Happy Mother’s Day to all! Hope it was lovely.
JT and I babysat my 13 year old nephew, Jack and my 10 year old niece, Annie on a recent weekend while their parents went to the Caiman Islands for a benchmark birthday party! We had a great action packed weekend filled with a visit to the High Park Zoo, bowling at Lucky Strike, cake decorating and cookie baking. Jack had his head burried in his laptop or smart phone at any given time; surprisingly he was not playing games, but monitoring a help desk he set up.
At the zoo, we were very lucky to see the 1 month old baby Wallaby, hoping along side of Mama (he/she even crept back into Mama’s pouch)! And we reacquainted with the Lama that was born last year. Lots of great things to do at this quaint little zoo — chickens to hold, bunnies to pet and Capybaras to feed, and best of all, it’s FREE! If you’re in Toronto, take the kids to High Park, in addition to the zoo, there is an amazing Jamie Bell Adventure Playground that was recently rebuilt due to vandals burning it to the ground (hundreds of volunteers and a celebrity contractor rebuilt the castle, click here to read the article).
But even after bowling, the weekend wasn’t complete without some quality kitchen time. We wanted to take a cake over to Grandma and Papa’s as a get well gift for Grandma who recently had an operation, so I baked two vanilla slab cakes (well, that’s not the fun part) and Annie cleverly decorated both, one as a gift and one for dessert over the weekend — which was thoroughly enjoyed!
We ate al fresco all weekend, which was a HUGE contrast to this past weekend when it SNOWED! Yes, you read that correctly!
We also baked the easiest Peanut Butter Cookies we’ve ever made and I thought I would share them with you because they are gluten free!
The Easiest Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies EVER (recipe from Kraft)
Makes about 24 medium-sized cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Kraft Smooth Peanut Butter (UPDATE) I made these cookies again using all natural peanut butter and they turned out perfectly. I won’t be buying Kraft again for this easy and tasty cookie. Take into consideration how oily the natural pb is, the last batch I made (2015) was excessively oily so I upped the sugar to 3/4 cup).
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- Optional 24 milk chocolate wafers
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Mix all of the ingredients together until well blended (no need to drag out the hand mixer, just mix well with a spoon).
- Roll into 24 balls and place on parchment paper about 4 inches apart. Flatten with fork (or with a flatten with a milk chocolate wafer pressing it into the cookie).
- Bake 20 minutes or until lightly brown. Do not over bake. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet and transfer to wire racks. Cool completely if you can resist eating.
I tried these cookies and they are amazing and fabulous. Even my husband likes them, and he’s hard to please! Now I want to try these same three ingredient cookies only with mashed bananas instead of peanut butter. My questions are: Peanut butter contains oil but bananas don’t. Should I plan on adding some oil and if so, how much? How many bananas should I use, just enough to equal one cup? And how long should I bake them, fifteen minutes? More less? My husband loves these peanut butter cookies, and he loves bananas. But he did *not* like the peanut butter banana chocolate chip cookies I made. That’s why I want to try this idea of mine.
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Hi Spirit Wolf, I am very glad you liked the cookies, welcome to my blog. I’m sorry but I can’t be certain that substituting the banana for the PB will work in real life, it does seem like it would, though, on paper. The only way to know for sure is to try it out. First batch, substitute exact measures for the banana, bake off ONE cookie (1 tbsp). Try it for taste and texture. If it was too crumbly, add 1 tbsp liquid (you can add unflavoured oil) to the remaining batter. You already know what the batter is supposed to look like with PB, now you are attempting to get a similar consistency with only banana. On the other hand, if the batter won’t stick together, then you may need to add another egg. I used large eggs in the recipe, for the second egg, you might want to beat slightly to combine yolk and white and add half at a time. Bake off another cookie and taste test. Remember that the PB cookies set up as they cool, they are quite crumbly when they first come out of the oven. Hope that helps. Do come back and let me know how it worked out.
