desserts, or just a piece of thick chocolate. But this Summer I haven’t been able to get enough mousse desserts, like this one or this one or this one. So naturally I had to try this recipe when I saw it on the Whole Foods website.

I’ve made chocolate and peanut butter tofu mousse before but never a fruit flavor. This came out really well in flavor, although the texture reminded me more of pudding rather than mousse. It’s thick and slightly dense with a sweet, bright flavor to it, perfect for hot Summer nights when chocolate is too rich(I’ve never experienced this myself but I hear some people do—weird).

Raspberry Tofu Pudding(lightly adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients(Makes 6 servings):

• 12oz fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1 16oz block silken tofu
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup corn or tapioca starch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Zest from half a lemon
• Chocolate and mint to garnish

Combine the tofu, raspberries, starch, sugar, salt, and zest in a food processor and blend until smooth and homogenous.

Pour into individual dishes and refrigerate until serving. Garnish with shaved chocolate and/or mint.

It does not get much better than this.

If you add in 3/4 cup of cocoa powder, the flavor gets even better. Although—I warn you—the color isn’t as appetizing.

Have I made it obvious that I love peanut butter and chocolate yet? I love it in cakes, I love it in cupcakes, I love it from the jar and off a spoon, and now I love it in macaroon form.

Sometimes I miss walking in to a bakery and picking out the most absurd, delicious, and oversized baked good they have. Wildflour is good for that but far away and expensive, so I try now and again to bring the bakery into my kitchen.

These cookies are as easy as they are impressive. There are only 5 ingredients and yet have a rich and sophisticated flavor. And who wouldn’t love being handed a macaroon the size of there fists?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Macaroons

Ingredients(Makes 9 large macaroons or 20 regular-sized):

• 3 cups shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup natural salted peanut butter
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 3oz bittersweet chocolate chunks OR 6 Tablespoons chocolate chips
• 1/4-1/3 cup water

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the coconut, peanut butter, maple syrup, and chocolate chunks. Slowly add in water just enough so that the dough holds itself together.

For large macaroons, press the dough into an ice cream scoop and drop it onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 80-90 minutes until you can lift the macaroons up without cracking or denting the surface.

For small macaroons, do the same method with a melon baller and bake for 50-60 minutes until set.

Mmm, I would suggest eating one when it comes out of the oven and the chocolate is melted and messy. Using a good brand of chocolate in these makes all the difference since the ingredients are so simple.