Who else craves freshly baked cookies (requiring minimum effort) on a rainy football Sunday?! If so, I have the perfect recipe for you – completely vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free! These cookies are entirely guilt free and will be sure to cure that sweet-tooth of yours!

These cookies were inspired by the Wild Friends Pumpkin Spice Peanut Butter after I purchased not just one, but the pack of THREE from Amazon Prime (Amazon Prime was clearly designed for impulsive shoppers like myself). I should have known how dangerous of a purchase this would be, but hey, I was in the moment and like every other basic chic during fall, I was in need of pumpkin spice everything.

So fast forward to me finding every possible way of not spooning the entire jar of peanut butter into my mouth, I decided baking with it was the next best thing.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2/3 cup of gluten-free oats (Bob’s Red Mill is my go-to)
• 1/3 cup of Wild Friends pumpkin spice peanut butter (feel free to substitute with ANY nut butter of choice)
• 1/4 cup organic pureed pumpkin
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 ripe banana
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp of cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice
• 3 to 4 (heaping) TBSP of Enjoy Life Foods Dairy Free Chocolate Chips
• Coconut Oil (to coat your baking sheet)

The apple sauce & pumpkin can be used interchangeably – for example – if you have no applesauce, just double your pumpkin to a 1/2 cup & vice versa!

Directions:

Set your oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit. Meanwhile, in a large food processor, add all of your ingredients EXCEPT for the chocolate chips & coconut oil. Blend well to a thick consistency (it’s okay if it’s a little chunky)! Add in your chocolate chips & blend for just a few seconds in order to spread the chocolate chips evenly throughout the batter. Next, line a baking sheet with foil & coat lightly in coconut oil (I use a spray bottle). Finally, spoon the batter on the baking sheet in approx ~ 2 1/4 inches across per each cookie. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden on the top. Before indulging, let your cookies sit & cool for a few minutes once you’ve pulled them out of the oven. Enjoy!!

Best kept refrigerated!

I will admit it. I have a nut butter addiction. Give me almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, PB2, you name it, I enjoy it…too much. I could eat this yummy jar of nutty goodness anytime of the day, be it breakfast or dinner, lunch or dessert. Hand me a jar and a spoon (or really any utensil will do the job for that matter) and give me an hour. Let your mind be blown as I perform a magic trick on this jar…watch it quickly disappear right before your very own eyes! Yes, I would eat the entire thing if I had the option. I’ve actually come quite close to this MORE than once. Actually, to be honest, I feel this happens more often than not. If all of the above fits your nut butter addiction, well then, welcome to my own little group I’d like to call ‘N.B.A.A’ – Nut Butter Addicts Anonymous.

I can’t quite put my finger on when my love and addiction for nut butter began. I know it had to start sometime in elementary school and throughout high school nonetheless, when I refused to eat deli meat. I was that child that had a PB and J sandwich EVERYDAY for lunch. I literally would not eat any form of meat because it was “gross”. Myyy how times have changed! Either way, I believe this is the cause and initial fault for my nut butter addiction. Therefore, I feel it’s okay to blame this all on my parents. Hehe just kidding, they were tolerant enough to pack their picky, annoying child a PB&J every day for lunch because I had to be “special”. Regardless, it had to have all began with that big tub of Skippy’s and the strawberry smuckers jelly, smeared between 2 processed pieces of white bread.

At least I’ve upgraded from Skippy’s to natural nut butters ☺ Either way, since then, my love and addiction for this fine nuttyyy condiment has only blossomed and flourished more than ever. I’ve literally tried almost any nut butter out there, I’ve had to “dump” a few because they were too yummy and addicting and I had no self-control (ahem…dark chocolate dreams peanut butter…), and every now and then, if there’s no natural nut butter left in the house, I will resort to my childhood days and eat straight out of the tub of Skippy’s. In addition to exploring new nut butter options, I’ve also explored new recipes that involve OR could involve nut butter. Again, this means peanut butter overnight oats, sweet potato topped with almond butter, chicken sautéed in cashew butter, peanut butter banana smoothies, almond butter mug cakes, oh maaan the list could go on. My point is, I will basically try and incorporate nut butter into any dish, if possible. If I can’t work it into an actual dish, you better bet some money on me finding something else to dip into that jar of tastiness. Worst comes to worst (which really is not bad at all), hand me over a spoon and I’m good to go!

Now here’s my issue. Yes, nut butters are good fat. And, I’m ALL about incorporating healthy fats into my diet. I fricken LOVE healthy fats…if you know me; you know I love nothing more than avocado’s and obviously, almond butter. But, my problem here is self-control. I just seem to lose all sense of willpower when it comes to nut butters. I would be somewhat okay with it if 2 TBSP weren’t already 190 calories, but I eat like triple that on many occasions! I’ve tried like everything in the book.

-I buy PB2 since it’s A) lower in calories and B) you have to actually go through the effort of making the peanut butter. → however, I still end up eating this whole tub as well over the span of 2 days.
-I put the TBSP measurement by the almond butter, that way I remind myself to measure it.
-I don’t buy almond butter. But, honestly, I hate this option because I don’t believe that I should just restrict myself from ever eating it again just because I don’t have self-control.
-I plan my meals ahead of time, such as incorporating 1 tbsp at breakfast into my oats and then 1 tbsp for dessert in my mug cake. However, I find I still end up snacking in between…
-I eat it with something that takes a while to chew and prepare such as sliced apples and peanut butter.
-I distribute a serving size onto a plate (but again, I still end up going back for more).

As you can tell, I THINK I’ve tried everything out there. This is why I’m reaching out to you all for answers and help! So, I believe this wraps up my first session of N.B.A.A. ☺ In the meantime, don’t mind me while I help myself to a heaping spoonful of some Justin’s Honey Almond butter….