Mouth Watering Wednesday: Paleo Peanut Butter Cookies

So Everett has developed a large sweet tooth and has a particular liking for cookies (or ke-kies as he calls them.)  He pretty much refuses to eat everything unless it is sweet.  I find mealtime a source of frustration for me because I know he needs to eat a well balanced diet but he really isn't.  It gets to the point where he hasn't eaten anything and I just want him to eat so I succumb to his sweet tooth and give him fruit snacks or on occasion a cookie.  

Well, I am tired of it and I want my kid to eat but I don't want to have to pin him down or put up a fight for him to eat healthily.  So I had my friend Tiphany start looking for recipes of healthy food wrapped in "pretty packaging" (i.e. it "tastes" sweet but is good for you.)  She directed me to Chocolate Covered Katie, a vegan blogger who has some great recipes.  I found her Secret Peanut Butter Cookie recipe and decided to give it a whirl, but I of course have put my own spin on it. 

Ready to go in the oven

Here's what you'll need: 

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed and 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of baking flour or gluten free flour 
• 1/4 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
• The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons applesauce
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt (don't skip this!) 

Here's what you'll do: 

• Mix the dry ingredients together
• Add wet ingredients to the dry mixture
• Form into small cookie balls (pat down slightly) 
• Refrigerate for 60 minutes
• Bake at 350 for 8 minutes
• Let stand for 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack

The final product!

I swapped out the baking flour for gluten free for two reasons, the first was so that Tyler would be able to eat these and the second was so that I could sub in the flax seed.  I also swapped out the sugar for unsweetened coconut shreds- with the brown sugar and applesauce I wasn't worried about the cookies not being sweet enough. I wanted these cookies to be not only delicious but full of good for you ingredients, not just fillers. 

The great thing about this recipe is that you can sub out things and the cookies still end up tasting delicious!  Everett approved and that is the best part! I am so glad to have another healthier option for him when he asks for sweets! :)  

So what about y'all? Are your kiddos picky eaters? What do you give your kids when all they want is sweets?  I'd love to try some new recipes!