People who have diabetes often have a very hard time managing their diabetes and finding things that they like. One of the biggest issues faced is trying to lose weight and limit sugar intake. Most diabetics would find it strange that a simple peanut butter cookie could actually have nutritional value and help them to control their diabetes. A study from the Harvard School of Public Health, published in the February 12, 1997 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that “eating low glycemic index foods such as peanut butter, broccoli, yogurt and beans along with a diet high in cereal fiber can significantly reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.” [1] Another study from the Harvard School of Public Health, published in the November 27, 2002 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that “women who ate five tablespoons of peanut butter each week could reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes by more than 20%.”[2] A third interesting fact is that peanuts are not actually nuts they are legumes – like beans, peas and lentils.[3]
There are two main types of creamy peanut butter, creamy and natural. Creamy peanut butter is the most popular type of peanut butter used and is the most common form of the two types. Most people love it because it is sweeter and has a better taste than natural peanut butter. However, natural peanut butter has been considered one of the top contenders of peanut butter used when making peanut butter cookies. Natural peanut butter tastes superior in cookies and is healthier for you because it has no added sugar and no hydrogenated fats. This translates into fewer calories that are consumed while making it easier for the human body to break it down. Natural peanut butter is also recommended for a heart healthy diet and for people with heart problems. Natural peanut butter can be more difficult to find in stores, and can be more expensive. Many grocery stores carry it in the organic or natural foods section.
Skippy peanut butter is considered to be one of the best peanut butters available according to Consumer Search.[4] Skippy is also recommended for use in the process of making cookies. I recommend that you use the natural peanut butter for cookies because of the many health benefits previously discussed.
The cookies that we are going to make would normally have one cup of sugar in them. Our goal will be to make the cookies diabetic friendly by lowering the sugar and subsequent glycemic index. This will be done by substituting one cup of Splenda for the one cup of sugar, which will also minimize the calories. In one serving of Splenda there are 0 calories versus the 704 calories in a cup of sugar. Splenda has the same taste of sugar but is healthier and recommended by the American Diabetes Association.
When vanilla was originally discovered, many companies were able to obtain samples of it. The companies wanted to replicate the same flavor for mass production. The only problem was none of them knew how to get it! In order to make vanilla you have to have the orchid that vanilla beans grow on which can only be found in Central America. These orchids have to be pollinated in order to produce the bean but they can only be pollinated by Melipona bees. The bees are also native to Central America and they do not always pollinate the orchids even when they have the opportunity. These companies filled their vanilla with extra sugar and oils in order to obtain an identical vanilla flavor while gaining the capability of mass production. If you want to taste real vanilla without the extra ingredients then you have to use Mexican vanilla. It is produced now the same way as it was over the past 170 years. When you use the Mexican vanilla you’re actually not just getting the original flavor, but you are also avoiding the added sugar.
These cookies are gluten free which has been proven in studies to lead to decreased risk of gaining certain medical conditions, including the following:
- Gluten Intolerance: This is a kind of allergy named the gluten allergy. Patients with this intolerance or allergy should follow only a gluten-free diet, as these patients cannot tolerate gluten.
- Celiac diseases: This is an autoimmune disease that runs through families and if such a patient consumes the gluten, it damages their intestinal lining. To promote the healing of the intestinal lining, the patient is warned against consuming gluten by following a gluten-free diet.
- Dermatitis Herpetiformis: This chronic skin disease is marked by fluid-filled blisters; believed to have been triggered by high gluten ingestion. Taking a gluten-free diet is an absolute must for these people.
Migraine: Several migraine patients feel well by consuming gluten-free diet. This happens because many of them likely to have celiac disease. - Autism: According to several researches conducted, it is found that severity of the disease is directly related to consumption of high gluten. To improve the condition of children suffering from autism, they are kept on a gluten-free diet.
The cookies are both delicious and healthy. The recipe is shown below:
Ingredients
1 cup of natural peanut butter (you may substitute regular peanut butter if this is not available)
1 cup of Splenda (Splenda can be put in the mix just like sugar).
1 large egg (you may choose to beat the egg with a fork or whisk prior to mixing it in the bowl with the other ingredients)
1 teaspoon of Mexican Vanilla (you may substitute other types but this product is available online if your local store does not have it)
Course sea salt- a pinch will do
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the racks in the upper and lower third of the oven.
In a medium bowl mix the peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until well combined. You may add a pinch of salt to taste or you may opt out of this step. Mix the ingredients well with a large spoon. Once the ingredients start to form into a ball you may need to use your hand to get all the ingredients mixed correctly. This process is much like kneading bread.
Once you have the ingredients mixed well you can use a tablespoon to place them on a greased cookie sheet. We have found that if you use an air bake pan you will need to add 5 minutes to the cooking time. A regular pan will bake faster and give you a better outcome. Make sure you grease the pan with a spray. Low calorie or no calorie sprays are best and can be found in the bake goods section of most stores.
Once you have placed the cookies on a sheet you will use a regular dinner fork to form the cookie like a traditional peanut butter cookie. Press down on the dough in an East West then North South Direction using the tines of the fork. This should create a crosshatch pattern.
You will need to bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. If you are using two racks you may need to switch positions of the cookies after 5 minutes of cooking. Once the process finishes remove the cookies from the oven using a hot pad. You can began removing the cooking from the pan and placing them on a rack to cool. Repeat the process above until all the dough you have made is formed into cookies and baked.
What makes the recipe unusual is that no flour is used which makes them a true peanut butter cookie that is gluten free. The cookies are simple to make and do not require a lot of ingredients. They are a flavorful, healthy alternative to satisfy anyone’s sweet tooth.
