flourless maple walnut peanut butter cookies + a giveaway

March 16, 2015

flourless maple walnut peanut butter cookies | une gamine dans la cuisine


"The pearls weren't really white, they were a warm oyster beige, with little knots in between
so if they broke, you only lost one. I wished my life could be like that, knotted up so that even
if something broke, the whole thing wouldn't come apart." 
                                                                        
                                                            ~ from 'The White Oleander' by Janet Fitch
I'm still guilty of neglecting my blog, yet I can't come up with a valid excuse. My thoughts, which have been buried +  scattered across the months of January & February, are slowly thawing. I'm trying to process the fact that it's actually warm enough to gently *pry* open my bedroom window at night. After a lengthy absence, it's hard to know where to (re)start. My writing voice is filled with an assortment of plump little winterling birds, each one longing to fly out and test the warm ambiance (at last!) of  March. I can't release them all at once so I'll start with the quiet ones and gradually work my way up to the brash confidence of squeaky wheels.

Today I'm sharing a sweetly simple recipe for maple walnut peanut butter cookies. Simple because unlike most cookies, you won't have to suffer the agony of chilling dough. They are also flourless. I'd label them gluten free but, being relatively unfamiliar with the gf world, I'll err on the side of caution. I enjoy peanut butter much too much, a jar of the good stuff will only last about a week in my cupboard. As soon as I arrived home with my beloved maple madness peanut butter, I whipped up these tender little gems. Feel free to omit the walnuts & chocolate, if you prefer. While both additions gave the cookies a pleasant nubby texture, I think they almost masked the peanut butter's maple flavour.

flourless maple walnut peanut butter cookies | une gamine dans la cuisine

*giveaway details below recipe*

maple walnut peanut butter cookies
makes about 2 dozen small-ish cookies

ingredients
1 cup natural peanut butter (I used Peanut Butter & Co's Maple Madness)
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (optional)

method
Preheat oven to 350 F. + line baking sheets with parchment paper.

In stand mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment, beat peanut butter & sugars on med. speed till combined. Add the egg, baking soda & cinnamon; beat on med-low, gradually increasing to medium, until combined. Add walnuts and chocolate (if using) and beat on low speed till combined.

The dough will be on the oily side so, for once, please do no refrigerate. ;-)

For each cookie, measure out a rounded Tablespoonful of dough and place onto prepare baking sheet (allow about 1/2-inch of spreading room between each cookie...they should not spread too much). You can try to make a criss-cross pattern on the cookies but the fragile dough + nuts might make it difficult.

Bake 10 minutes (cookies may look underbaked, don't worry). Remove sheet from the oven and allow cookies to rest for 5-8 minutes or until they have firmed up enough to transfer to a cooling rack.

adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook



I'm taking part in my first group giveaway, and it's a doozy! One fortunate person is going to win a flurry of 12 cookbooks; favourites personally chosen by the following food blogs:
savory simple
bakeaholic mama
foodness gracious
taste love & nourish
all day I dream about food
life's ambrosia
the beeroness
a brown table
very culinary
cooking with books
cravings of a lunatic 
une gamine dans la cuisine 



The giveaway is open to both U.S. and Canada & runs until March 23rd (12am EST). To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below (it might take a while to load). Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

29 comments:

  1. i use the joy of cooking more than anything else!

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  2. I love so many of my cookbooks, it's hard to choose a favorite! Definitely on top is Oh She Glows and The High Protein Vegetarian Cookbook.

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  3. Heavenly cookies and combination.

    Great giveaway!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  4. Oh, I entered the giveaway, but I didn't see that it is only open to Canada & the US, so please don't count me in... ;-)

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  5. Christina AlexanderMarch 16, 2015 at 9:50 AM

    There is nothing like the excitement of settling down with a new cookbook and a cup of hot tea ♥

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  6. What a lovely post, Valerie! These cookies look delicious. Looking forward to everything you'll be sharing over the course of the next few months. xx

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  7. I so love your photography, I wish you would not neglect this blog so much ;) am always eager to see your images and your food, even though, just like this recipe, it might not be quite to my tastebuds preferences - not a peanut butter fan, here... please do find your writing voice and delight us with pictures and prose and recipes more often...
    http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/

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  8. What an incredibly generous giveaway! So much fun! :)

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  9. Maple madness peanut butter… be still my heart! I adore these cookie gems!

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  10. It is too nice to not enter~Thank you.
    Your cookies look delicious also.

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  11. Welcome back. And back with a bang! These cookies look extra buttery x

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  12. Maple peanut butter, walnuts AND chocolate?! These are all of my favorite things together in this single cookie!!!

    (Also, I think if I had to pick a favorite cookbook, it'd be my Red Plaid BHG Cookbook...It's the one I use most frequently)

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  13. I often use the American country inn & bed & breakfast cookbook volume I. I've had it forever & refer to it often amongst other cookbooks & my grandmother 's recipes

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  14. While I, along with many others I'm sure, have missed your beautiful words and recipes, it's always best that we do what's right for ourselves first. I know how it feels to be stuck with a flock of birds all breaking into flight, but only being able to release them one at a time. A quote I love: "The brighter the feather, the harder it is to set free."

    Nonetheless, Valerie, these cookies look absolutely delicious. I'm looking forward to all you have to share in the near future, whether it be birds or squeaky wheels or, well, just cookies. Whatever it be, I'm sure it will be lovely. xo

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  15. I love my Pillsbury Best of Baking cookbook most

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  16. My favorite cookbook is Maida Heatter Great American Desserts. An oldie!

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  17. America's Test Kitchen Baking Book

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  18. Wonderful giveaway. And I love the thought of your words being plump little winterling birds. Delightful!
    These cookies sound delicious, and I hope to try them after Lent (and my no-sweets resolution) is in the past.
    It would be hard to choose one favourite cookbook - it might be one of Ina's, or a new favourite like Fast, Fresh and Green.

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  19. There are many I love, but I have found myself using my Pioneer Woman cookbooks the most...

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  20. These look amazing! I usually rely on my old stand by, Better Homes and Gardens, but I love experimenting with new cookbooks!
    Kari
    www.sweetteasweetie.com

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  21. I love flourless pb cookies! Adding walnuts is a great idea for some crunch!

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  22. Love these cookies! Can't believe there is no flour - a must make!

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  23. These cookies look amazing!! Sounds like an awesome combo!

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  24. Maple and bittersweet chocolate? I'm all over it!

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  25. Your beautiful words have been dearly missed. Reading them is like sitting down with favourite book that soothes! Oh, and fabulous cookies :)

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  26. Wow , this looks so good ! thanks , love it !

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  27. Your writing along with the photographs always make for lovely, inspired reading! The cookbook giveaway is most generous!

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Thanks for visiting, and for taking the time to read through my ramblings!
If you have a recipe comment or question, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Baking!
♥ Valerie

 

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