These cookies were crazy good! Thin with crispy toffee-like edges, some caramelized marshmallow and a soft, chewy, chocolatey center, and crunchy bites of Kit Kat and walnuts throughout. They'd be so perfect for ice cream sandwiches, if that's your kind of thing! Or if you're just looking to make some cookies that stand out amongst others, these are a great way to go!
I was singing along loudly with the Bouncing Souls' "Lean on Sheena" whilst making these this afternoon. -jen
S'MORES LACEY COOKIES Time: 10 min. per batch, about 50 minutes total Difficulty: Easy Makes: 48 cookies
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1.5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 cups old fashioned (rolled) oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I used unsweetened)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
3 oz king size Kit Kat (or 2 regular sized ones), chopped into 1/2" pieces
1.5 cups mini marshmallows (not big ones!)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar together. Then add eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract. Beat together.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add to the wet mix while mixing at a medium speed. When the flour is combined, add the oats, coconut, and walnuts until combined. Then mix in by hand with a wooden spoon the Kit Kat pieces and the marshmallows. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
Scoop 1.5 tablespoon balls of dough and place 6 to parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 3" apart. Cookies will spread out thin so you want to give them plenty of space. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, until golden and edges are just starting to brown. Remove and allow to cool on a baking rack. Remember to put the dough back in the refrigerator in between baking.
We had some bananas that were perfectly ripe and I had 2 bricks of cream cheese in the fridge for no particular reason, so I decided to do a cross between my Banana Cream Pie Bars, my Cranberry Cheese Squares and my Peppermint Mocha Kahlua Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (man, that was a long, dumb title, but a delicious cheesecake!) These came out bomb... as I knew they would, because all three of those recipes are bomb!
It also helps that we live a block from a corner store... so it's quite easy to run down there and get some of those mini bottles of liqueur!
This song was on in the car the other day. I always feel like I need to smoke a pack of cloves before I attempt to sing it... heheh. Alkaline Trio - Sleepyhead. -jen
BANANA LIQUEUR CHEESECAKE BARS Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes to cook, 1 hour to cool Difficulty: Medium Makes: 18-24 squares
Crust:
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons of butter, softened
Filling:
2 large bananas, sliced into 1/4"-thick rounds
1 pound (two 8oz bricks) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temp
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup banana liqueur (or 2 of the small 50ml "airplane" bottles)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9"x13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
In a food processor, combine all of the crust ingredients and pulse several times until all flour is incorporated and mix is lumpy. Spread evenly into prepared baking dish and then press it firmly into the pan and about 1" to 1.5" up the sides with your hand. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside. (This is called "blind baking".) Leave oven on!
While crust is baking, place softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat until creamy using a stand mixer or hand mixer. Add sugar and beat until combined. Add eggs 1 at a time until combined. Then add vanilla and banana liqueur, mix until smooth and creamy.
Layer sliced bananas over crust that's been blind baked, then pour batter evenly over the top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes until top is lightly browned and center is springy to the touch. Let cool for 1 hour, then store in the refrigerator.
Option: If you knew they were all going to be eaten right away, you could always make some homemade whipped cream (or Cool Whip, but I say go with the former!) and spread it over the entire top of the cooled dish. I knew we'd have a bunch leftover to store in the fridge and I didn't want the whipped cream to melt over them all, so I just did it per serving.
The other day I was having one of those moments where I saw a recent photo of myself and was like, "Alright, time to get a little healthier again." I'd made falafel waffles (which is fun to sing ♪♪♫), just using our Falafel Recipe and cooking it in the waffle maker with no fat; a lot better than our regular frying. That had me remembering how healthy garbanzo beans are for us and brain storming what other ways besides hummus, falafel and salads that I could use them. Several years ago, I remember coming across recipes for "dessert hummus" that tasted like chocolate chip cookie dough. I made it once back then, ate it with graham crackers or something and didn't seem real impressed with it.
BUT... I thought I could probably improve upon it and turn it into a "square" or "bar" recipe. And that's just what I did tonight! I even took the time to go through my Guilt-Free Cookie Dough Squares recipe versus one batch of the original Nestle Toll House cookie recipe to see how much healthier mine actually was. I figured they're pretty close to the same size in quantity, looking at the ingredient amounts... you might even get more out of mine than you would a batch of cookies. And mine came in 2000+ calories less than one batch of cookies, almost half as many carbohydrates and sugars, and more protein!