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[…] from my lovely friend Eva over at Kitchen Inspirations. As soon as I laid eyes on her Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies, I was instantly transfixed and couldn't stop obsessing about how to make them mine, all mine – […]
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Looks like an amazing weekend! Glad to hear everyone enjoyed themselves!
Love your cookies! I’ve been making flourless peanut butter cookies for years. I’m glad to hear your experiment with a natural peanut butter turned out well. I haven’t used sugar-filled peanut butter — nor made peanut butter cookies — for a few years now. I think it might be time to make some cookies!
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Thanks Amber, I really never knew about them because I don’t buy Kraft PB, so it was only when my friend’s daughter and our neighbour made them and my friend raved about it. Rest assured it is the last PB cookie recipe I will make ever again.
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It looks like you guys had so much fun hanging out together. The trip to the zoo and love that colourful rainbow cake. A 4 ingredient cookie and gluten free, you have to love that. So easy even a teenager can make it.
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Hi Bam, yes it was a lovely weekend hanging out. The cake decorating was a blast but I think the kids loved eating it too! I made the cookie using natural peanut butter and it worked out perfectly, I would encourage you to have your kids make this easy recipe, you’ll be surprised how tasty they really are.
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gluten free! I am in! It sounds delicious and looks amazing and I am so trying this like tomorrow
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Thanks Jessica, you should have seen my brother inhale them as soon as he found out they were GF. I made a batch last week with natural PB and it was fantastic, no other changes necessary.
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I am so done with snow this time……the cookies look super easy and fun. My older kid loves peanut butter, so I am going to bookmark this and help him make this into a summer project 😀
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Hi Minnie, Annie did the entire thing with a little supervision (I measured the ingredients to make sure it was right) but the stirring and rolling and shaping was all Annie.
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Jack didn’t want to help out in the kitchen? You have to tell him he’s letting the side down!
Looks like you had fun out and about though Eva – cute little llama too (by the way, what’s the difference between a llama and an alpaca… are they the same thing or what? I always get them confused and they seem to look identical).
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Hi Charles, I think Jack would have liked to help out, but he was afraid that it wasn’t ‘cool’ enough. He’ll learn soon enough; his Dad (my brother) is the chef in their family, so it’s gotta be in his blood.
I googled llama and Alpaca and apparently they are quite different although they are from the same (camel) family; alpacas are smaller than Llamas and there are a few other differences. Ours at this zoo is a llama for sure.
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Not only is this easy, it looks like a lot of fun to make AND yummy!
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I would encourage you to try it SM, it’s very tasty indeed.
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The cake turned out lovely. And I happen to know that pot bellied pig. I hope he or she has a lovely room and is well cared for.
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Thanks Zsuzsa, there is always something grounding when cooking/baking with kids, they just don’t sweat the small stuff. Yes, that piggy has a lovely home; believe it or not, he was just one out the entourage that accompanied my niece that weekend!
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One word: YUMMY!!
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That’s one heck of a word, thank you Reinhardt!
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The cookies look lovely, Eva. It’s amazing that you have such good relations with your niece and nephew. It’s not always obvious with some teenagers… And baking with family members is such a pleasure!
Have you said “snow”? Seeing your outdoors table it’s really difficult to believe, but well… it’s Canada 😉 Here we have had only two sunny warm days and starting from tomorrow the temperatures will be the typical of November in my city and not 2nd half of May! (max. 13°C). This year spring is really awful here.
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They look so good and like the kind of cookie that you’d find in a nice bakery! I can’t believe they’re so easy but you’ve shown us they are! 🙂
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Thank you kindly Lorraine, they have a slightly chewy texture which makes them addictive! The kids and JT went through the first batch in one day!
