Today is Valentine’s Day. A holiday that, if I’m being honest, I’m not too keen on. I have a hard time getting behind a holiday that puts pressure on couples to be super romantic and makes single people feel bad about their lack of a relationship. I do, however, really enjoy the whole eating tons of chocolate part of the holiday. That part I can get behind. My boyfriend and I don’t exchange gifts or really do anything out of the ordinary for Valentine’s Day. Although, maybe I could get him to watch the new episode of The Vampire Diaries with me tonight by playing the Valentine’s Day card……….interesting. Anyways…..in the spirit of eating chocolate, I decided to be a good girlfriend and surprise my boyfriend with his favorite cookies, Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies.
These aren’t exactly the sexiest or fanciest cookies, but my boyfriend loves them. I’d actually never had one before dating him and my first experiences with the cookie left a lot to be desired. Most of the recipes I found were way too sweet (and that’s saying a lot coming from me) and the chocolate and peanut butter flavors got lost in the overabundance of sugar. Since these are Boyfriend’s favorite cookies, I knew I’d have to figure out a way to create a No-Bake Cookie I could love. I wanted something that downplayed the crazy sugar overload and let the other flavors shine through.
I found a great recipe in the book Baked Explorations that was almost exactly what I was looking for. It contained chunky peanut butter, which added a nice texture to the cookie, and used dark cocoa powder. The recipe was still a little sweet for my taste, so I dialed back on the sugar, added a little salt, and threw in some semi-sweet chocolate to up the chocolate quotient. The end result was perfect. It was a No-Bake cookie I could get on board with and, more importantly, my boyfriend loved them.
If you haven’t tried a No-Bake Cookie before or have had some bad experiences with them, I highly recommend giving this recipe a shot. It made me a believer in them. And if you need help justifying eating this cookie – I’m kind of a pro at that, so here you go……….oats have lots of fiber and are considered a “superfood,” whole milk has calcium which some say helps burn belly fat, and peanut butter has protein. I mean when you really think about, these cookies are pretty darn healthy. Like I said, I can justify just about any dessert. Hope you enjoy these cookies and Happy Chocolate Eating Day!!