It's a Great Day to Bake Cookies

When it's snowing and sub zero temperatures it's a great day to bake some cookies!  I fully enjoyed my oven's warmth as I made 3 batches.  Two were wonderful and 1 was not. 

Let's start with the ones pictured on the right that we didn't like, so we can end on a good note.  This was supposed to be a simple 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar, 1 egg & 1.5 cups of chocolate chips.  I think it was a misprint and should have been 1/2 cup of chocolate chips.  Anyway, they turned out hard and there was no possible way to stir that many chips in.  Oh well, that's part of trying something new!

Next are the Double Chocolate Mocha cookies at the bottom. I used this recipe with a few alterations to the ingredients.  The bake time was perfect at 8 minutes & made exactly 24 small cookies.  Here's the ingredients I used:
2 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 cup cacao powder
2 Tbsp organic coffee beans, ground fine
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1 stick butter, salted
1/4 cup coconut sugar
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used Lily's brand)

The bars on the left of the plate are a Paleo Chewy Granola Bar.  They are so yummy and make a great after school snack or even a grab and go breakfast.

Let me know if there is ever a recipe you'd like for me to test or alter for dietary needs. 

Grain-Free Bagels

I took this recipe for a test run.  I made some in my mom's donut maker.  The others I made in small glass Pyrex dishes with small metal dipping cups in the center all greased well.  They looked like this:

 

They did not come out looking pretty!  The ones in the donut maker look much better.

 


Here are a few issues about this recipe:
1.  They did not taste like or have the texture of a bagel.
2.  My kids really liked these toasted with some butter on them.
3.  This would make a really good bread for a sandwich or toast, so next time I will just bake them in the small, round Pyrex dishes.

 

Brownies- Our Favorite!

Have you made these brownies yet?  They are a favorite go-to treat at our house.  Today is my GF kiddo's birthday and this is what was requested.  I had to make them in my Vitamix since my food processor was not available.

Prepare for rabbit trail:  Cuisinart food processors are great.  They are strong and powerful.  They will not process 2 cups of completely frozen strawberries.  They will fling frozen strawberries all over your kitchen right after the lid breaks and flies off.  You will wish you would had read your owner's manual or taken time to defrost your strawberries.  You will once again confirm that you made the right decision when you bought a Vitamix because you can do without your food processor until your new lid arrives.  You will be in awe at the ultra smooth texture of your brownie mix you may call the rest of the family over to admire it and conclude you will always make brownies in the Vitamix from now on!  You did not think it was possible to make these brownies any better, but then you remember everything is better with a Vitamix.

Anyway just make these brownies, okay?

Butternut Squash Waffles

Are you tired of waffle recipes?  I think my family has settled on our favorite one, that being said I still like to try new ones.  I had some roasted butternut squash that did not go over very well this week, so I pureed it into these nutrition packed butternut squash waffles.  Before I go on, in all fairness to the original recipe creator, I altered the ingredients slightly.  I did not alter them enough to change the flavor.  I thought these were just so-so and they did not come out of the waffle maker very well. 

Who could use a little more honesty in their lives?  Here's what mine look like, honestly.

 
These are totally edible, so I will do the dutiful mom thing and eat them over the next few days knowing they are good for me.  The kiddos are eating eggs.