The Perfect Healthy Peanut Butter Cookie

Want to add some extra nutrition to your average peanut butter cookie recipe? Nothing compares to the satisfying taste and the health-promoting abilities of fresh whole wheat baked goods. If we want to eat the foods Jesus ate, then whole grains belong on the table!

When someone first told me that I need to mill my own wheat and make my own bread, all I could picture was a horse walking around a grind stone in my backyard. My neighbors would definitely disagree with this choice. Fortunately, today we have the simple design of tabletop electric grain mills to mill any grain, bean, or legume into fresh, satisfying, and nutritious flour! (For a helpful list of the top grain mills, click here.)

Supermarket vs Home Baked

Baked goods in the market have come far from God’s original design. Today, the white flour used in over 99% of store purchased and restaurant served bread works the same as white sugar in the body. White flour has been robbed of its color, taste, smell and nutrients. Twenty-six nutrients, plus the bran have been removed from wheat to produce white flour. Five of the removed nutrients are then returned (in a synthetic form) to produce “enriched” flour.

Replacing white flour with freshly milled whole grain flours is a tremendous step in nutritional improvement.  Freshly-milled flours have all of the natural oils and nutrients of the grain still intact. To retain the nutrients once the grain is ground into flour by a flour mill, the flour can be placed in the refrigerator or freezer for up to one month before the natural oils go rancid. If the freshly-ground flour is left at room temperature, the natural oils will go rancid within forty-eight hours. After that time, the wheat germ, containing ninety percent of the nutrients, is also rancid. “Rancid” basically means that the food item has spoiled and often will smell bad. Eating rancid or spoiled food has consequences, including increased toxicity to the body. Once the bread is baked within that time frame the nutrients are preserved.

Processed, enriched, and fortified grains steal away your health. Invest in your health and make smart choices. Whole grains add to your health!!

Tips for the Best Healthy Peanut Butter Cookie

USE FRESH MILLED WHOLE GRAINS. The best wheat variety is soft white. However, any wheat variety can be used. Also try Spelt, Kamut, Einkorn and Emmer for a delicious cookie.  If you are really a foodie use the Ezekiel grains for a super boost of nutrients in the cookie!

FOR CRISPY, CHEWY COOKIES: Use a fork to flatten the dough balls. Press down the tines of the fork vertically, then horizontally on the dough to form a crisscross pattern. (If your dough is too soft to make a clean pattern, chill for 5 minutes.)

FOR SOFT PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES: Do not flatten the dough balls. Bake them as is.

Bake the cookies on the center rack of the oven (one pan per oven) for 7-9 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom. Ovens will vary.

Take them out of the oven and let them rest in the pan for 3-4 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. If you don’t wait they will crumble. Cookies will set as they sit.

After they’ve cooled, store the cookies in a plastic container with a lid at room temperature for several days. Freeze after two days for up to 3 months.

Top 7 Add-Ins for Healthier Cookies

1. Flaxseeds 2 tablespoons freshly ground flaxseeds. Flaxseeds add fiber, protein and essential oils.  Fiber lowers the sugar count and helps your brain not get a large dose of glucose!
2. Chia Seeds Although your family may question the black dots in the cookie – they also not notice the nutrient dense specks. Add at the end of mixing to avoid a dry cookie because chia seeds tend to absorb moisture. Mix and bake. Don’t let them sit.
3. Chocolate All natural dark cacao chocolate chips or cacao nibs.
4. Coconut Adding 2 tablespoons of coconut is a favorite of mine! Look for unsweetened coconut.
5. Nut Butters Substitute peanut butter with any nut butter. My favorite is sunflower seed butter! Almond nut butter may need a little extra sweetener. Or for more foodie fun – mix the nut butters. Substitute 1/3 cup of peanut butter for almond butter or sunflower seed butter.
6. Gluten Free Make these cookies with GF oats. Simply grind the oats in a blender to make oat flour. They may be a little more crumbly than the trusted firm cookie we grew up with.
7. Nuts Go nut crazy! Nuts add more essential omegas to the mix – your brain will love you!

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Want a glass of non-dairy milk with your cookies? Join me as I blend up a pitcher of almond milk!