I can’t even remember how I came across The Kitchen Prep Blog.  Maybe her post for Flourless Double Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal <sheesh that’s a mouthful!> popped up on my newsfeed?  I click on so many recipe links these days, I am just happy that this one stayed open in my browser.  My daughter asked if we could make some cookies and I thought it was a sign to get up and give this recipe a try.  I pulled out my iPad, set it on the counter, and looked over the ingredients.  I was excited because I had everything in the “pantry” <someday I will have a REAL pantry>.  I even had Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter–YUM! The only ingredient that left a little pang in my heart was brown sugar.  I am trying so hard to make clean, whole food recipes that my husband and my daughter love.  I want to teach them that healthy food, food that will fuel our bodies, doesn’t have to be packed with factory-made sugars and fat. Granted, if this was a perfect world I would have made my own PB too but at that moment, the sugar was my culprit.  So I thought about using honey–but I didn’t have any honey.  Then I thought about the Lara Bar I ate the other day.  I was impressed–3 ingredients–dates, sea salt, and peanuts.  That Lara Bar was deliciously sweet and I didn’t even know what dates tasted like before opening the wrapper. Trust me, there is a point to the crazy roadmap in my brain here.  One problem, I didn’t have dates.  What did I have??? FIGS!  Tons and tons of FIGS!  And that my friends is how I took The Kitchen Prep’s recipe and made it my own.

The fig puree was a deep purple color.  I never pureed figs before and I couldn’t help but to smile about how the color would blend perfectly with the chocolate peanut butter.

 And I couldn’t keep her hands away while trying to capture a pic.  She LOVED the sprinkle of sea salt on the top too!

Flourless Chocolate Peanut Butter {Fig} Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

1 cup Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter

8oz of fresh figs (I used 10 figs-should measure out to 3/4 cup when pureed)

1/4 cup of water

2/3 cup rolled oats + 1/3 cup rolled oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

4-6 squares of dark chocolate, chopped into chunks

Sea Salt (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

2. Process 2/3 cups of rolled oats to make a flour-like consistency.  (I used my magic bullet.) Place in large bowl.

3. Puree figs and water. Think baby food texture!

4.  Add fig puree, additional 1/3 cup of rolled oats, baking soda, salt, vanilla extract, and the egg to bowl.  Mix well.

5.  Stir in chocolate chunks.

6. Drop by the teaspoon on a cookie sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.  Sprinkle with sea salt (optional but definitely recommended!!)

7. Bake for 11-12 minutes until cookies are just set.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Thank you to Dianna at The Kitchen Prep Blog for inspiring me to make these cookies.  Thank you to Peanut Butter & Co. for making such amazing PBs that I can never seem to get enough of.  And thank you to so many of my healthy friends who have inspired me to wake up and learn about the food I eat.