Sunday, November 16, 2014

(Flourless) Peanut Butter Blossoms


Sometimes, you think you know a person.

Seven years ago in October, I met Mr. Vittles.  Five years ago (from almost the same day) I married him.

Two days ago... I found out his favorite cookie.

Friday I had gotten a flourless peanut butter blossom recipe from someone at work, but it had a few ingredients I was unsure of.  So I did a quick internet search and found a recipe that had only peanut butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla in the dough.

I was still a little skeptical that it would make a good cookie, but it looked so easy it was worth a potential fail.  Especially when I took into consideration the only person I'd be disappointing is myself. 

Or so I thought.

When I took them out of the oven Friday night, Mr. Vittles asked "Are those gluten-free?"  

"Ummm... yes, duh, I'm eating them."

But apparently his actual question was whether or not the original peanut butter blossom recipe is gluten-free.  I said that I didn't think so, but I honestly didn't know - I hadn't made them in years.  I thought maybe my mother-in-law would know, because she usually makes them at Christmas.

That's when he said "Yeah I know. Those are my favorite cookies."

Wha-what?

All this time I had thought his favorite cookies were scotcheroos, a chocolate & butterscotch crispy rice cookie that his grandmother makes.  But apparently I was wrong.  Peanut butter blossoms take the #1 spot on his cookie list.

Who knew???

Then I figured these would be a huge disappointment to a Blossom Connoisseur such as himself.  The first pan I made wasn't even rolled in sugar, and he loooves his treats sweet.  So I tried to redeem the second pan by rolling them in coarse sugar.  


Much to my surprise, he said they were more peanut-buttery than his mom's, but still really good.  Success!

On another note... I would like to dedicate this post to my mom, who would have been 60 years old today.  


We just celebrated my dad's upcoming 60th birthday with a fabulous surprise party, and I only wish that she was here to celebrate as well.

She is the one who fostered my love of baking and creating, and I know she would love the idea of this blog.  

Mom, I miss you every day, and thank you for everything.  I would not be the person I am today were it not for you.  I hope you are somewhere having a huge piece of cake that's as delicious as all the treats you baked for us over the years.  Pssst... I love you!

(Flourless) Peanut Butter Blossoms
  • 1 cup smooth peanut butter (I used Jif's Natural creamy peanut butter)
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 14 Hershey's milk chocolate kisses
  • Extra sugar, for rolling (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Unwrap chocolate kisses, and set aside.  Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil or parchment paper, and set aside as well.

In a medium bowl, combine peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla.  Stir until well-combined.  If rolling balls in sugar, place some in a shallow dish.  Wet hands until damp, then roll about 1 Tablespoon of dough into a ball.  Roll in sugar (if using) and place balls onto prepared baking sheet at least an inch apart. 

Bake 10-12 minutes until set and lightly browned (although dough will still be soft).  After removing from oven, press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie.  Let cool on baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 14 cookies.  Recipe slightly adapted from nutritiouseats.com 

8 comments:

  1. You do have so much of your Mom in you!!! She is so missed and I see her in so much you do and who you are. Love you Dollie xoxoxoo

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    1. And P.S.!!! Thanks for the great cookie recipe!!! Xoxo

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  2. Have you been gluten free all along? (Pardon my ignorance if the answer is yes.) I found your blog 2 years ago when looking for an easy Knot cookie recipe. This year, I stopped gluten (March). I made 2 batches of Knots for a cookie swap, and didn't eat any (nor any of the other's cookies). 2 days later, I tried your recipe with Bob's Red Mill GF biscuit/pastry blend, and other than adding more Anise extract, the recipe was the same - cup for cup substitute with the GF blend. The result - AMAZING. Delicious. You should try it if you have not. So, how long gluten free for you?

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    1. Hi! I have been gluten free for about as long as you - since January 2014. I do not have celiac,I just feel better when I don't eat it. I was getting migraines and having other health issues that seem to have gone away. I'm so glad the knot cookies turned out well with the GF flour, those are some of my favorites! Thank you for reading and commenting :)

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  3. Thank you for sharing this post. I am really impressed with your writing skills.

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  4. I admire this article for the well-researched content. Keep what you're doing

    ReplyDelete
  5. Awesome and entertaining article. I support you. Keep on writing

    ReplyDelete

I love reading your comments!

If you have a question or problem you can also feel free to email me at vittlesandbits@gmail.com. Thanks for visiting :)

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