Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies & A Giveaway

One of the hardest things about the holidays is facing the scale. I’ve been watching those numbers creep higher and higher, and well….it’s sort of depressing. Usually I can catch myself, and just go back to hardcore dieting. However, training for this half marathon has turned me into a crazy, hungry person. I’m hungry for junk food, too. It’s a real struggle, especially with all of the holiday baking that has been going on in our house!

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked if I wanted to review a copy of Southern Living’s The Slim Down South Cookbook. I was definitely intrigued, because I feel like this book (just based on the title alone) totally gets me. Living in Louisiana, most dishes aren’t the healthiest. While I was hardcore calorie counting, I would have one cheat meal a week to enjoy those comforting southern dishes that I missed. With this book, I’m super excited to try lightened up versions of my favorites. No cheat day necessary!

Some of the recipes that stuck out to me are baked cheese grits, buttermilk biscuits, bourbon balls, and baked smokin’ mac & cheese…I mean…seriously? Every recipe (there’s 120 of them) also has the nutritional information below it, and the book is full of tips/tricks for slimming down. There’s also a whole chapter dedicated to healthier eating, and there’s even a 14 day eating plan, featuring recipes throughout the book.

Since I’m all about cookies lately, I decided to make these flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies out of the cookbook first. I was skeptical, because I’ve never made a peanut butter cookie without flour. However, these cookies were fantastic. and at 137 calories a cookie (vs. well over 200), it’s not a bad indulgence at all!

The generous folks at Southern Living/YC Media are offering a giveaway for a copy of The Slim Down South Cookbook to one lucky reader!

To enter the giveaway, just use the Rafflecopter widget below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: This giveaway is supplied by YC Media and is open to readers in the continental US only. Entries will be accepted until December 28th at 12:00am (central standard time). Winner will be emailed (make sure you leave an email address in the form), and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Disclaimer: I was sent a complimentary copy of “The Slim Down South Cookbook” for a fair and honest review. Southern Living/YC Media is also supplying a copy of the same book for the giveaway. All opinions are 100% my own.

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Southern Living’s The Slim Down South Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare two cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the peanut butter, sugar, egg, baking soda and salt, until everything is well mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips until they are well dispersed in the dough.
3. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop and drop dough 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.
4. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are puffed and starting to brown. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!