Tag: Cookies

• What’s a Party without Cookies?

  Posted at 4:01 AM by Brittany, on December 18, 2014

  After a month and a half, I finally got my fanny in my kitchen and baked. Nothing new, and nothing too wild, but boy did it feel good. Work party = cookies.

  

  I made my favorite chocolate chip coffee cookies, because what’s a Starbucks party without coffee in your cookies. I subbed some Trader Joe’s chocolate bars for chocolate chips, which resulted in chocolate CHUNK cookies. So.Good.

  

  I was amazed by how different each of the chocolate bars I used were. Of course I had to sample them as I chopped them up. My next goal <—chocolate connoisseur.

  

  I used decaf Christmas blend in these cookies because I wanted to highlight the beauty of this blend, but I also wanted to sleep that night. Thus decaf. While I waited for my second batch of cookies to bake I had a quick and easy coffee tasting.

  

  Tasting Notes: Christmas blend has been a yearly tradition for the last 30 years. It was first introduced with the hopes of building a small following, and has become one of the most popular blends Starbucks sells. Rare aged Sumatra beans give this blend a spicy, cedar, and syrupy flavor that pairs well with the flavors of the season.

  The coffee itself has an intense, but lovely bite to it, and the cookies have a smooth and subtle sweetness. The spice from the coffee balanced well with the sweet from the cookie. Cookies and coffee were made for each other, wouldn’t you agree?

  Good friends, good food, good life.

  Q: Do you have holiday work parties? I have the most amazing coworkers, we enjoy spending time together outside of work. It’s quite a blessing. 

  

  | 61 Comments Tagged Christmas, Coffee Master, Coffee Tasting, Cookies, Starbucks, Vegan

• Fridays Fantastic Five

  Posted at 6:39 AM by Brittany, on December 5, 2014

  1. This box spoke to me. It said,”fill me with naughty treats because you need more insulation.” <–That’s not true, so the box was lying. Either way I love it.

  

  2. I found a dollar coin in the parking lot after finishing chem class this week. It was like a glimmer of magical hope after one too many molarity equations.

  

  3. Starbucks ornaments. Enough said.

  

  4. The mountains surrounding my living space have been large and in change lately. Sunny yet freezing days mean clean, snowy, BLUE mountain tops. If I can’t be on the mountain, I’m thankful I can at least see them all around me.

  

  Not the best photo, but you get the idea.

  5. Cookies twice in one day. Despite the fact that neither of these instances offered any “Brittany friendly” cookies, the gestures behind them sparked my fire higher than The General Sherman Tree. Instance #1- Partner appreciation cookies at work.

  

  Sorry friends, these chocolate coated shortbread cookies are not available for the public. I gave mine to my mama!

  Instance # 2- The kid I sit by in chem class gave a plate of cookies he made to me and the girl on my other side (I sit in the middle.) There is a special bond chemistry students develop with each other, and I’m not talking about ionic or covalent. We all laugh, cry, and bleed the same while stuffing our brains with painful knowledge.

  He’s my new favorite person, and such a precious high school child.

  

  Naturally I started and finished this post by talking about cookies. Happy Friday.

  Q: What’s one of your Friday favorites? 

  

  | 42 Comments Tagged Christmas, Cookies, Random, Starbucks

• Cranberry Chocolate Almond Oat Cookies

  Posted at 6:38 AM by Brittany, on May 22, 2014

  I’m a sweet-o-holic, this is nothing new. My diet consists of fruits and veggies by day, (with some kind of protein e.g. beans, quinoa, rice) and sugar by night. I try to find a healthy balance, but sometimes I get a little out of control with my sugar intake. I eat clean in an attempt to justify my naughty addictions to cupcakes, cookies, and brownies.

  

  Sometimes when I find myself “overdoing it” in the baking department I put myself in a time out. No sugar for “x amount” of time, in an attempt to detox. You can imagine my excitement when I have a party to attend and something like this is posted…

  

  Oh yeah, I volunteer to bring dessert. Perfect excuse to bake, taste a few treats, and then LEAVE THEM SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN MY HOUSE. It’s a win, win.

  Most of my baked goods contain a decent amount of chocolate, and while this recipe has 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, its main stars are the cranberry and oatmeal flavors. This isn’t the typical type of cookie I bake, but my goodness did it knock my socks off.

  

  I’ve discovered an AMAZING GF flour that I will forever be purchasing. It made keeping my fingers out of the raw dough difficult. These cookies are moist, flavorful, fluffy, gluten free, and vegan. I need more…I NEED MORE!

  Cranberry Chocolate Almond Oat Cookies

  Inspired by Two Peas and Their Pod

   

  

  Ingredients

  • 1 cup Namaste Foods GF flour
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup creamy almond butter
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup naturally sweetened dried cranberries*
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

  *I used cranberries that were sweetened with apple juice opposed to cane sugar. I found these dried cranberries to be much juicier and they taste SO much better.

  
  Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350F, and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or use a stoneware bake pan. I use stoneware.

  2. In a medium bowl mix your flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

  3. Using a stand mixer combine your coconut sugar and almond butter until light and fluffy. Then mix in your almond milk and vanilla.

  4. Turn your mixer to low and add your dry ingredients. Mix until well combined. Fold in the oats, cranberries, and chocolate chips and mix by hand.

  5. Roll the dough into tablespoon balls and flatten with your palm. Bake cookies for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges.

  

  To be honest, these cookies don’t even need the chocolate chips.

  I can’t believe I just said that, don’t expect me to say that often. Chocolate chips or not, these are the perfect breakfast cookie.

  

  I have no idea what happened to the other half of that cookie…

  

  Admiration, and excitement to GIVE AWAY TO FRIENDS! This is obviously a “pre hair chop” photo.

  Selfies are totally difficult to take with a heavy dSLR and handful of cookies. I’ll leave the selfies to the pros and stick to baking.

  Q: What is your favorite flavor cookie?!

  

  | 51 Comments Tagged Chocolate, Cookies, Gluten Free, Recipe, Vegan

• ‘Tis the Season

  Posted at 5:26 AM by Brittany, on October 31, 2013

  Happy Halloween everyone! In spirit of today’s holiday, I have a recipe to prepare you for the NEXT holiday! Too soon? At least I don’t have any Christmas music playing…

  It’s no secret that I love to bake. I also happen to love almost everything I bake, but I have found that my taste buds are accustomed to flavors that some people would call bland. I enjoy the flavor of plain grains and veggies, my meals don’t get extra seasonings, and I am a coffee and tea purist to the max. I don’t add cream or sugar to either.

  

  I’ve been wanting to attempt a gingerbread cookie recipe for a while now, and finally gave it a shot. As per usual I LOVED them, but I wanted to see what the civilians thought (non vegan eaters.) Most people I know are skeptical of my treats before they try them, and I get a total baking high when I introduce my friends to the better side of vegan baking.

  

  I wanted to make all these cookies into maple leaf shapes, but had too much batter and not enough patience, so I made some circular cookies as well. These are perfect for those of you that enjoy a simple cookie that’s not overpowering in the sweet department. I LOVE extra sweet treats, but these mild cookies were delicious. Perfect along side a cup of black coffee.

  Super Soft Gingerbread Cookies

  

  • 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp of a chia or flax egg (I used chia)
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan butter
  • 3/4 cup xylitol
  • 1/4 cup raw sugar
  • 3 tblsp vanilla almond milk
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • a couple more pinches of raw sugar

  

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Combine your flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and chia or flax egg in a medium sized bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix together your xylitol, sugar, coconut oil, and Earth Balance vegan butter. Then mix in the vanilla almond milk and molasses.
  4. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients until mixed
  5. Form into small balls (or shapes), sprinkle the top with sugar, and bake for 8-10 minutes.

  A few notes: I used part xylitol, and part sugar because I wanted to lessen the amount of sugar, but you can use all sugar if you want. I also ran out of coconut oil, so I used part oil and part butter, but you can use all of one or the other. I liked the combo of both.

  

  I had to…because I am 12. It is Halloween after all!

  This was my first time baking with molasses and I have to say I was scared of the smell. Thankfully it tasted nothing like it smelled, and I already have requests to bake a second batch! Oh how I love seasonal baked goods, bring on the eggnog cupcakes!

  Q: Do you like gingerbread cookies?! If you said yes, you must make these.

  

  | 39 Comments Tagged Cookies, Halloween, Recipe, Vegan

• Early Morning Confessions

  Posted at 6:56 AM by Brittany, on June 3, 2013

  1. In an attempt to fix my peanut butter addiction intake, I purchased a jar that was 1/5 the size of the jar I’ve been consuming. I wish I were kidding, and I am not proud of how quickly I go through that jar fit for a whale. I turn into a human whirl wind with my hands and mouth when it comes to peanut butter. It’s not a pretty sight.

  

  80oz -VS- 16oz

  2. My running is going great lately, and (knock on wood) nothing hurts! My knees have been doing great and I am convinced that I hurt my knee in February due to sitting down too much/minimal movement. The more I stand and move now the less pain. BAZINGA!

