Figure Friendly No Bake Cookies

One night as I was sitting all alone at home and browsing the web I came across this recipe and did a double take. Chocolate? Check. Peanut Butter? Check. Figure friendly and no bake? Wow! This was too good to be true. So I ran to the kitchen and a quick pantry survey told me that I had all the ingredients on hand (even the reduced sugar preserves!) I quickly whipped this up and after half an hour of setting in the fridge I was happily munching on a fudgy treat. I am not sure on the figure friendly part but these are a nice alternative to baking on a hot day.

Recipe Source - Given below as is from Cooking Ventures (My changes and notes in red)

Ingredients - Makes 1 Dozen Cookies

2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Cups Low-fat Milk (skim Works Fine) – Used Skimmed Milk
1/4 Cups Sugar
2 Pinches Salt
3 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cups Reduced-sugar Strawberry Preserves – Used Sugar Free Raspberry Preserves
1/4 Cups Peanut Butter (reduced-fat Works Great) – Used Reduced Fat but would prefer to use regular next time
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
2 Tablespoons To 3 Tablespoons Splenda (Depending On How Sweet You Like Things) – Omitted this
1-1/2 Cup Rolled Oats – Used Instant Oats
2 Tbsp Chopped Almonds

1. Add a piece of waxed paper to a small cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer to chill.
2. To a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the butter, milk, sugar, salt, cocoa powder, and strawberry preserves. Use a fork to break up any large pieces of strawberries. Whisk often and bring to a light simmer, then immediately remove the saucepan from the burner.
3. Add the peanut butter, vanilla, and Splenda. Whisk lightly to incorporate the peanut butter.
4. Add the oats and almonds and use a wooden spoon to stir the mixture. Allow the mixture to rest in the saucepan for 6 minutes, stirring after 3 minutes. This resting period will allow the mixture to firm up slightly.
5. Use a cookie scoop or a spoon to place mounds of the mixture on the chilled cookie sheet. Refrigerate for at least two hours to allow the cookies to fully gel. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. These cookies, when properly prepared, should not be hard and brittle. They should be soft and fudgy.

Note from Cooking Ventures: I tried this recipe using sugar-free preserves, without success. To me, sugar-free preserves have a very artificial taste that is distracting in this recipe. Reduced-sugar preserves are not normally made with artificial sweeteners (but do have a reduced amount of sugar). - My husband and brother tasted the cookies and did say that they got an artificial taste so I can vouch for this! Will surely use reduced sugar or regular preserves next time.

Happy Eating!!