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Sugar Free Living: Raisin & Peanut Butter Cookies
As mentioned a few weeks ago, I have cut sugar out of my diet completely. This has brought several challenges into daily life, including the need to vigorously peruse every label of every foodstuff that comes into our home. My children have been surprisingly compliant in their new diet — I thought the lack of Choc-o-Choc cereal would send them into hysterics — but I didn’t want sweet treats to be banned from their lives entirely. After several tries, I managed to modify and/or make up a few recipes that satisfy a sweet tooth with no added sugars or sweeteners whatsoever. The biggest hit has been these cookies: crammed full of healthful foods and high in fiber, eating them will not only taste great but you will feel angelic doing so.
Ingredients
1/2 cup dried dates (whole or chopped, makes no difference, but be sure to get dates with no added sugar)
1/4 cup water, or enough to just cover the dates in a small pan
1/4 cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy (try to use all-natural peanut butter with no sugar added)
1/2 cup uncooked oats
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp vanilla
Method
- Preheat oven to 350F or 180C
- Put the dates into a small pan and just cover with water. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for a few minutes, until most of the water has been absorbed and the dates are soft. If using whole dates, take a fork and mash them up a bit. Take pan off of heat and add peanut butter. Mix to combine.
- Pour date mixture into a large mixing bowl, and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix to combine. The dough should be a bit stiff, but still moist enough to hold together. If it is too crumbly, add water, a few drops at a time, until it is the correct consistency.
- Drop a tablespoon sized amount of dough onto your cookie sheets, flattening slightly. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and allow to cool.
- These can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 1 month, if they even last that long!
I have never been a big fan of dates before now, but they really have a wonderful natural sweetness that makes a great addition to sugarless recipes. I will likely be making these cookies on a regular basis to add to school lunches throughout the years. Enjoy!
