Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

After a damn-near 2-month absence from my blog, I present you with: more peanut butter awesome-ness! These cookies are seriously addictive! And I am seriously addicted to peanut butter. Sorry. Not really ; )

Based off a peanut butter ball recipe in the 30-Minute Vegan cookbook, which calls for spelt flour (which isn't really gluten free, right?), I subbed some oat flour and brown rice flour for the spelt. So, here we go:

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups peanut butter
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1.5 tsp. raw apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup GF oat flour
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup GF rolled oats
• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (NOT optional)
• I use Enjoy Life brand GF choco chips

L: liquid ingredients, melted together
R: dry ingredients

Directions

Nom nom.

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a small saucepan, mix together the peanut butter, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar. Place on stove over low heat until the peanut butter is melted and mix together. Add vanilla extract. Stir. Remove from heat.
2. In a bowl, mix together the oat flour and brown rice flour along with the baking soda, GF oats, and chocolate chippies (if using).
3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Or lightly spray a nonstick aluminum baking sheet. Scoop out your desired amount of "dough" and form a small ball. 
5. Place on cooking tray. Flatten the ball just a bit, because it will not melt down in the oven (according to the original recipe). 
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes. I know that seems like such a short period of time. I thought the same thing but I took mine out around 10 minutes and they were ready. You may have to experiment a bit.
7. Cool before eating. 

Sesame Seed Granola

I could live off granola. For realz. Whenever I go shopping the thing that is always the most expensive on my receipt is the (lbs. of) granola . There are two mouths to feed in this apartment... y'know. I've attempted homemade granola a few times in the past, but I had always used the cheap and shitty economically feasible quick oats. This time I got some rolled oats from the bulk bins at Whole Foods (which I'm sure are contaminated with gluten in some way, but I'm not rolling in the cash, so these will have to suffice...)

Some of the ingredients before baking.

I had some raw pumpkin seeds that have been sitting around the kitchen for far too long and threw those into the mix. The granola could use a little extra iron anyways.

Umm... also notice the abundance of sesame seeds in my mixture photo above. Although there are others nuts and seeds in this granola, the majority of the seeds are indeed... you guessed it - sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are chock-full of nutrients including magnesium, iron, manganese, and calcium. They are also a great source of copper, which plays an important role in collagen formation, among other things.

Ingredients

• 4 cups rolled oats (not the quick-cooking kind)
• 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup raw cashews, chopped
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup ground Flaxseed Meal
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar or sucanat
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt

        Liquid-y Ingredients (to be melted in small saucepan on stove, or microwave)

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup honey or agave nectar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup almond butter (or some other nut butter)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. In a huge bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. 
3. Place all the liquid-y ingredients in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until it starts to boil and is mixed. Remove from heat and add to the oat mixture.
4. I split the mix onto two baking sheets, and baked for 30 minutes. 
5. After the first 30 minutes, remove from oven and stir. Bake for 15-20 more minutes until golden in color. Yum!