Makes 20 cookies 1 Better Balance Bite/Blue Point (3 cookies for 4)
Calories 53 Fat 1.5g Carbs 13.2g Fiber 1g Protein 2.2g
INGREDIENTS:
Cookie
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
· 10 grams instant sugar-free chocolate pudding mix (see notes)
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1/4 cup light butter, room temperature
· 1/4 cup mashed banana or pumpkin puree (see notes)
· 1 egg, room temperature
· 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 1/2 cup sugar replacement
Filling (see notes)
· 1/3 cup powdered peanut butter
· 1/4 cup sugar-free syrup (I use Vermont brand)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray. If you’d like to weigh out your cookies, set the bowl you’ll be mixing it in onto a scale and zero it out after making note of the bowl’s weight in case the scale doesn’t retain it. This will allow you to see how much only the dough weighs.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, pudding mix, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the light butter and mashed banana (or pumpkin puree) with a hand mixer at medium speed until fluffy (1-2 minutes). Beat in the egg and, when it’s fully incorporated, add the vanilla and sugar replacement and beat until combined.
4. Add flour mixture to the bowl and beat together on a low speed until a cohesive dough forms. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
5. Remove the dough from the fridge and, if weighing your dough, place it back on the scale. If the scale didn’t hold onto the weight of the bowl, subtract the weight you got earlier to get the weight of the dough, then divide that total by 20 to see how much each cookie should weigh. If you don’t want to weigh it, you can portion it with roughly a tablespoon per cookie.
6. Roll the dough into 20 balls, then place them in rows about an inch apart on the baking sheet. Using a damp thumb, press your thumb about halfway through the ball to create an indentation. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until the center is set and firm to the touch, and remove from oven.
7. Cool the cookies on the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
8. Meanwhile, combine the powdered peanut butter and sugar-free syrup to make a smooth filling.
9. Once the cookies have cooled, spread about 1/2 teaspoon of the peanut butter filling into the indented center of each cookie and spread it to fill the thumbprint.
10. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days or in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Notes
· While these are great once filled, they are even better the next day, getting more of a fudgy texture.
· You could replace the pudding mix with more cocoa powder, but it will tone down the chocolate flavor slightly.
· I prefer banana for this just because there is a mild hint of banana in the cookie then. If you use pumpkin, you won’t really taste the pumpkin.
· Feel free to change up the filling. Sugar-free strawberry jam or orange marmalade would be great!
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