And the beautiful thing is... they taste exactly like raw cookie dough on tasty crust! You're getting carbs that are low on the glycemic index (at least in comparison to flour which is the main ingredient in chocolate chip cookies). That means they release their sugars more slowly in the body - they're longer lasting and they don't spike your body's glucose levels.
This recipe can also be made gluten-free and/or vegan! I used AP flour in the crust, but since you're not looking for the crust to rise, you could easily substitute a rice flour or an almond flour - I haven't tried it, but I don't foresee any issues. I also used butter, but coconut oil could be used in its place. And carob chips would be a fantastic substitute to chocolate chips!
Let's listen to The Lurkers - "I Don't Need To Tell Her". -jen
GUILT-FREE COOKIE DOUGH SQUARES Time: 40 minutes with 2 hours cooling time Difficulty: Easy Makes: 18 squares
Crust:
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup AP flour (or gluten-free flour - rice, almond, etc)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons butter, softened (or coconut oil)
Filling:
2 (15oz) cans of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (plus 1/3 cup for drizzling - optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a 13"x9" baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
In a food processor, combine all of the crust ingredients except the butter. Pulse once or twice to combine. Add softened butter and pulse until all the dry ingredients are combined, no longer look dry and clumps begin to form. Turn out into prepared baking dish and using the palm of your hand, press the mixture firmly into the pan evenly, working it part-way up the sides. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and edges are just starting to get dark. Remove from oven and let cool completely (thirty minutes to an hour).
Meanwhile, combine the garbanzo beans, 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, peanut butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt and baking soda in a food processor (I just wiped it out after doing the crust). Turn processor on high and add a little of the almond milk at a time, until mixture is smooth and reached desired consistency. You may not need to use the full 1/4 cup. Remove mixture from food processor and stir in 2/3 cup chocolate chips by hand.
Spoon the garbanzo mixture into the cooled crust and spread evenly. If you like, melt 1/3 cup chocolate chips in a small bowl for 30 seconds in microwave. Stir and microwave in 15 second increments until melted. Using a spoon, drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the cookie dough squares. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Cut into squares.
I've had a huge bag of cranberries in my freezer since Christmas (and it's April), so I decided it was about time I used them in something. I'd considered doing cranberry cheesecake, but decided to cross cheesecake with bars instead. (I like bars!) They came out so good, that I made another batch with the remaining cranberries to send with Justin to work so he could share (and double-checking my recipe writing!)
The topping and crust is a little salty, the cream cheese filling is lemony and the cranberry sauce is tart with a cinnamon and vanilla warmth. All three layers just seem to compliment each other so nicely, I was way pleased with this recipe! It's a little time consuming but I've made them twice now and they're really not that hard - you just have to dedicate some time to them.
Justin was feeling like something early from The Offspring. "Jennifer Lost The War" from their 1989 self titled album. This was actually the first time I've heard this song, I think. -jen
1.5 cups rolled oats (also known as old fashioned oats)
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
Cheese Filling:
8oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
zest of 1 lemon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Make the
cranberry sauce first by bringing water, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon
and salt to a boil in a large sauce pan. Add cranberries and bring back to a boil, then
lower to a steady simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring intermittently - cranberries will pop and
begin to break down. (Careful not to let it boil over!) Remove from
heat and refrigerate to cool while you continue with the other steps.
Grease a 13"x 9" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, butter or coconut oil. Set aside.
For
the crust, combine the flour, oats, pecans, brown sugar and salt in a
mixing bowl. Stir in melted butter and coconut oil until combined and all flour is absorbed.
Mixture should be slightly clumpy but break up easily. Set aside 1.5
cups for topping but spread the remaining mixture into your prepared
baking dish, pressing it evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake at 350
F for 15 minutes. Set aside.
While crust is baking
and sauce is cooling, make the cheese filling. Using a hand mixer or the
whipping attachment on your stand mixer, whip the softened cream cheese
on high for 2-3 minutes until very smooth. Add remaining ingredients
and mix thoroughly on high until smooth (remember to scrape the bottom).
Spread the cream cheese mixture
evenly over your baked crust. Stir in corn starch to cooled cranberry sauce, then gently dollop over
the top of the filling and gently spread it evenly with the back of a
spoon, trying not to mix it into the cheese filling. Sprinkle the
remaining flour and oat mixture evenly over the top. Bake at 350 F for
40 minutes. Let cool completely before serving. I like to refrigerate them overnight.
