A couple weeks ago I had a birthday party to go to. And not only did I forget about it, but I also forgot to get a gift! It was down to the wire, with only an hour to go before the party. I knew I had to come up with something other than the generic birthday card and lottery tickets- and then it dawned on me. The birthday girl loves ‘sweets’… and she would certainly love my (cheap) 4 ingredient peanut butter cookies!
Listen, I know it sounds “basic” to give cookies as a gift, but they’re delicious, they only take 15 minutes to bake, and more importantly- the ingredients are incredibly cheap, everyday household items. I guarantee that if you don’t have all 4 of these ingredients in your kitchen, you will at least have 2 (or 3?)
Read on to unveil my deliciously foolproof 4 ingredient flour-less peanut butter cookie recipe. (Don’t worry…that’s not the official name)
Unlike other elaborate cookie recipes, all of the ingredients are dumped and mixed together. As promised, there are only 4 ingredients, and I choose to go the “all natural” route. Meaning: instead of processed peanut butter, I choose to buy organic. It’s roughly the same price, tastes even richer, and I can feel better about helping myself to that extra spoonful.
In addition, I don’t use white granulated sugar. Instead I purchase raw cane sugar- which is basically a non-refined, less processed extraction from the sugarcane plant.
You don’t necessarily have to go with all organic ingredients, especially if you are on a strict budget (sometimes they tend to be pricier.) But I highly recommend giving it a try- because personally, I feel a lot less guilty eating 10 peanut butter cookies if I know the ingredients aren’t processed with additives and artificial flavors.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup of all natural peanut butter
1 organic egg
1 cup of pure cane sugar
1 tsp of simply organic vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
- Stir together 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup pure cane sugar, 1 large organic egg, and 1 teaspoon of organic vanilla extract in a large bowl until combined; shape dough into 1-inch balls.
- Place balls 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets, and flatten gently with tines of a fork.
- Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.
Tip: If you have a sweet tooth, try adding in ½ cup of white chocolate or milk chocolate chips.
