Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

A couple of weeks ago I celebrated the one year anniversary of my friends Josh and Claire. A group of us had been at their wedding last summer in Italy, and we decided to gather in Chicago to mark the occasion. We were hosted by our Italian friends Francesca and Giorgio who made a delicious Kosher and celiac-friendly meal (in respect of Josh’s dietary restrictions) which included grilled eggplant and beef-wrapped cheese as appetizers, pesto and béchamel sauce lasagna (and a gluten free pesto lasagna), pomegranate and orange salad and poached pears. I made a modest contribution of orange chocolate mousse and flourless peanut butter cookies.

You might wonder what inspired this unusual constellation of desserts. Well, while I was in Chicago I received an unexpected gift from my friend Lisa. Last March she read my post about the messiness of using natural peanut butter in making peanut butter cookies. Ever thoughtful, she found and purchased a no-mess natural peanut butter stirrer for me (image below). This act of kindness and Josh’s allergy inspired this recipe, which I hope will thrill celiacs and non-celiacs alike.

Ingredients
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, sugar and vanilla. Add egg and mix well.
3. Drop by heaping teaspoons on an ungreased cookie sheet. Use the back of a fork to flatten the ball and create a pattern of fork tines. Press the fork again, this time creating a perpendicular pattern.
4. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes – until the tops of the cookies are just dry. Watch closely as cookies will burn if baked too long. Remove to a cooking rack as soon as possible.
5. These cookies are delicate so refrigerate overnight and serve cold.