Peanut Butter Cookies: Round 1

As I mentioned last night, cookies were in order after a very tiring week where I just couldn’t get the hunger monster under control. I’m usually a chocolate gal when it comes to dessert but peanut butter cookies sounded like the perfect way to start the weekend.

This recipe does not skimp on flavor but is also a treat that will do your body good. I tend to follow this rule of thumb – if I’m baking at home for just my roommates and me, the treat should be pretty healthful. If I want something more decadent, I can go out to my favorite bakery or scope out a new place.

This recipe is far from perfect but since I’m still eating these little guys today, I’d say it’s worth sharing. Stay tuned for round 2 in the next few weeks! I have some thoughts on how to make them even tastier.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 12 tablespoon-size cookies, 18 teaspoon

Ingredients:

1/2 cup organic unsalted creamy peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup raw sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup milk (non-dairy if you’re going vegan)

1 cup whole wheat flour

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350* and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Cream together all ingredients except the flour. I used a stand mixer but a hand held mixer will work just fine. This is tough to do by hand!
• Add the flour and continue to mix until everything is incorporated. The dough will be a bit crumbly but once you pack it together with your (clean!) hands the crumbles will disappear.
• Scoop teaspoon size balls into the cookie sheet. Flatten each ball slightly with the back of a fork, making a crisscross pattern.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook or they will be too dry and crumbly.
• Remove from the hot pan to a cooling rack after about 1 minute. Store in an airtight container. These should last a few days on the counter. I don’t know how well they freeze but I find most of my cookies defrost pretty well.

These cookies are mildly sweet and rich in peanut butter flavor. The texture is a bit crumbly around the edges but much softer and chewier towards the center. Raw sugar granules are larger than typical white sugar and they usually need a lot of liquid to dissolve (or you can pulverize them in the food processor first). I really enjoy the grainy texture the sugar gives to the cookies but if sugary grit isn’t your thing, I’d suggest using brown sugar or grinding up the raw.

Can’t you just picture one of these crumbled on top of a piping hot bowl of banana oats?

Guess we know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow =)

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Killed it.

Well, kinda 😉 I ran a 5-mile race this morning and really had no expectations. I hadn’t run a race since my high school cross country days and figured anything under a 10-min mile pace would be something to celebrate. I averaged an 8:10 pace! Heck yes!

Pre-race breakfast at 7:30:

Perfect combo of fiber-packed carbs, sugar, and fat. Plus a couple of giant glasses of water and a small cuppa Joe on the side. I usually eschew coffee until after my morning runs but with a start time of 10:30 I knew it would be headache city if I waited until afterward. I also nibbled on a dried date about 15 mins before the gun/the man counting down from 10 over a megaphone.

See the man with the megaphone? Yeah, I couldn’t either. And, holy cow, was it windy!

All week I had been telling myself to just treat this like any other weekend run. Once I got there, though, I decided that I had to push myself – it’s not every weekend that I get to run with over 1,000 other people! And it totally paid off. Woohoo! My left foot has been sore while walking and I worried it would seize up on me but it felt like all it needed was to run! I didn’t have any pain at all during the race. I paced myself off this woman I found who was about my size and totally booking it (my Forerunner also helped keep my pace in check). It also helped that I spent most of the race behind this guy with the most chiseled calves imaginable…that’s not weird, right?

There were all kinds of goodies at the finish line, including a mango protein shake, bananas, chips and hummus, and watttaaaa. When I got home I was famished and immediately got to work on this:

I put about 1/2 of the protein shake into a smoothie with a sliced kiwi, a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and some ice cubes. I also whipped up a bowl of oats with 1/3 cup rolled oats, 3/4 cup water, 1 egg, big spoonful of cottage cheese, about 1/3 cup pumpkin, and all of the necessary spices. I always crave lots of carbs after a hard run but I know I need protein to help my muscles heal. Filled me up and quenched my thirst!

Now I just need to sign up for my next race…