Posts Tagged ‘ cookie ’

Made With Love

February 23, 2011
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Lately, I’ve been slacking in the kitchen.  I haven’t tried many exciting recipes or had much fun with my meals.  Instead, I’ve been falling back on old, easy recipes.  While the food is nutritious and tastes fine, it often leaves me unsatisfied.  It isn’t made with love.

This week I’m on school vacation, so I have no excuse to be lazy.  I have plenty of time to prepare healthy, delicious meals for my family.  Nothing complicated, just satisfying!

Tonight we enjoyed homemade pizza.

I used Whole Foods whole wheat pizza dough, a simple red sauce, and plenty of fun toppings.  We had pies for everyone!

A basic cheese pizza,

A sweet ‘n salty Hawaiian,

And spinach and sun-dried tomatoes for the veggie lovers in the house.

As the chef, I had to be sure each pizza was cooked to perfection.

Mmmm…mmm…good!  I started with a slice of cheese and worked my around to the spinach and sun-dried tomato.  Each slice was better than the one before.  The sauce was slightly sweet with great flavor from garlic, basil, and oregano and the toppings were just right.  They didn’t overwhelm the perfectly crisp crust.

Three homemade pizzas for the price of one delivery pie.  How can you wrong?  You can’t.  And while the oven is hot…

Peanut butter – chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  I used this recipe with a few minor tweaks and astounded the family with my baking skills!  The cookies are disappearing.  They can’t get enough.  Salty, creamy peanut butter, sweet chocolate chips…crisp, chewy all at the same time.  If there’s anything I like more than pizza, it’s cookies.  Yum!

It’s been a delicious night at the BOTR household.  And it’s going to be an early night.  I made plans to meet my buds at the gym at 6:30 AM…on vacation!  It’ll be worth it.

Any great recipe I should try this week? I already have my sights set on an amazing carrot cake recipe, but I’m going to need some real food, too.

What’s your favorite home-cooked meal? I love homemade pizza, but nothing beats good old-fashioned comfort food – roast chicken, veggies, and mashed potatoes.  Maybe I’ll add that to this week’s menu!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bites

February 3, 2011
By

Last night the baking bug bit again.  It happens every time it snows.  I like to say that having the oven on keeps the house warm and fresh cookies soothe the soul.  I’m baking for the greater good.  You all know that I’m a supreme baker…great at following recipes.  Yeah right! I consider myself more of an improv baker.  I experiment with sweet ingredients and hope for the best.  It’s a hit or miss technique, but this recipe is a HIT!

It all started when I realized I had some canned pumpkin to use up.  I turned to the internet for a recipe and stumbled upon this recipe from Whole Foods. Their Pumpkin Pecan Cookies looked perfect, but I was missing some ingredients.  Instead of scratching the recipe, I used it as inspiration for some deliciousness of my own.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bites

approx. 32 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 c. chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 c. rolled oats
  • 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 T. ground flaxseed
  • 1 c. canned pumpkin
  • 1/4 c. pure maple syrup
  • plenty of chocolate chips!

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a food processor, combine walnuts and oats and pulse until a fine meal forms.
  3. Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice to the food processor.  Continue to pulse until all ingredients are combined.
  4. Transfer contents of food processor into a large bowl.  Add pumpkin, maple syrup, and flaxseed and mix until a wet batter forms.
  5. Fold *insert your amount here* chocolate chips into the batter.
  6. Once batter is prepared, scoop little heaps (about 1 T. each) onto a cookie sheet and flatten slightly.
  7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms brown.
  8. Cool and devour savor!

Yum!  These cookies are moist and chewy with rich dark chocolate in every glorious bite.  “SUCCESS!” I proclaimed.  My parents concurred as they enjoyed their after dinner treats.  Lucy hopelessly waited for a crumb to drop.

“Please, Mom.  I’m sitting like a good girl.”  Alas, chocolate is not good for puggles.  These are only for humans and they are eating ‘em up! The supply is dwindling rapidly.

These were perfect pre-run fuel before my five miler today.  They are a great snack made with simple, healthy ingredients.  Just for fun, I calculated the nutrition stats for these little bites.

Amounts Per Serving (one cookie)

  • Calories – 80
  • Total Fat – 4.5 g (mostly from the walnuts – that’s good for you fat!)
  • Total Carbohydrates – 10.7 g
  • Protein – 1.4 g

Not too shabby!

Do you ever bake with healthy ingredients? I will be the first to admit, I love rich, indulgent desserts.  When I go out, I am a big fan of the dessert menu, but I also enjoy making healthy cookies, bars, and breads that can be eaten as nutritious snacks.

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