Peanut Butter Cookies: All the Yum minus Flour and Sugar

Life as a Mom is hectic. With Kid 1 in Middle School and Kid 2 in Elementary, we have to do daily pick-ups and drop-offs at two different schools. This also means two different sets of school programs, meetings, and projects. And, you have to factor in all the extracurricular after-school activities -- swim classes, archery, scouts etc. There is a short amount of time (about an hour) between the last school pick-up and first activity drop-off. Frazzling? Yes! Needless to say, both Mommy and the kids need a treat.

For a while, we found ourselves at our favorite local eateries almost every other day -- donuts from Donutopia, boba tea from Lotus Cafe. While this helped my popularity as a mom, it definitely didn't help my waistline. So I started looking for snack ideas that were quick, easy, healthy and passed the family's taste test.

One of the best answers I found are peanut butter cookies! Made without flour and sugar, the cookies are high in protein and full of that wonderful nutty peanut butter flavor.

When #Letslunch, the online foodie group that meets once a month for a virtual potluck, suggested 3-ingredient recipes as the April theme, I was ecstatic. Not only did I have the perfect share, but I'd find new simple recipes to add to my kitchen.

Without further ado, here's the Peanut Butter Cookie recipe:

1 cup creamy peanut butter (you could use the chunky if you wanted)
3/4 cup Splenda or Stevia (OR if you're not worried about sugar, go for brown sugar)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Garnish: dark semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking tray with foil (for easy clean up).
2. Mix the peanut butter, sweetener, egg and the vanilla extract (if using) in a bowl until all ingredients are well melded.
3. Scoop out a tablespoon of the dough and plop it on the prepared tray.
4. Using a fork, roll the scooped dough into a ball, flatten it to create the crisscross pattern.

5. Bake for 9 minutes.
6. If using chocolate chips, press them into the warm cookies gently.
7. Let cool a bit, then enjoy...of course, with a glass of cold milk!

I hope you like them as much as we did! Now here are some of the other 3-ingredient #LetsLunch recipes:

Roasted Asparagus with Truffle Oil by Glass of Fancy
Turkish Sesame Sweets by Monday Morning Cooking Club
Filipino Sticky Rice Logs by Asian in America
Mac'n'Cheese & Peanut Butter Cookies by Tea and Scones
3-Ingredient Thin Mints by Free Range Cookies (Our hostess for April)
Easier Chicken and Dumplings by A Cook and Her Books
Trinidad Mango Chow by Spicebox Travels
Gluten Free Almond Cookies by The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook