Sweet Teeth

I have a sweet tooth. My father has a sweet tooth. His father had a sweet tooth.

Patrick, too, has a sweet tooth. This is to our detriment.

Last week, on two occasions, two bags of Hershey's milk chocolate Nuggets and one bag of Smarties were purchased. That means that between Patrick and I, in one week's time, we consumed two bags of Smarties and four bags of Hershey's milk chocolate Nuggets.

I don't regret this decision - it was delicious. I am, however, suffering the consequences, as one does. When your body has too much sugar, it becomes accustomed to those higher levels very quickly. I find that I crave sugar in an extreme way for weeks after indulgences (even relatively small ones). This results in acts of desperation at home while trying to avoid going to the store for yet another bag of candy.

My father eats chocolate chips, walnuts, and raisins in varying combinations on a regular basis - I like to believe that this is his way of avoiding late night store runs. While I believe my solution is similar, I'm not sure he would agree.

I make a chocolate peanut butter "cookie dough". Its not actually cookie dough, because it wouldn't bake into cookies if you put it in the oven. There are no raw eggs or baking soda. In fact, there isn't even any flour.

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Kelly's Desperation "Cookie Dough"

Step 1: Go to your cupboard and pull out peanut butter, brown sugar, and cocoa powder. If you have some other nut butter, this will also suffice. If you have no cocoa powder, you can skip this.

Step 2: Scour your cupboard for other cookie additions. I currently have shredded coconut, sliced almonds, and crushed walnuts, but chocolate chips, mini-marshmallows, dried fruit, cereal, or anything else you might like in cookies would be good too.

Step 3: Put all your ingredients in a bowl. This is where my baking experience comes in handy. I don't measure I just dump a little of this and a lot of that into the bowl. Generally speaking, the two main ingredients should be brown sugar and your nut butter of preference. A little cocoa powder goes a long way as its generally unsweetened.

Step 4: Mix all ingredients. If its a little hard to mix, that's okay. If you've added lots of "mix-ins" then your dough will take a bit more effort. For ease, you can always add a bit more nut butter.

Step 5: Sit on the couch with your mixing bowl and spoon and eat your creation. You are not required to eat all of your creation, nor will you be judged for eating it all (especially if you are alone or with another sweet toothed individual). Its likely, though, that the high protein content and general sticky nature of the nut butter will keep you from eating too much and yet be quite satisfying.
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Its probably not as healthy as walnuts and chocolate chips in a 20 year old Tupperware child's cup (I'm thinking portion control here, not nostalgia), but its certainly keeping me from cursing my budget and general health and walking to the store for more Smarties.

Mission accomplished.