Six Ingredient Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and a Small Kitchen Injury

 

As I sit here on my chocolate brown microsuede couch, my left hand is covered in a bright yellow band aid with a cartoon giraffe on it and  is throbbing with the press of each key. While I intended to write this cookie-themed post today, I also planned to write about another meal. The eggplant parmesan sandwiches I was going to make for dinner on homemade bread. A little ambitious considering I’ve never made my own bread before, but all I could think about was the smell of freshly baked bread being taken out of the oven. That and how nutritious it would be since I would be using ground teff flour, which is packed with essential amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, and magnesium. I’ll make the bread some day soon, but for now I’ve to rest my unsightly hand.

I am happy to admit that this cooking injury did not come as a result of me actually cooking, just of being naturally clumsy and slightly accident prone. On this bright sunny spring morning, I went to my grandma’s house in her suburban neighborhood to help prepare the ingredients for Easter bread, which my family will bake tomorrow. My mom, sister, and cousins joined us as we cut all sorts of ingredients and threw them into an enormous metal bowl that sat in the center of her maple wood table. We fit the stereotype of the loud Italian family. Each person talking louder over the next, just to be heard.

I had just finished peeling six hard boiled eggs, when I decided I couldn’t take it anymore. For some reason the task felt gross to me. So, I gave the job to my sister, while I took on washing the dishes, utensils, and cutting boards that were beginning to pile up in the sink. Washing dishes is a mindless task. I didn’t mind it, but the counters were covered, so I wasn’t sure where to put the dishes. I found my grandma’s drying towel and set them atop the microfiber towel on the island counter top behind me. After washing all of the dishes, I dried my hands on a kitchen towel and went back to the table that everyone had congregated at.

I’m not sure now, why I went back to the sink, but as I turned around from the sink I knocked a frying pan off of my grandma’s high island counter top. With it went a knife that flew down towards the ground, slicing my hand as it went. Being the huge wimp that I am, I saw blood and immediately covered my hand with a paper towel so I didn’t have to see the big gash. Tears poured down my face at the shock of what just happened. If it was a small cut that only required a band aid, I would have been fine. My mom drove me to the urgent care center, where a middle-aged doctor stitched up my deep cut. Needless to say it hurts, but it won’t stop me from cooking (aside from tonight). There will be a teff bread recipe to come.

Anyways, back to cookie baking. Last night, I was craving dessert, but I wanted a good-for-me treat that I wouldn’t feel guilty about eating. Of course, on Pinterest I found a pin for raw vegan chocolate chip cookies. I decided to modify the recipe a little bit to make cooked peanut butter chocolate chip cookie balls. The recipe is free of any added sweeteners and oils. The melted chocolate chips will kick any dessert craving aside. The only downside to making these cookies, was that I ended eating about three of them last night and another three this morning with breakfast. It’s probably a good thing they’ve all been eaten now. I won’t have any cookies available for a pre-breakfast snack on Saturday. Read on for a super simple and sweet cookie recipe.

Ingredients for peanut butter chocolate chip cookie balls: 

*Makes about 18 cookie balls / Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1/8 tsp of sea salt

1 1/4 cup of quick oats (regular or GF)

1/3 cup of organic vegan chocolate chips (or more or less depending on preference)

1/4 cup of peanut butter (or 1/2 a cup if you like more of this flavor- taste the batter before baking to see what you think)

Directions: 

1- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then, mash the bananas. Add the salt and vanilla and mix.

2- Add the quick oats, peanut butter, and chocolate chips. Stir well.

3- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the balls to be about 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick. Place them about an inch apart on the baking sheet and bake for about 12-15 minutes (or until the bottom becomes golden and the outside is crisp).

Enjoy these semi-healthy vegan treats, which also make a delicious addition to any breakfast.

 

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