It's still really hot here in Texas right now. Seriously, it was 80 degrees upstairs in my house last night. ...And that was after the sun set. So, clearly I'm staying away from the oven as much as humanly possible for a few more weeks. In the mean time... I'm still craving things that generally require cooking or baking. Let's face it, life doesn't stop just because it's hot outside! Cookies are what's been on my brain lately.

If it's cookies I want, it's cookies I get.

Not just any old cookie though. I want something thick and rick and colorful. Enter this Skinny Edible Monster Cookie Dough! If this won't get you through the heat of the summer and curb your cookie cravings, nothing will.

Monster cookies are called that because they have 'everything' in them. Oats, peanut butter, chocolate, yum! So, I didn't want to stray from tradition here.

I've made a few edible cookie dough things in the past, but lately there's been a lot of hubbub in the press about not consuming raw uncooked flour right now because of a E.coli outbreak among big brands of flour. Yes, I'm serious... take a moment and go check out your pantry for any recalled flours.

Since I'm not about to test fate with consuming raw uncooked flour right now, I decided to make my own oat flour. Whoa! Whoa! Don't get scared off. Making oat flour is one of the most simple and easy things you can do in the kitchen. Just toss oats into a blender for a few minutes and BAM. Oat flour.

To lighten this cookie dough up I swapped out any sugars for sweeteners and also used a peanut butter powder rather than traditional peanut butter. However, you could also use original peanut butter if that's your jam too! I also used dark chocolate here. Go big, or go home, am I right?

This stuff turned out amazing. It's full of peanut butter taste and couldn't be any closer to what you'd expect out of the batter for a monster cookie. You can eat this all on it's own or enjoy it for dipping/spreading over fresh fruits.

Skinny Edible Monster Cookie Dough
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 4 • Size: About 1/4 Cup • Calories: 80.3 • Fat: 3.1 g • Carb: 12.1 g • Fiber: 1.7 g • Protein: 2.4 g • Sugar: 5.8 g • Sodium: 68.7 mg

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp. Old-Fashioned Oats
3 Tbsp. Natural Sweetener (Such as Stevia, Splenda, Etc.)
2 Tbsp. Peanut Butter Powder
1/2 Tbsp. Sweetener/Brown Sugar Blend
1/8 Tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Fat Free Milk
1/8 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 Tbsp. Dark Chocolate Chips
1 Tbsp. Dark Chocolate Candies

Directions:

Place the 5 Tbsp. Old-Fashioned Oats, 3 Tbsp. Natural Sweetener, 2 Tbsp. Peanut Butter Powder, 1/2 Tbsp. Sweetener/Brown Sugar Blend, and 1/8 Tsp. Salt into a food processor or blender and blend to form a fine flour like power.

In a medium bowl, combine the dry oat mixture with 2 Tbsp. Fat Free Milk and 1/8 Tsp. Vanilla Extract.

Once everything is mixed well, stir in 1 Tbsp. Dark Chocolate Chips and 1 Tbsp. Dark Chocolate Candies.

Try not to over-stir once the candies are in the mix since the candy color will start to 'melt' off into the cookie dough eventually!