{Flourless} Double Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Two incredibly exciting things happened the other day: 1. I noticed some bloggers posting pics of ingredients including cinnamon, pumpkin, and things with the word "spice" in the recipe title, and 2. My stats started showing an increase in views of my Ultimate Gameday Food Guide pin. These are very good signs that Fall is drawing near, bringing with it both football season and the end of my pregnancy adventure.

These days I get the question, "How are you feeling?" asked a lot, mostly due to the fact that "the bump" is now highly visible, even to the untrained eye. {i.e. The man at the FedEx store who gave me a dirty look when I picked up a shipment of wine for a blog-related project. Not to worry, I'm hosting a party at my house, not having one in my belly.}

The answer, I'm glad to say,  is "Not bad at all."

I'm entering my 3rd trimester in less than a week {!} and the only real complaint I have is that I'm no longer able to go at warp speed as I'm accustomed to. Things take a little more energy when you've got a stowaway on board. You may find yourself slightly winded from simple tasks like putting lotion on your legs after showering or taking off your jeans at the end of a long day. There are frequent pit stops to public restrooms, sometimes in the middle of what's supposed to be a "quick" trip to the store. Even sitting starts to become a challenge when you realize that you no longer bend in the middle, often forcing you into a reclined position so that your lungs have some room to expand. Several times a day, my belly begins shape-shifting as my son practices what I can only guess are his acrobatic skills. I've considered calling the circus just to prepare them for their future headliner.

Sure, it's a challenge getting used to increased weight and decreased mobility... but I'm doing my best to continue being as active as possible. This means I'm still spending time on my feet in the kitchen, which is important to me because I know that the luxury of recipe testing for hours will be coming to an end all too soon.

The great part about having less energy {yes, something positive has come of this!} is challenging myself to find and create recipes that require less time and less ingredients. Those are two bonuses for anyone, not just those with a bun in the oven!

That's how these cookies happened. It all started with a wonderful mail delivery from my friends at Peanut Butter & Co....

Dangerous things can happen when you ship 5 jars of flavored peanut butter to a pregnant woman. Luckily, Steve and I {and even Farley} have been taking turns diving into the peanut butter collection. His favorite use? In smoothies and on a spoon. Mine? Smeared on a banana or crisp apple slices. Or on a spoon. We can all agree, the stuff is great on a spoon. {Yes, even Farley.}

So all this peanut butter naturally gave way to ideas about baked goods. And believe me, there are tons to be had! But remember, I was looking for simplicity here, so the less ingredients, the better.

When I stumbled across this flourless peanut butter cookie recipe from Tina's Chic Corner, I was inspired to tweak her already fabulous recipe and make them my own. Deciding to use the Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter was the biggest struggle in making these because that's my favorite flavor and I didn't want to waste a single scoop on something unworthy. But as it turns out, they were worth the sacrifice.

I have become the queen of lazy cookies -- the kind that require little more effort than throwing a handful of ingredients into a bowl, mixing them and plopping them on a cookie sheet to bake. These would fall under this category. I'm thinking once the kid is older these types of recipes will be useful for last minute "Mom, I have to bring something in..." type moments.

For now, they're easy enough to mix up even on the days when I'm winded from tying my shoelaces. Hope you'll enjoy them as much as I do!

Disclosure: Peanut Butter & Co. sent me complimentary jars of their peanut butter for me to try. I have not been compensated for this post and the opinions written here are all my own! Thanks for the goodies, PB&Co!


{Flourless} Double Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 28 Cookies

1 cup Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
¾ cup brown sugar
⅔ cup rolled oats {gluten free if you want to keep the whole recipe GF}
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
6 squares of dark chocolate, chopped into chunks {or prechopped chocolate chunks. Or chocolate chips. You get the idea.}
{Optional} Sea salt for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining with parchment or a silicone baking mat.

2. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients {except chocolate chunks} until thoroughly combined. Gently stir in chocolate chunks until well distributed.

3. Using a cookie scoop, drop scoops of dough onto cookie sheet, spacing about 2 to 2 ½ inches apart {these will spread a bit}. If desired, sprinkle with sea salt for a little extra flavor.

4. Bake for 11-12 minutes or until the cookies are just set. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. {They will be quite soft right out of the oven but firm up a bit and become chewy once they're cooled.}