no bake chocolate cookies

after the endless christmas cookie extravaganza, i've been limiting my purchase of sweets. i also haven't baked anything in over a month. this may seem like a small accomplishment, maybe not even an accomplishment to some. but to me, this is something i've been acutely aware of each day.

i really like baking. preparing the ingredients. the measuring. following a recipe. waiting for each confection to finish baking. and finally, sampling the delectable treat i've been thinking about for weeks.

i do love sweets. all kinds really. my palette does not discriminate.
and as i limited my purchasing of sweets, it meant i had to dig deep into my bag of tricks to satisfy my sweet tooth.
some of my behavior was a tad questionable.
to say the least.

haribo gummy bears stolen from  nelzo's stocking? ok sure.

one of my "healthy" sweet purchase. dark chocolate edamame? definitely.

stale peppermint joe joes? yep. embarrassingly yep.

another healthy sweet. dried apricots. i love the bite these have!
plus, they're sweet of course.

especially when wrapped around discount christmas candy.

after this, i realized i had a problem.
also that i had reached a new level of pathetic.

it was time to go back to the kitchen.
i needed something that seemed a bit evil.
but without loads of butter and sugar.
and of course, i needed it now.

 or wanted it now.

a recipe for the no bake cookies was saved on my iphone from weeks ago .
i apologize as i can't remember where i found it.
early alzheimer's again.
and what do you know?
i had the ingredients.

semisweet chocolate chips.
can you believe i forgot i had these and haden't  been eating them straight from the bag?
me neither.

natural peanut butter.
you all remember my breakfast rut from last year?
well, it's still happening, so i still always have peanut butter.

quaker oats. i haven't made oatmeal in ages.
probably because of the aforementioned habbit.

and almond breeze.
a new obsession. dairy free milk that tastes like almonds.
originally bought for smoothies, but has been delicious as a milk substitute.

those four ingredients gave me a baker's dozen of cookies.

these are so chocolaty sweet with a burst peanut butter in each and every bite.
they're best straight out of the fridge with a glass of almond milk.
i've eaten seven out of the eight "missing" cookies in the past two days
the five remainders likely won't make it through the day.

Recipe: No Bake Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used semisweet but I think I'll try dark chocolate next time)

2 tbsp natural peanut butter

2 tbsp almond milk

3/4 cup rolled oats

Method:

-melt chocolate chips, almond milk and peanut butter on the lowest setting

-stir frequently until mixture is smooth, takes about 5-7 minutes

-remove pan from heat

-stir in oats til combined

-wet hands and roll 1/2 tbsp of oat mixture into balls

-set on wax paper and let chill in the freezer for 10 minutes

-enjoy!

-p.s. cookie stats, each: 58 calories and 2.5 grams of fat (makes 13 cookies)