Blueberries and whiskey... yes please! I like to keep frozen fruit on hand to make smoothies with or throw into some Greek yogurt. I usually only have one bag at a time, but somehow I ended up with two open bags and a whole bag of blueberries. So I just decided to make a crumble with them. I still had a bunch of Piehole Pecan Pie whiskey sitting around after making the Liquored Up Leftover Pie Pops (which you could use with this blueberry crumble!)
I'd been thinking about the movie SLC Punk, so I decided to use a song from the soundtrack - The Suicide Machines' cover of "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden". -jen
*1 tablespoon of corn starch will leave your filling still a little runny - not soupy, but not gelled. If you're looking for a firmer, gelled filling, use 2 tablespoons of corn starch. Everyone has their own preferences!
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray an 8"x8" baking dish with non-stick spray, particularly up the sides.
In a food processor, combine oats, pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and cubed butter. Pulse until combined. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine blueberries, cranberries, corn starch, cinnamon, whiskey and vanilla. Pour into prepared baking dish and spread them into an even layer. Spoon crumble topping evenly over blueberries, then gently press down with your hands to lightly pack it. Bake at 375 degrees for 50-55 minutes, topping will be golden brown.
Let rest for 10-15 minutes so the filling can set. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
I don't have anything to intro with. I had pumpkin puree in the freezer from last fall when we got a ton of sugar pumpkins from a friend. I knew I'd be home today. I felt like making muffins. They were awesome. There's not much else to say.
It's St. Patrick's Day... and there's really nothing Irish about these muffins. I mean, I'm sure they have pumpkins and muffins in Ireland, so they could be Irish. But that wasn't really my intention or anything. I'm just going to use it as an excuse for an Irish tune. Justin had Dropkick Murphys' "Good Rats" on today, so that's what I'm using. -jen
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper cups.
In a small bowl, combine all topping ingredients, mix and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, pecans, raisins, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, salt and orange zest. Mix to combine.
In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and fold together just until dry ingredients are moist. (Do not over-mix.)
Spoon evenly into paper cups. Sprinkle with topping and bake for 22-25 minutes, until golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes.
I dove into this recipe with good, healthy intentions. "Oh... I could do a crust-less pumpkin pie... low sugar, low fat, low carbs..." Totally had the intention of leaving flour out of the topping and going light on the sugar. Then... then it turned into something evil and decadent and delicious. Still went lighter on the sugar than most pumpkin pie recipes would call for but... I crunched the numbers (because I have a sick love of spreadsheets) and they weren't pretty. Per slice: 230 calories; 8 grams of fat; 31 net carbs; 6g of protein. Still, healthier for you than a Snickers bar, and better tasting! Not exactly diet-dessert, but probably a little better for you than most. I got a ton of sugar pumpkins from a friend, so I made my own puree. Can't speak for the outcome if you use canned... but I'm sure it'd be fine.
Since Halloween is in less than a week, I've really been getting into the spirit. We hit up the pumpkin patch today because I love carving jack-o-lanterns. And I did a last practice run on my Dia de los Muertos calavera (sugar skull) makeup! So I felt like a song in the graveyard spirit might be in order. Koffin Kats doing "Graveyard Tree". -jen
1/4 cup chopped nuts of choice (almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc)
Filling:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried, ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups fresh pumpkin puree (or 24oz canned puree)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1 can (12oz) evaporated milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat a 2-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
In a food processor, combine all of the topping ingredients and pulse. If you don't have a food processor, cut the butter into the flour, then add the remaining ingredients. Set aside.
In a bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, clove, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl using an electric mixer, beat together pumpkin, brown sugar and eggs. Add evaporated milk until blended. Add dry ingredients just until combined.
Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Carefully remove from oven and use a spoon to sprinkle the topping over the top to your desired thickness. (You can use the back of the spoon to gently pat it into the filling if it looks like it's just resting on a skin.) Bake an additional 20-25 minutes. Crust should be golden-brown and a knife inserted into the center should come out clean. Let cool on a wire cooling rack for an hour. Refrigerate for storage.
Was just sitting around on this 4th of July, watching bad tv, pondering what we had in the kitchen. Came across the four bananas that were getting close to being too ripe. Thought about just doing some banana bread or banana muffins, but that seemed more "bready" than I felt like. Last week, I'd found some pumpkin in the freezer from last fall when we'd roasted and pureed a few pumpkins. I made a great, hearty crust with oats and nuts, so I figured... why not make some banana cream pie bars using the same crust? I've never made banana cream pie before, though strangely, that's kind of how I met Justin - it was a topic of conversation. Then when I was grabbing the vanilla extract, I caught the chocolate chips out of the corner of my eye and decided they'd go into it, too.