  3. I love taking outdoor pictures. Not much else I need to say about that.

  

  4. My pants have been feeling a little tight lately. I’m not talking about my jeans..I’m talking about my yoga pants. You know it’s bad when your stretchy pants are stretched to full capacity. No more trays of chocolate. 

  5. My mom is the best photographer. She really knows how to capture the essence of my beauty.

  

  Clearly that swing was a struggle to get onto. I happen to think I look like a wounded raptor on the left. The sound I would make sounds like this: “CAWWW CAWWWW”

  

  Money Shot

  6. Thanks to my pants getting snug, I am trying to cut back on sweets (and peanut butter.) Instead of going cold turkey anytime I get a craving, which is everyday, I eat an “energy” bar instead. Something like a Clif Mojo bar, or a Nature Valley Oats & Honey bar. Let’s be real, these are pretty high in sugar and are more like dessert anyway, but still less sugar than a cookie. It’s a win win in my book.

  7. Ever had a peanut butter and basil sandwich? I have. I licked the plate clean which tells you it was edible and not disgusting, but I think I’ll leave the basil to my pasta sauce.

  

  8. I think my cat needs a diaper. He is getting so old his BM’s are a little messy and he likes to scoot his butt on the carpet. It’s not fun to clean up his yellow brick road.

  9. Speaking of my cat, both of my cats were sick within a week of each other. I was awake all hours of the night concerned about the sneezing fit that was going on in my room. Hurricane Kittina was happening at 3A.M. for like a week. Poor babies.

  

  This is them with their new toy, Mr.Wiggles. The tan man is the messy pooper. I find the black mans body in a hilarious stance. The longer I stare, the funnier he looks.

  10. I know you have all been on the edge of your seats waiting for an update on my coin counter, and I am happy to report that I have made it to $5.33. Who’s laughing now!

  Also I would like to give my mom some credit. After 40 failed photo attempts, she did capture a good one. I call this picture, “two jungle cats hungry for spinach.”

  

  Q: What’s your confession?

  

  | 62 Comments Tagged Cats, Chocolate, Confessions, Cookies, Nature, Running

• Sweet Treat

  Posted at 12:31 PM by Brittany, on April 15, 2013

  It’s no secret that I love sugar. Cookies, cakes, chocolate, anything with that sweet kick to the mouth and I’m in heaven. I don’t however, love fake sugar or anything claiming to be a healthier alternative to sugar. Don’t even try to offer me Splenda, Equal, or even Stevia. Stevia tastes just as bad as the dirt it’s grown from. Blech. Nothing beats the real deal as long as it’s raw and pure. Also, it’s all about the balance..sugar doesn’t make you unhealthy if it’s consumed responsibly, so why eat the shit your body doesn’t recognize? Beats me.

  With that said, there is one sugar “alternative” that I was willing to try: Xylitol. Heard of it?? It’s what is used to sweeten your gum and toothpaste and gives that minty cool feeling. Sugar alcohols don’t affect your teeth, but they do have one major side effect: Diarrhea. This could be good and bad…just hear me out. Knowing that if you eat too much and could get diarrhea, this could help to keep your paws out of the cookie jar eating too many cookies. A little help getting rid of waste never hurt anyone right? Kidding..sorta.

  I was asked to do a review of a Canadian company’s Xylitol product. While I still swear by real sugar, I was happy to give this stuff a try.

  

  I do have to disagree with the words at the top, if eating sweets gives you guilt, you’ve got bigger issues than needing fake sugars. BALANCE PEOPLE! If you don’t think you earned the sweet, DON’T EAT IT! No need to feel guilty! This stuff looked like sugar, and tasted sweet with a cooling after taste..in a good way! I also was given some candies, and gum.

  

  No complaints. I loved all of the candies, and I am obsessed with the gum!! This is the kind of gum that you chew so obnoxiously because the flavor is SO good and you just can’t get enough. This might explain why I have no friends..

  Now I just needed to BAKE with the Xylitol to see how it tasted in a cookie.

  Chocolate Chip Cookie 

  

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup xyla
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1.5 cups semisweet chocolate chips

  Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted coconut oil, brown sugar and xyla until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, and applesauce until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
  4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted.

  

  So how did they taste?? Amazing, just as if I used real sugar. The xylitol didn’t alter the flavor of these at all. I can’t say the same for stevia, seriously baking with stevia is like chewing on nails. Horiffic.

  

  If you are interested in using xylitol I would recommend doing your research before using a lot of it. Overall the flavor was good and moderation is key.

