I’m not proud

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend brought home a single serving pack of Nutter Butters and left them on the kitchen table.  I don’t know where or why he got them, but they sat on our table for a week without being touched, taunting me.  We don’t usually keep a lot of snacks in our apartment, partially because grocery shopping in New York is the worst, and mostly because I just don’t like having snacks around – I’m weak and get tempted too easily.  Cheez-Its, for example, are simply banned from the apartment because I could eat the whole box in one sitting.  I’m not proud.

I’m not usually tempted by store-bought sweets, especially single serving packs of what I call “chemical cookies”.  But for some reason, that little red pack of Nutter Butters taunted me for an entire week as they lay on the table. My mouth watered at the thought of peanut-buttery goodness, and I secretly blamed my boyfriend for bringing this temptation into my home.  How dare he!

Using a fork, press down on each cookie, first longwise to flatten it out, and then cross-wise, to create a criss-cross pattern. Pinch the center of the cookie to create a peanut shape.

After a week, I caved. I ripped opened the pack, had a bite, and regretted it immediately.  As I chewed, I was reminded why I didn’t normally crave store-bought cookies.  The cookies were dry and crumbly, and the icing tasted like chemicals.  It was so not worth it.  But as I chewed, I also realized that I could do so much better.

I took to the web and looked up recipes for homemade Nutter Butters. I loved this recipe from Cookies and Cups, it was super simple and included ingredients I already had at home.  I halved the recipe because the original ingredients used a pound of butter, and I just can’t.  I also reduced the sugar a touch because the peanut butter I used already had sugar in it (I used Skippy’s Natural Peanut Butter).  The peanut shape is super easy to make and doesn’t require any rolling or cookie cutters!  These cookies are so much better than the store-bought kind, I’ll certainly never be tempted again.