In our family it's tradition to prepare a feast of favorites for Dad and all the other important men in our lives, followed by a dessert and a cup of coffee. But this year, one of the fellas in attendance is both xanthan gum and gluten sensitive. Xanthan gum is used to replace gluten in gluten-free recipes, so creating a sweet that was free of both would be a challenge, until I remembered my grandmother's peanut butter cookie recipe.
It's free of both xanthan and gluten, and has only six very basic ingredients. I used some organic coconut palm sugar in the recipe. True, it has about the same amount of calories as the white sugar in the recipe, but it is lower on the glycemic index, and does have health benefits.
The finished product took me back to my childhood. The cookie is thin and crispy, bursting with a rich peanut butter flavor. Go ahead, treat dad with a plate these, if you can keep your hand off them yourself. Recipe is below.
"Who Needs Flour?" Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup organic coconut palm sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp. real vanilla flavoring
1 tsp. baking soda
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a medium bowl, mix everything until well combined. Form the dough into teaspoon sized balls and place 1" apart on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Flatten the balls with the tines of a fork, making a crosshatch pattern on the cookies.
Bake until golden around the edges, about 10 minutes.
Cool cookies on baking sheet about 2 minutes and then transfer with spatula to rack to cool.
Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.