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Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

 Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are naturally dairy and gluten free, take 5 minutes and one bowl to throw together. 

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There is really nothing simple about my life these days. Between two blogs, freelance work, a book, a book tour, another super secret project I hope to tell you about soon, and (oh yeah) a family, I’ve officially crossed over into complex living. As a result, my food has become more simple. Beautifully simple. Fewer (but better) ingredients, less waste, more time with that family who gives me so much support. These cookies are a great example. My favorite cookie recipe ever (on the planet) takes 3 days to make, inspiring the name Thursday Night Cookies because if I want them for the weekend, I need to start making them Thursday night.

But right now, in this crazy phase of my life, I want something that can give me near instant comfort and gratification with just a few ingredients I already have. So that someday I can get back to those lazy days and Thursday Night Cookies.

Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 17 minutes

Yield: 12 cookies

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup whole oats
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
  • 1 large egg

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. In a large bowl gently stir together all ingredients.
  3. Using a cookie scoop, add golf ball size mounds to a cookie sheet that has been covered with parchment paper, evenly spaced. Flatten to one-inch circles using your hand.
  4. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Pull the parchment paper off the cookie sheet and onto a flat surface. Allow to cool.

Notes

A lot of oat companies process their oats with machines that also come in contact with gluten, making the contamination rate high for store bought oats. If you need these to be gluten free, make sure to buy oats labeled "gluten free."

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Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

I’ve spent all day with an internal struggle about the limits of my acceptance of other people. Probably a much too serious intro for a post about pancakes, but bear with me, you might have some insight I could really use.

I’ve always prided myself on being a person who is able to see people for who they are, in the context of their own culture and life experiences and find beauty, talent and value without the qualification and framework of my own situation.

Whether it be a trailer park in South Central Los Angeles, a cave in Morocco, or a bus bench in Greece I’ve always been able to do that. Easily.

But today I was challenge with a though: what about hateful, small-minded, bigoted people?

What about racists?

The homophobic?

Are those people I should love and keep in my life?

I had an interaction with someone who left me wondering about my assertion that I have the anthropological capacity to care about other people regardless of who they are, what their beliefs or culture dictates, without judgement.

Can I judge someone merely for judging others? Isn’t that the epitome of hypocritical?

Isn’t the greater definition of open-minded and open-hearted to love those who are a challenge to love? I do believe that there is good in everyone. But is it worth it to try to dig past the hate and anger of a racist or homophobic friend or family member, or is that level of toxicity a fundamental deal breaker?

If you have some insight, let me know. For now I will proceed with caution, because the bottom line is I want to love everyone. I don’t want anyone, or any group of people, to be designated as a group I should hate. Because hate just breeds more hate.

Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/4 cup milk (use coconut milk for dairy free, this is what I used)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup raisins (plus more for garnish)

Instructions

  1. In a bowl add the flour, oats, salt, brown sugar, baking powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, mix until well combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the milk, egg and vanilla, stir until just combined. Add the raisins and stir.
  2. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat, coat with cooking spray.
  3. Drop about 1/4 cup of batter on the hot griddle. Cook until dry on the edges and bubbles start to form in the center. Flip and cook on the other side until cooked through, about 2 more minutes.

(Yield: 6-8 pancakes)