Turning 40 didn’t bother me. I jumped the gun and went through all the milestone’s complicated emotions when I turned 39. By the time my 40th came around, I was ready to embrace the next decade and savor the perks. Because everything they say is true: With age comes more confidence, clarity, and a certain je ne care pas. As in, my body doesn’t look like a model? I don’t care. Everyone doesn’t like me? I don’t care. I am 40, hear me roar.
What does turning 40 have to do with cookies? I’m part of a group of bloggers honoring fellow registered dietitian Regan Jones, who is turning the big 4-0 today. Regan is beloved in our profession for good reason. She’s been instrumental at building a strong online presence for dietitians. She co-founded Healthy Aperture, the only food blog photo sharing site moderated by dietitians and solely focused on healthy food blogs. She also co-founded Recipe Redux, a recipe challenge for food bloggers that marries taste and nutrition. And in person, she’s warm, funny, charming, and stylish–with a Southern accent that makes everything sound like a compliment (or at least something you should definitely agree with).
To celebrate Regan today, we were tasked with creating either a cocktail or a gluten-free treat. Since I’m not much of a drinker, I chose a dessert. These cookie sandwiches are based on my 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies, but I reduced the sugar and added a chocolate filling. I filled mine with melted chocolate chips, but you can also use Nutella or Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter, both of which are gluten free.
A note about oats: Though oats don’t naturally contain gluten, they can become contaminated with gluten during growing or processing. Not a big deal if you don’t have to avoid gluten. A very big deal if you have celiac or a gluten intolerance. So if you want a gluten-free cookie sandwich, buy oats labeled “gluten free”.
Peanut Butter Cookie Sandwiches
- 1 egg
- 1 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (plus more for making criss-cross pattern on cookies)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine egg, peanut butter, oats, and sugar and stir well.
- Roll into 1-inch balls and place onto ungreased baking sheet (or line with a baking mat such as Silpat)
- Dip fork into sugar and make a criss-cross pattern on top of each cookie, pressing down to slightly flatten cookies.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until tops look slightly dry.
- While cookies are still hot, press tops again with fork dipped in sugar, going over criss-cross pattern to flatten a second time. Allow cookies to cool.
- Heat chips in microwave on HIGH until melted, about 30-60 seconds, stirring halfway through.
- Spread chocolate on the bottom of a cookie and top with a second cookie. Repeat with rest of batch.
- Store cookies in an airtight container.
See more gluten-free desserts, plus some fun cocktails, below:
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Deanna Segrave-Daly says
So digging these – another recipe to make with my daughter soon (most likely this week 🙂
Regan @ The Healthy Aperture Blog says
Sally, How I can ever thank you all enough for making this the best birthday surprise ever… I’ll never know. Seldom do I find myself at a loss for how to sum up how I feel, but this party has left me that way. I’m so humbled by these kind words… even if I feel I don’t deserve them. Thank YOU for all that you do to make us moms feel a little more like what we’re doing at home to “survive” just may not be the worst thing ever. You inspire me daily and I consider it a blessing to call you a friend.
Sally says
Thank you Regan! And I’m so glad you were surprised by your virtual party. It was so fun to be a part of it. It’s clear that you have a fantastic group of people who just adore you–being reminded of that in more than two dozen blog posts is a pretty nice way to ring in 4-0, I’d say! Wishing you a wonderful year.
Julia says
What a sweet idea to celebrate such a significant RD! My words for the year has to be Recipe Redux. I’ve been “planning” to finally get on that bandwagon for over a year. Janice Bissex just asked me, “Have you signed up for that yet??” Lookout 2015.
The cookies look fantabulous – my favorite combo. I literally just sprinkled chocolate chips in the almost-empty container of peanut butter and finished it up.
Sally says
Julia–our babysitter puts peanut butter on everything. I’ve even seen her spread peanut butter on a Fudgesicle. 🙂 Good luck with Recipe Redux this year–it’s such a fantastic idea. Look forward to seeing your stuff!
Kylie @ immaeatthat says
Oh I love sandwich cookies!! Two cookies for one;) And only 5 ingredients?! PERFECT!
Sally says
Thanks Kylie! Hope you enjoy them. Your single-serve cookie book looks incredible!