For the last 9 years, I have given up chocolate for Lent. It started as an experiment to see whether I could actually last a whole 40 days without my favourite thing and I was so proud of myself by the end that I’ve kept on giving it up, year after year. Funnily enough, after my first Lent, I didn’t start eating chocolate again right away. I waited a whole 2 days before giving in! (That may not seem like an achievement but for a chocolate fiend like me, 42 days without any chocolate whatsoever was a big deal!)
What I like about Lent, is that during these 40 days, I can appreciate other flavours that I would otherwise overlook. On the rare occasions that Mr A and I go to a restaurant, I will always, without fail, choose the chocolatiest item on the dessert menu, but during Lent I have no choice but to choose something else and I’ve always been pleasantly surprised (and also hugely envious of whatever chocolatey delight Mr A has chosen).
I feel I should confess though, that although I have never broken Lent, I have found myself substituting chocolate for other, equally unhealthy treats! The first year it was coffee and peanut butter, not combined obviously, but as an avid tea-drinker it was odd to find myself craving coffee. Last year it was donuts. I ate way too many donuts.
This year, although it is still fairly early days, I’m thrilled to find myself not craving a chocolate substitute. However, this weekend saw me craving something sweet and I remembered a recipe that I stumbled upon a couple of years ago here:
Peanut butter and Weetabix cookies.
So good. If you’re not convinced by the name, trust me, they’re amazing. They are the perfect mix of crunchy and chewy (even crunchier if you use crunchy peanut butter) and have a delicious sweet, saltiness that makes my mouth water just thinking about them.
Be warned though; these cookies are ridiculously moreish. I made these on Saturday and didn’t take the photos until Monday. If I had waited until Tuesday, I would have been too late. The recipe makes 24 cookies (around 5cm in diameter) and there’s a reason why you can only see five in the photos… Before you judge, I did take some to work. Five. I took five to work. The rest have been wolfed down by myself and Mr A.
And that is how I’m surviving Lent this year!
Ingredients:
150g butter
100g caster sugar
100g soft brown sugar
50g peanut butter (smooth or crunchy, your choice!)
1 eggs beaten
150g plain flour
4 Weetabix (or 5 store brand, if they’re smaller), crumbled
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 190C (170C fan) and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
2. Beat together the butter, peanut butter and sugars until soft.
3. Mix in the egg, flour and crushed Weetabix so the mix becomes a firm dough.
4. Roll into balls (slightly smaller than a golf ball), place on the baking tray and flatten a little with the back of a damp fork.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Don’t be fooled by their soft, squidginess – they become crunchy as soon as they begin to cool. The earlier you take them out, the chewier they’ll be.
6. Enjoy a little too much.
7. Feel guilty for having eaten too many.
Comments