Hey friends! I last week I enjoyed the hot, sticky weather here and still recovering from a not-so-cool sunburn, blah!  I thought I would not get burned early morning at the beach but I was wrong!  And because I wore mid-calf running tights let’s just say my tan line is . . . awesome!  I helped celebrate a good friend’s 35th birthday at the beach, aka, by the lake last week.  It was a wonderful morning with kids at play on the playground and mommies relaxing with some yoga.  I am not the best at yoga but the scenery was amazing!  All worth the horrible tan lines, right?

Here is a great, simple cookie recipe with very minimal ingredients.  My little helper was so sweet that I could not say no to her when she says, “But mom, I just want to help!”  Okay sweetie, let’s bake! #makingmemories, love!

They are sticky and gooey and could definitely eat as yummy cookie dough without the egg of course.

My friend got me into Ghirardelli, dark chocolate chip and they are amazing.  Big fat chunks of chocolate melted in a yummy cookie.  I was so excited to find my Hy-Vee makes their own dark chocolate chips just like Ghiradelli!  And they are an entire dollar cheaper, woohoo!  The little things that get me excited! They are also 60% cacao, that is the good stuff  – the dark chocolate with antioxidants!

So it seem like there are so many, so many new chocolate peanut spreads out there on the market these days, ever since Nutella became a hit, everyone else is making their own version, right?   Well, I will say I do enjoy Skippy’s brand because it has way less sugar – 13 grams less than Nutella, wow!

Sometimes the normal assumption of healthy foods is the darker the color the more benefits.  I have heard some people think brown sugar is better than white sugar, well . . .  not really, it is still just sugar and just the processing is different, however, coconut sugar, even though it is brown, does contain a few more nutrients than white sugar.  Calories and sugar content is still the same but it does offer more vitamins and minerals than white sugar. It contains trace amounts of vitamin C, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron and copper. And probably the biggest benefit is that it does have a lower glycemic index than white sugar, meaning it does not increase your blood sugar (glucose) level as high.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Cookies  (Serves 24- *Large Cookie Scoop)

Ingredients

1 cup chocolate peanut butter

1/4 cup coconut sugar

2 scoops protein powder

2 eggs

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, optional

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chocolate peanut butter in a large glass bowl and heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Next add sugar, protein powder, eggs and flaxseed and mix well.   Once batter is mixed, add chocolate chips and stir. Drop batter from spoon onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.  (TIP: These cookies are glorious when only baked for about 10 minutes). Take the cookies out and let them set for 10 minutes before eating ;).

Nutrition facts per serving: 95 calories; 5g fat; 51mg sodium; 10g carbohydrates; 5g protein; 1% calcium; 1% vitamin A; 3% iron.

These are nice sized cookies – get your money’s worth!    Enjoy!