It Doesn't Have to be That Hard

I would most definitely say that the lack of to-die-for desserts is worst part of having to become a gluten-free eater.  Notice, I said to-die-for.  I can eat a decent gluten-free cookie, but it just isn't the same.  As a sweets lover (i.e. I can eat icing with a spoon...), you can see how this would be a problem for me.

Or so I thought.  My mom, and my mother in-law coincidentally, recently found a recipe online for peanut butter cookies with no flour. {Insert happy dance here.}

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (from the Food Network)
makes 18 cookies
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place racks in the upper and lower third of the oven.

In a medium bowl, mix the peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until well combined. Spoon 1 tablespoon of mixture about 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten the mounds with the tines of a fork, making a crosshatch pattern on the cookies. Sprinkle coarse salt on top of the cookies.

Bake until golden around edges, about 10 minutes, switching the position of the pans halfway thorough baking. Transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.

**Sidenote: to make the cookies extra doughy and awesome, cook them only 8 minutes. They won't look cooked all the way, but believe me, it's worth it.


Also, I stumbled across these coconut oatmeal squares from How Sweet It Is last week. Oatmeal? Coconut? Chocolate? I'll be darned, I can eat all of that.  See, it doesn't have to be that hard.

Thin + Chewy Chocolate Drenched Coconut Oatmeal Squares (from How Sweet It Is)
makes one 9×9 pan (about 16 squares)
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups shredded, sweetened coconut
1/4 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
pinch of salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup coconut oil (measured solid)
1/4 cup honey

Spray a 9×9 pan with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, brown sugar and salt. Heat a small saucepan over low heat and add butter and coconut oil, stirring until melted. Add the butter and oil to the oat mixture, then add the honey and stir very thoroughly until the entire mix is moistened. Press it into the pan and stick in the fridge for 15 minutes.

chocolate layer
8 ounces good-quality chocolate, chocolate
2 tablespoons coconut oil (measured solid)
Using the same saucepan that you melted the butter and oil in, add the chocolate and oil and stir over low heat until melted. Remove the pan from the fridge and pour the chocolate evenly over top, spreading with a spatula or spoon. Place back in the fridge for about 30 minutes. When ready to eat, either cut the squares in the pan, or gently lift the square out and place on a cutting board to cut. It helps if the bars somewhat come to room temp before cutting, as they will slightly crumble a bit if super cold!

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