CHOCOLATE-BOTTOM PEANUT BUTTER & HONEY COOKIES (GRAIN-FREE & GLUTEN-FREE VERSIONS)

Recipe By Shirell Dalton, The Simple Chocolatier

Prep: 6 minutes Cook: 10 minutes

Yields 2 dozen

Ingredients:

For the Grain-Free version:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (see note below)

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure cane sugar (I used Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar)

1/4 cup raw honey

2 large eggs

1/2 cup coconut flour (I used Arrowhead Mills Organic Gluten Free Coconut Flour)

pinch of salt

For the Gluten-Free version:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (see note below)

1/2 cup pure cane sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup raw honey

2 large eggs

1 cup gluten free all purpose flour (I recommend Arrowhead Mills Organic Gluten Free All Purpose Flour or Arrowhead Mills Organic Gluten Free Heritage Blend All Purpose Flour)

pinch of salt

Dark Chocolate:

1 cup good quality bittersweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the peanut butter with the sugars; stir in the honey. Add the eggs then stir in the flour. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator or freezer until firm. Measure one tablespoonful of mixture and roll into a ball then place onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for approximately 10 to 11 minutes. Do not over bake. Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

In a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil. Place in the microwave for 30 seconds then remove and stir; repeat this process at shorter intervals, stirring every 15 seconds until the chocolate is smooth. After the cookies have cooled, dip the bottom of each cookie into the dark chocolate. Place cookies chocolate side down on a wax or parchment paper lined baking sheet or plate. Allow the chocolate to set. Store cookies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.

Note: Use your favorite peanut butter in this recipe. My preferred choices are Crazy Richard’s Natural Creamy Peanut Butter and Aldi’s Peanut Delight Natural Creamy Peanut Butter. These peanut butters do not contain hydrogenated oils. 

Variations:

Chocolate-Bottom Peanut Butter & Maple Cookies– Replace the 1/4 cup of raw honey with 1/4 cup of maple syrup. I recommend pure maple syrup or Log Cabin All Natural Table Syrup which contains natural flavors and brown rice syrup instead of artificial flavors and high fructose corn syrup.

Chocolate-Bottom Peanut Butter & Molasses Cookies– Replace the 1/4 cup of raw honey with 1/4 cup of Grandma’s Molasses (or brand of your choice).

Chocolate-Bottom Peanut Butter & Honey Cookies (Extra Peanut Buttery)– Add an additional 1/4 cup of creamy or crunchy peanut butter to the recipe.

Dark, Milk or White Chocolate: The chocolate-bottom in the recipe is made using bittersweet chocolate chips, but you can replace the bittersweet chocolate chips with semi-sweet, milk or white chocolate chips. Oftentimes, I’ll blend bittersweet with semi-sweet so that the chocolate is not too bitter or too sweet. If you use 1/2 cup of milk chocolate or white chocolate chips, I would suggest decreasing the coconut oil to 3/4 teaspoons instead.

Unrefined Sugar: If preferred, the 1/2 cup of pure cane sugar and 1/4 cup of light brown sugar can be replaced with 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar  instead. The sugar amount is decreased by 2 tablespoons. The cookies will taste slightly grainy, but they’ll still be fantastic.

Simply Enjoy!

Recipes developed by Shirell Dalton – The Simple Chocolatier  Copyright ©2015 Shirell Dalton, All Rights Reserved