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OK, first off, your niece and nephew are adorable (and I just happen to be very well acquainted in the ways of blasé teenage boys ;-)). And, I’m utterly pumped about these cookies!! I love that they don’t contain flour and now my wheels are turning big time… I can’t believe how well they hold just with the peanut butter (I guess the sugar helps) and they look great too! The chocolate wafer addition is a beaut! You’re such an awesome Aunt Eva — all your thoughtful touches and planning — I would have loved to hang out with a fun and inventive aunt like you when I was Jack & Annie’s age!
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Thanks so much Kelly. I tried the recipe last week with natural peanut butter (just peanuts from a health food store) and they turned out great. I’d love to try it with a natural sugar substitute, maybe a date purée? I’ll have to do some experimenting.
The weekend turned out great, thank you for your generous compliments.
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Yes, that’s what I was thinking too… something that would lend bulk but be a more natural sugar… I’m still thinking on it. But meantime, Eva,… Leafs Nation Devastation. Good Heavens, I’m not even a Leafs fan and I’m in mourning… 😦
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Me too, but I’m glad it was Boston, they deserve it after the devastating Marathon bombings. There’s always next year ;).
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Lovely cake, great decorating job. Nice cookies too. 🙂
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Thanks Maria, it’s all about colour for 10 year olds!
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Ooft, these cookies look divine! I made a batch the other day too 🙂
Yum!!!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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Thanks CCU, did you use this recipe?
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I love peanut butter cookies!!! They are one of my favorites. I’ll have to give these a try as I have yet to find my favorite recipe. 🙂 It looks like you had such a great weekend. I love the cake that Annie decorated. It’s just perfect!!! And I’m definitely going to check into this zoo. 🙂
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Thanks Kristy. Be careful to not over bake the cookies as I suspect they really dry out; ours were pleasantly chewy. I made them this past weekend to take to a party and I used natural peanut butter and it worked out perfectly!
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Sounds like a busy, fun-filled weekend, Eva. Good, too, that your weather improved so drastically. Not only did it make a trip to the zoo possible and even pleasant, you were able to take full advantage and eat al fresco. Now that must have felt very good. The “easiest” this or that is often bandied about and rarely true. I have to say, this really is the easiest cookie recipe I’ve seen. And with all that peanut butter, they have to be good. Didn’t Annie do a great job on those 2 cakes? What fun!
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Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments John. I wouldn’t have thought this recipe would work, but a friend made it and told me what a success it was. I’ve since made it with natural peanut butter and it worked equally as well.
I really enjoyed being with the kids too, they are really fun.
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What a beautiful and fun filled weekend you had with your nephew and niece. Jack is such a serious young man and Annie is so sweet natured, lovely, lovely children.
Expecting widespread frost/freeze tonight, blah.
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Hi Norma, the temperatures are nasty here too, although they are not predicting a hard frost. Thank goodness as my lilac is flowering beautifully!
Yes the kids were great, well behaved and fun to be around.
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I’d love to spend a weekend with children. My sister is bringing her granddaughter with her from New York and I can’t wait. Emma is the same as as my only granddaughter. She loves dogs and she loves to cook.
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Sounds like you’re going to have a blast Maureen; Annie’s at such a great age that she makes everything so much fun! Both kids were great to have around.
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Such a wonderful talented girl…
preety sweet bites!
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Thanks Dedy.
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How amazing. I can’t relieve they are just peanut butter and egg! They look so crunchy.
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Thanks David, the peanuts give them a bit of a crunch but the cookie is more chewy than crunchy. So easy to make.
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Please tell me the snow has finished for this season. It seems to have been going on for forever. I love how there was a wallaby at the zoo – just love that little touch of Oz xx
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Snow in May?…Gosh…I thought we had a lousy spring…cloudy, rainy and cold..now I take it back.
The cookies and the cake look splendid. Well done, Annie.
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It’s actually quite cold in Toronto today, but at least it’s sunny! Yes, thank you, Annie did a great job.
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Wonderful post! ; )
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Thanks Lizzy!
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