Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

My kids are obsessed with four square. Do you remember that game? A square court is divided into quadrants. Players bounce the ball to each other attempting to bounce the ball out of their opponent’s reach. Our driveway makes the perfect court because we have cement seams that divide the driveway into four even squares.

The kids have roped my husband and me into many (many) games the last couple weeks. We’ve played at seven in the morning on a Saturday, in the pouring rain and just about every day after school. They can’t get enough. My 6-year-old daughter, finally fed up with her older brothers taking cheap shots and getting her out, has gone into beast mode. She won’t let a bounce past her. Her focus and dedication are something to aspire to.

I hope they remember these days; simple moments playing in the driveway. A few minutes squeezed in between dinner and sports, homework and chores. The sun warm on their shoulders, the dog asleep in the grass nearby (always ready to chase a runaway ball), laughter and good-natured ribbing and the triumph of a hard-fought win. I hope they forget the sibling insults and jabs and all the times I said, ‘sorry guys, I can’t play right now.’

As I stare down the barrel of summer vacation and many hot lazy days together, I’m making a mental list of fun activities and games to do in hopes of staving off the inevitable grumpy bored attitudes. I’m also stocking my pantry and freezer. These kids eat. A lot.

Looking for a slightly healthier version of a chocolate chip cookie, I stumbled into a recipe I love. We aren’t gluten-free at our house, but these cookies are a hit with the entire family. Made with almond flour (easily found at the grocery store), natural peanut butter and oats; these cookies are surprisingly soft and cookie-like. I can’t recommend them enough. I made a batch for the freezer and I know I’ll make them all summer long. Even better, the recipe is so quick and easy I can add ‘bake cookies’ to the list of things bored children can do when stuck at home with their boring mother.

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

·         1 ¼ cup almond flour (make sure it’s almond flour, which is very fine)

·         1 cup gluten-free rolled oats

·         ¼ teaspoon baking soda

·         ¾ teaspoon baking powder

·         ½ teaspoon kosher salt

·         4 tablespoons butter softened

·         1/3 cup natural peanut butter, creamy

·         ¾ cup brown sugar

·         1 egg

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk butter and peanut butter together. Stir in sugar and keep stirring. Whisk in egg and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth.

In another bowl, combine almond flour, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a spatula combine the flour mixture with the butter mixture. Add the chocolate chips and stir until just combined.

Using a cookie scoop or two spoons, portion batter into 12 even balls on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt (optional) and bake for 11 to 12 minutes until edges of the cookies are golden brown and the center of the cookies is set. Remove from the oven and let cool on the tray for five minutes. Once slightly cooled, move cookies to cooling rack and continue scooping dough and baking cookies until all the dough is baked. This recipe makes approximately 18-20 cookies.