5 Ingredient Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies.

These 5 Ingredient Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies…

Watch the How-To Video Here:

They are just what every Tuesday needs.

Originally, these cookies were supposed to be Friday’s post, but when I sat down to write today’s post, I really just wanted to write about cookies. Granted it’s currently very, very cold, and very, very snowy outside, so talking about a green salad, just didn’t seem right. Snow days need cookies, and hey, at least these cookies are healthy…ish!

Real talk for a second? Well I’ve loved creating some seriously bright recipes this January for our Healthy January, the one thing I have struggled with is healthier desserts. I always find healthier desserts a little harder than say, just throwing a whole bunch of extra vibrant food in a bowl and calling it a day. Unlike savory foods, desserts usually need a little sugar, and if there’s one thing all health experts agree on, it’s that sugar is pretty bad for us.

UGH. But what about our chocolate sweets, you know?

I’m not one to give up on a good challenge, so I had to start getting a little creative when it came to healthier sweets.

Enter these cookies. They are flourless, butterless, and contain no processed sugar.

So basically, they’re health food. Cookies for breakfast?

Um, OK.

And now you’re probably wondering how on Earth these cookies taste even remotely good without any of the usual ingredients cookies contain. Well, I have a secret ingredient.

DATES.

Yup, just dates. Chewy, incredibly sweet dates. I swear, for those of you who think dates aren’t any good, think again because they are a miracle ingredient when it comes to naturally sweetening food, and I love using them in place of processed sugars whenever possible.

Major bonus? Even though dates are incredibly sweet, they actually provide nutritional benefits and are high in antioxidants, potassium and magnesium. Just one serving of dates provides about fifteen percent of your daily fiber.

Cool. Cool.

Double major bonus? Dates are not only sweet and can replace sugar in recipes, but they’re also super sticky and moist, eliminating the need for binders like butter, oil, and sometimes eggs in vegan baking.

You see, you see? Miracle ingredient. I am a little bit obsessed…but moving along now.

PS. I sent about a dozen of these cookies over to my parent’s house for them to try. I wasn’t sure how they’d react because my mom is one of those people who thinks she doesn’t like dates…well, she loved these cookies, as did my dad. When you get mom’s approval on a cookie, you know it’s a good cookie.

Aside from the dates, these cookies are made up of four other ingredients: peanut butter, vanilla extract, an egg, and a generous amount of dark chocolate.

The peanut butter is the key flavor here and I LOVE it…but I’m sure you guys could have guess that. Peanut butter and chocolate are definitely one of my favorite combos. That said, if you’re opposed, or want to switch things up, these work with just about any other nut butter. I’ve made them with almond butter and they are equally delicious and cashew butter sounds like a genius idea.

A few notes.

I use organic, salted peanut butter that has no added oil or sugars. Just be sure whatever you are using is salted. If it’s not salted, make sure to add a pinch of salt to the dough.

If your dates are feeling dry, soak them in warm water for fifteen minutes or so to plump them up again. Drain the water off before using.

As for your chocolate, mine was only seventy-two percent dark. I could have definitely used a darker bar, but I just didn’t have any hand. You can use whatever percent chocolate you’d like. Milk, semi-sweet, or extra, extra dark, it all works. Just depends how healthy…ish you want to be.

Most important tip? Do not over bake these cookies…always under bake. Guys, there is no butter, no sugar, and no flour, if you over bake you are going to get a dry, burnt tasting cookie, and that’s not good. So set a timer when you put these in the oven and watch closely. Got it? Good.

Now that we have all the details, can we all agree to go home tonight and bake up some healthier peanut butter cookies?

I think our Tuesday needs a cookie…dunked in chocolate!

YES. IT. DOES. <–all caps are needed.