Cookies are my love language; I use them to tell people I care about them, to say thank you, to celebrate milestones, and to comfort a loss. While I usually make cookies for other people, these ones were all for me. I used all of my favorite ingredients (maple syrup! peanut butter! oats! dark chocolate!), and didn’t make them with the intention of pleasing anyone but myself. That might not sound like such an accomplishment, but it truly is a rarity. 
It’s in my nature to try to please other people. Not in an I need everyone to like me kind of way, but more in an I genuinely want to make you happy kind of way. If you ask me to do something for you, I will do it, even if it is inconvenient for me, or I don’t have the time. I get a lot of satisfaction out of pleasing other people, and love to show people how great life can be. Sometimes cookies are the vehicle for delivering that message, sometimes not. Either way, I tend to forget about myself sometimes.
Since I would bake a batch of cookies for a friend who needed a little reminder that I cared about them, I figured I might as well bake a batch to show myself some love.
Despite being made from such humble ingredients, these cookies turned out perfectly tender, with a slightly crispy bottom and a soft center. They’re certainly on the healthier side of the cookie spectrum, but their flavor isn’t compromised by their apparent lack of butter. The peanut butter flavor is front and center, while the maple syrup blends into the background as a subtle sweetness. Oats provide texture, and dark chocolate adds the gooey factor that I love so much in cookies. 
Just to be sure these cookies were great, I brought them in to work last week to share with my coworkers. I was a little nervous because I am a cookie snob who wants cookies warm out of the oven or not at all, but everyone loved them. I got several wide-eyed-mouthful-of-cookies requests for the recipe, and figured if people loved them when they were cold and a day old, they’re winners. 
If you love peanut butter, maple syrup, and dark chocolate as much as I do, you need to make a batch of these cookies ASAP. I love that they taste equally indulgent and wholesome, and are just as satisfying as a mid-morning snack as they are for dessert.
Regardless of what the rest of your family loves, or if you have a thousand other things to do, I think you deserve to slow down and make yourself some cookies. If you happen to love almond butter, or milk chocolate, or honey, or some other similar-but-different ingredient, feel free to try making this recipe your own. I’ve made it enough times to know that, regardless of the specifics, all roads lead to cookies. And cookies are exactly where we want to be.
Tell me: what little things do you do to show yourself some love?
Maple Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 2/3 cup creamy all-natural peanut butter (no added sugar or oils)
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups oats
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped dark chocolate
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- 2. Put all ingredients except oats and chocolate into a bowl, and stir well to combine.
- 3. Put oats into a food processor or blender and pulse 5-10 times until oats are mostly ground. You're looking for a course flour-like consistency with some small chunks of oats left over. Add ground oats and chocolate to the peanut butter mixture and stir well to combine.
- 4. Scoop cookies onto prepared pan (I used a 2-Tablespoon ice cream scoop to measure them out) and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cookies should still look soft in the center when you remove them from the oven.
- 5. Cookies are best warm, but keep well for up to 3 days in a sealed container at room temperature. These might last longer than 3 days, but I have never found a way to make them last longer than that.
Notes
Maple Syrup/ Peanut Butter / Oats