Christmas Goodies

The Christmas season (and most every holiday we celebrate) brings the tradition of having sweet treats to indulge in. This year I opted to keep it simple but still sweet with only two treats (outside of Jesus' birthday cake we'll have with our Christmas celebration meal on Sunday).

The two treats I chose are peanut butter fudge and peanut butter cookies.
I chose peanut butter fudge because it is a recipe that happens to be gluten free with no effort in changing ingredients or buying expensive specialty variations (but, have you seen the price of peanut butter lately?). Peanut butter cookies are fairly simple to make gluten free and still have good results.

I do make a "cheater" version of the more complex candy version of peanut butter fudge. As a mama of three little ones that are three and under as well as working a part time job, I often don't have the time to devote to standing over the stove so my tried and true easy version has served me well in the past and will serve me well in the future. There are four simple ingredients. I hope you feel inspired to try this recipe should other versions seem daunting and complicated or, perhaps, like me, you find the time dwindling away and need a treat that is speedy to whip up.

Shari's Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1 1/3 c. peanut butter
1 (7oz) container marshmallow creme

Combine the sugar and milk in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  

Stir frequently and boil for three minutes.

Turn the heat off and immediately mix in the peanut butter and marshmallow cream

until well combined and creamy.

Pour into a well buttered 8x8 pan and chill before cutting into squares.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c. peanut butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c. brown rice flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Combine peanut butter, eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Add in flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well and scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheet to bake (I used a tablespoon sized cookie scoop). Dip a fork into regular sugar and make the criss-cross pattern gently pressing the balled cookie dough flatter but not going too flat. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes. Most of mine were done by around 10 minutes. Cool for about five minutes on the sheet before removing to a cooling rack.

Casey's Test: Since Casey is the main reason I cook gluten free, his approval is the most valuable. He really enjoyed them and that gets them "remake" status! I may add more peanut butter next time as I felt they weren't "peanut buttery" enough. I sort of made this recipe up after looking at other various peanut butter cookie recipes online so its a very versatile and forgiving recipe that can be tweaked to your liking.

Gluten free peanut butter cookies cooling on a wire rack. My first thoughts were positive for these cookies because they didn't spread a ton which can be a problem for gluten free cookies.

Sweet decadent peanut butter fudge and chewy gluten free peanut butter cookies!

I had to share a few pictures from while I was cooking/baking! Here the boys actually cooperated and stood together for a picture (I'm excited because this doesn't happen often!)! It was so cute how they said "cheese" and grinned!

My little doll! She was half way dressed and being goofy! Of course, as soon as I snapped the picture I removed the fork from her mouth! It was still funny and she thought she was being real hilarious too!

All three watching the cookies in the oven as they cook and

 boy where they excited for their first taste!

My Christmas baking day was supposed to happen about four days before it actually did happen but the good news is that we have sweet treats finally made and they are being enjoyed! I've been making this fudge recipe for years and years! I hope you are having a blessed and merry Christmas season!

♥Shari