Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are so easy to make, plus they are gluten and dairy free and only use a small amount of maple syrup for sweetener. If these cookies are not sweet enough for you, try using a half of a cup of brown sugar, instead of the maple syrup. Each cookie has 6 grams of protein and a little over a gram of fiber. Add a glass of milk, and you will have 15 grams of protein, needed for building and keeping healthy muscle. Peanut butter contains many vitamins including vitamin a, potassium, folate, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin E, and small amounts of minerals such as calcium, selenium, copper, zinc and iron. If you are prone to getting cold sores, then when you consume several peanuts, nuts, seeds and chocolate that are high in the amino acid, arginine, be sure that you balance it with a food high in the opposite amino acid, lysine. Dairy products are excellent sources of lysine. Foods high in lysine are cheese, milk, cottage cheese, beets, apples, mango, figs, avocado and pears. This is one of the reasons that cheese, apples and figs pair so nicely with nuts on a charcutier board. It is also a great reason to pair a glass of milk or two with peanut butter cookies.

Peanut butter has many health benefits. It is a very good source of antioxidants. The mono-saturated fat in peanut butter includes oleic acid, the kind found in olive oil. Monosaturated fat is heart protective by being associated with lowering bad cholesterol, while protecting good cholesterol. Peanuts are also a source of resveratrol. Resveratrol is the beneficial substance found in red wine. In the nurses’ health study, which involved 86,000 women, it was found that there was a correlation between nut consumption and a reduced risk of cardio-vascular disease. Many of the nutrients found in peanuts have anti-cancer properties. Studies have shown peanuts to reduce the risk of colon cancer, gall stones, weight gain and Alzheimer’s. Peanut butter is an excellent source of biotin, which is good for better blood sugar balance, lowering cholesterol and healthy hair and nails. You can enjoy these yummy cookies, guilt free.

Peanut Butter Cookies (gluten free)

1 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the ingredients until smooth. Drop by 12 spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet pan. Press down lightly with a fork. Bake for 12 minutes.