Been listening to music all day today. Lots of Lagwagon, Strung Out, Swingin' Utters. It was kind of hard to choose a song. But one album I pulled out today was NOFX's "Punk In Drublic". Total flashback to my angst filled freshman year in high school. I remember specifically playing this cassette tape over and over on my boombox while playing Super Nintendo with my little brother. So I chose "Leave It Alone." -jen
BANANA CREAM PIE BARS Time: 30 minutes Difficulty: Easy/Medium (it seemed easy to me) Makes: 12 bars
Crust
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons butter (3/4 of a stick), softened
1/4 cup chopped nuts of choice (walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, etc)
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Custard
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup water, room temp
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4-5 large, ripe bananas, sliced thin
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine oats, flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and butter. Beat until butter is cut into flour and crumbly. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Prepare a 13"x 9" (2 qt) baking dish by buttering or coating it with non-stick cooking spray. Press mixture into the baking dish evenly, coming slightly up the sides (make sure to even out the corners so they're not real thick). Bake crust at 375 degrees F for 17-20 minutes (until crust is golden brown). Remove and set on a cooling rack.
While crust is baking, prepare custard by combining sugar, corn starch and salt in a medium sauce pan. Whisk in cream and water. Then whisk in egg yolks. Cook over medium-high heat, continuing to whisk until sauce thickens and boils (about 6 minutes). Remove from heat and then whisk in butter and vanilla.
Cover the cooled crust with a layer (2 to 2.5) of sliced bananas. Scoop half of the custard evenly over the layered bananas, and carefully spread across them as evenly as possible. Repeat a second layer of sliced bananas and custard. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour before serving.
I had this craving for banana granola the other day and wasn't even sure if such a thing existed! Well it does now! Came out real tasty, not super sweet (we don't dig super sweet granola). So much cheaper to make your own than to buy it, even when you can get it in the bulk bins, it's not this cheap. I got all the oats, nuts, seeds and pumpkin chips out of the bulk bins at my local store and spent about $5 for the whole thing - it filled 3.5 quart-sized Mason jars. Bueno!
The thing I like about making your own granola is that you can put whatever you want in it, really. Whatever nuts you like. Whatever seeds you like. It's a good way to experiment with stuff you haven't tried before. Coconut, puffed rice, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, etc.
We've used the Bouncing Souls a few times with our recipes, but I've been listening to a lot of their later albums the last few days and it's just what's in my head. So I'm using them again. "Gasoline". -jen
Place banana chips in a quart size Ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to smack the bag and break them up a little.
In a large bowl, combine oats, broken banana chips, coconut, almonds, cashews, pecans, pepitas, flax seed, salt and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine bananas, brown sugar, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and sesame oil. Using a stick blender, puree mixture. (If you don't have a stick blender, you can use a food processor, a stand mixer or a hand mixer.)
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until completely coated. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread half of the oat mix onto each pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring the granola every 10 minutes. Granola should be golden brown. Keep an eye on it, it can start burning quickly towards the end.
Let granola cool and store in an airtight container.
Uses: mix with yogurt, eat with milk or almond milk like cereal, put in cookies, stir into your waffle or pancake batter, sprinkle on ice cream.
You might be wondering what the hell a Choner Bar is, besides an incredibly delicious, chewy dessert. Well, it's my understanding that stoners get the munchies. And I've been told that when stoners get the munchies, they don't want to drive anywhere, so they start digging through their cupboards, making outrageous concoctions with what they have on hand! So a hypothetical stoner might hypothetically have all these ingredients in the pantry and make a hypothetical chewy stoner bar out of them. But we wouldn't want to title our bars Chewy Stoner Bars! That could come with some negative implications, and it's hypothetical, after all... so we shortened it to Choner Bars. Who are we to pretend like we know the culinary cravings of stoners just because we live in Humboldt County?! Please... as if!
I chose The Clash's "Rock the Casbah" simply because someone was talking
about Adam Ant today, and I was explaining my first crushes... which
included Joe Strummer, specifically from this video. So it was just rollin' through my head today. -jen
1 cup chopped nuts of choice (I used 1/2 Hazel nut, 1/2 roasted peanuts)
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
2/3 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously coat a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
Combine brown sugar, granulated sugar and softened butter in a mixing bowl and beat with a mixer until creamed together. Add vanilla, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; mix in. While continuing to mix, add eggs, one at a time. Then slowly beat in the 2 cups of flour. Fold in coconut, oats, nuts, chocolate chips and raisins.
Press dough evenly into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.
