salted chocolate peanut butter cookies.

do you think there’s a limit to the amount of embarrassing moments a person has to endure throughout their lifetime?

i sure as hell hope so, because i really, truly think i’ve had my fair share.

it’s a really good thing that i love to laugh, and can laugh at myself when i get tangled up in ridiculous situations. otherwise, i’d probably become a crazy shut-in hermit recluse-type person and die under a pile of newspapers or something because i was afraid to leave my house.

let’s recap some of my favorite recent embarrassments, shall we?

• i knocked over a granola bar display at the grocery store with my purse.
• i was wearing a dress on a windy day (which probably accounts for 40% of my embarrassing moments) and it flew over my face. classic. that definitely wasn’t nearly as charming as when it happened to Marilyn Monroe, that’s for sure.
• i was walking through the mall, minding my own business and my skivvies decided to fall down to my ankles. yep, that happened. on a saturday. in a crowded mall. maybe my unmentionables were pissed that i was at the mall to replace them, since i’ve lost weight? i’ll never know.  it was not awesome, but looking back, it was very hilarious.
• i got caught on a chain-link fence and ripped my cardigan.
• another cardigan-related moment: a bee got caught in my sweater, and i proceeded to scream and run around and try to remember how to take a cardigan off. yes, this happened in public. yes, the bee did sting me.
• i fell off the elliptical at the gym. no, i don’t have any idea how i managed to do that.
• i also fell off a chair at a restaurant. it wasn’t broken, or super-tall, or anything like that. just a regular, ordinary chair. no idea how that happened, either.

and that’s just a sample of embarrassing things that have happened to me in the last month. i’m telling you, i am a magnet for this kind of stuff.

so what if i can’t go anywhere without my face turning red? know what i can do really well? bake cookies.

i am a huge fan of instant gratification, and these salted chocolate chip peanut butter cookies are just that. they’re made up of only six ingredients, they take no time at all to prepare, and they’re only in the oven for about six minutes.

six minutes? do you know how many ridiculous situations i could get myself into in only six minutes? probably quite a few.

these cookies are sweet, salty, crunchy and crumbly. they’re everything i could ever want in a peanut butter cookie, and they taste even better with a glass of milk. chocolate milk for me, please!

these salted chocolate peanut butter cookies are kind of like the grown-up, slightly more sophisticated version of the peanut butter cookie you loved from your childhood. they’re just as addictive, too.

oh, and did i mention that they’re gluten-free, too? so make these and share them with your friends!

salted chocolate peanut butter cookies: they’re pretty outrageous.

salted chocolate peanut butter cookies

Yield: 31 two-inch wide cookies

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 6 minutes

Total Time: 11 minutes

i used my smallest cookie scoop for these cookies, and ended up with cookies two inches in diameter!

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy chocolate peanut butter* (i like peanut butter & co.; see Note)
1 cup granulated sugar
pinch of kosher salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking powder (make sure to use gluten-free baking powder if doing gluten-free baking!)
fleur de sel, for sprinkling

note: can't find chocolate peanut butter? no worries, mate! you have two options: you could drizzle/dip baked, cooled cookies into melted chocolate and allow to cool completely on parchment paper, or you can make your own quickie chocolate peanut butter!

to make quickie chocolate peanut butter, combine 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/4 cup powdered sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor. pulse until ingredients are well-combined and creamy. enjoy!

Directions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees F, with a rack in the center of the oven.

line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

in a medium bowl, combine peanut butter, sugar and salt.

using a silicone spatula, beat ingredient together until smooth and well-combined, about 1-2 minutes.

add the egg, and beat until fully incorporated into dough.

add baking powder, and mix until dissolved.

using the cookie scoop, drop small balls of dough onto prepared cookie sheets, leaving about two inches between each cookie.

using the tines of a fork, lightly press down on the cookie dough ball, and again in the opposite direction.

sprinkle a small amount of fleur de sel over the top of each cookie.

bake cookies at 350 degrees F for 5-6 minutes, or until cookies have spread out slightly.

allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire baking rack to cool completely.

once cool, store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

adapted from gluten-free girl

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