My sister Leslie bought Peas and Thank You, which is a cookbook of vegetarian meals by a "famous" blogger, Mama Pea.  She brought it with her to St. Louis since she was planning to make a dish from it for my wedding shower. 

Thursday night we were a little bored and decided the best thing to do would be to bake something.  I tend to have a pretty well stocked baking cabinet, but I didn’t have what we really needed to properly do some VEGAN baking, since my youngest sister Carrie is a vegan (she eats no animal products of any kind.)  We bandied about a couple different ideas, but ultimately settled on making the "famous" Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Balls.  I say famous because this recipe has been absolutely RAVED about in the blogosphere.  (The blogosphere that I pretend doesn’t exist and I don’t care about, remember.)  I had never made it, primarily because I am not that concerned about vegan or vegetarian baking, and secondarily because I try not to keep junk in the house.  And yes, cookies, though delicious and perhaps even all natural, are still junk food in my mind.  Don’t jump down my throat.  A healthy lifestyle can contain cookies and other sweets in moderation, but that doesn’t make them not junk.  *steps slowly off soapbox*

That said.  We did a quick trip to Schnuck’s to get the missing ingredients (primarily Earth Balance which is vegan butter and peanut butter chips).  My sisters were delighted by the grocery store’s name (yes, yes, it’s funny.)  And then it was baking time!  I decided to attempt to document this for the blog.

The fatness is REALLY happy.

Reviewing the recipe.

Hard at work measuring sugar!  Plus, look at that amazing jar of peanut butter…

I’m pretty sure that chocolate chips, peanut butter chips and peanut butter are junk food.  Just saying.

Flexing my {remaining} muscles, getting ready to use the world’s greatest kitchen appliance. 

Then we had to wait (yes, I realize I didn’t take some preparation pictures, this isn’t a food blog people.  The odd-looking dough had to chill and then we formed it into balls and baked it.)

Trying to force the cat to look at the camera.  She didn’t care for this.

And then they were done.  They are a little raw looking, but that is the point. 

Verdict?  Well…the first night I was not in love.  I thought they tasted a bit salty, though Leslie admitted her salt-measuring may have been heavy handed.  I thought perhaps an egg or two would have held the whole thing together.

BUT the next day…they tasted better.

And on the third and last day, they tasted really good.  So verdict:  make them, and then play the waiting game for two days.  Then they’ll taste like really good cookies!  When the bloggers were mailing them out all over, that’s why they were so good, several days had passed!

Or maybe that’s why I ignore the blogosphere, generally.  I don’t love oatmeal with extreme passion.  I have never made OOIAJ.  And I have grown up eating delicious, ridiculously delicious full fat and flavored baked goods.  That I can’t eat every day or I’ll be ridiculously fat.  But I would rather eat ONE cookie from one of my grandmother’s recipes every two or three months than a couple imitation cookies every day.  That’s my personal decision though.  I can occasionally manage delayed gratification.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine recipe.  And Carrie loves finding more vegan recipes—and if one is vegan and won’t eat things with butter and eggs and cream and ALL that good stuff, well, then…this is probably a really great recipe for you!  I just don’t feel the need. 

*no cats were actually harmed in the filming of this blog entry*