If you love peanut butter, but have never eaten it freshly ground, then you have no idea what you are missing out on.
Fresh peanut butter is made of roasted peanuts ground to a paste – that’s it! Because nothing else is added, this is the healthiest way to eat peanut butter. Manufactured, store-bought peanut butter usually contains added ingredients such as oils, salt and sugar, that are not good for your health.
Sure, fresh peanut butter can be more expensive, but the quality and taste is definitely worth it. Try fresh peanut butter on slices of crisp sweet apples or crunchy celery sticks. and you’ll see what I mean – it’s so much better. These Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies are delicious, but using fresh peanut butter, makes them even more delicious.
Fresh ground peanut butter is more nutritious than regular peanut butter because you are eating more peanuts and none of the other bad ingredients. Peanuts are full of heart-healthy unsaturated fats and are a great source of fibre, protein, vitamin E, folate, niacin, thiamin, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous and copper.
Did you know that peanuts are not actually ‘nuts’ like walnuts and almonds?
That’s right…peanuts are legumes – which are edible seeds enclosed in pods. Just like peas and beans, peanuts belong to the single plant family, Leguminosae.
Like most nuts, peanuts are generally calorie-dense, but their abundant health benefits far outweigh this. If you are calorie-conscious, stick to the recommended serving size, which is about a handful when snacking on them, or a tablespoon of peanut butter.
I hope you will try these Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies because they really are very delicious, but I warn you, stopping at eating just one will be difficult 🙂
What you need
- 60g butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 ½ cups plain flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 120g block dark chocolate (no more than 70% cocoa) – roughly chopped
- Shallow baking tray
- Baking paper
What to do
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Line the baking tray with baking paper.
Place butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until well combined and the mixture is light and creamy.
Add the egg and beat well, then add the peanut butter and vanilla bean. Beat until well combined.
Sift the flour and baking soda and add to the mixing bowl, mix on a low speed until well combined.
Add the roughly chopped chocolate and mix through.
Place tablespoons full of the mixture on the lined baking tray and press down slightly. Leave room between each cookie as they will expand during baking process.
Allow to cool before removing from the baking tray.
Bake in moderate oven for 12 – 15 minutes.
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