  Q: Do you use any fake/alternative sugars? I’m a sucker for the real deal. 

  

  | 44 Comments Tagged Baking, Cookies, Recipe, Review, Vegan

• Falling in Love

  Posted at 9:06 AM by Brittany, on March 18, 2013

  I used to really dislike walking into my kitchen and seeing this..

  

  Spotted bananas usually meant my family was buying more than they could consume. If you hang around me, you know wasting is not an option. These days I have fallen in love with spotted bananas. Anytime I see them I know it’s the perfect excuse to bake something.

  

  Something like banana, applesauce, almond milk, cranberry, pumpkin seed, chocolate chip, cinnamon breakfast cookies. Or as I like to call them, anytime cookies.

  I used to only read school books, and even then I would only half read them. Lately I have really begun to enjoy, dare I say love reading books. I recently finished a book written by one of the most selfless people I have ever had the privilege of reading about.

  

  Kisses from Katie is one of the best books I have read in such a long time, I finished it within 5 days. What an inspiration, oh and now I want to travel to Uganda and spread the word of Jesus. Anyone that wants to fund that trip hollerr!

  I used to go to yoga because it helped stretch and build muscles in my body. For at least five years this has been my yoga practice. This past week I have gone to yoga every.single.day. sometimes multiple times a day and I have fallen in love with not only the physical aspect, but the mental aspect as well.

  

  I have discovered something magical on that mat when it comes to quieting my mind. My thoughts have been awry this week and forcing myself to focus on the current moment has been amazing.

  I used to eat popcorn with just a little bit of sea salt. Since discovering nutritional yeast my world has been rocked. I have fallen in love with this simple yet amazing..yeast.

  

  The only problem is that a lot of the yeast falls to the bottom of my bowl..

  

  Don’t ask me how I cleaned the bowl.

  I have always been in love with the power I hold over my furry children.

  

  My treatshake brings all the cats to the yard.

  Q: What have you fallen in love with this past week, month, year?

  

  | 65 Comments Tagged Bananas, Cats, Cookies, Nutritional Yeast, Popcorn, Yoga

• Running Thoughts

  Posted at 9:26 AM by Brittany, on January 21, 2013

  Running longer distances allows for a lot of time with your thoughts. Thoughts about life, thoughts about family, thoughts about food, and most importantly thoughts about cookies. While on a 10 mile run yesterday, I thought about all of these things. My running partner was with me for good conversation, but anytime there was silence my mind was thinking about how excited I was to get to the grocery store destination so I could buy myself a cookie.

  10 miles done and the grocery store was waiting for me to purchase sugar laden treats and guzzle water with blueberries floating inside. If you don’t end your run at the grocery store, you are missing out. While walking the aisles patiently waiting to stumble upon the cranberry orange cookie I had discovered just the day before, I looked at my friend as he muttered the most beautiful words I had heard all day, “let’s make compost cookies.”
  

  Compost cookies were originally founded by a restaurant called Momofuku, but I wanted to make my own version..vegan friendly of course. I used my chocolate chip cookie base, and added the random ingredients to it. It doesn’t feel right to call these compost cookies, and anytime I mentioned the fact that I was tired on this 10mile run my friend would say “basura” which means trash in Spanish  It was the theme of the run, so I present to you..basura cookies.

  Basura Cookies

  

  Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup raw sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup crushed potato chips
  • 1 cup crushed pretzels
  • 2.5 teaspoons fresh ground UN-brewed coffee beans
  • a few splashes of almond milk depending on texture

  Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted coconut oil, brown sugar and raw sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, and applesauce until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips, potato chips, pretzels, and coffee grounds by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
  4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted.

  

  I will run marathons for these cookies. I am savoring one of these as I type this post, they pair perfectly with a cup of coffee. Lets be real though, I haven’t found a cookie that DOESN’T pair well with coffee!

  Q: What do you think about on long runs/bike rides/swims/hikes? 

  

  | 82 Comments Tagged Cookies, Recipe, Running, Vegan

• Virtual Vegan Potluck: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

  Posted at 12:02 AM by Brittany, on November 1, 2012

  It’s that time of year again. Time to party til our tummy’s hurt with the Virtual Vegan Potluck! Big shout out to Annie for creating this amazing online party, and giving me another excuse to stuff my suck with sugar and chocolate!

  Who loves cookie dough? I love cookie dough so much, that whenever it comes time to make cookies I eat more dough than baked cookies. I usually eat myself sick, but it’s just SOOO good. Before I went vegan I still ate the dough!

  

  You can imagine my excitement when I discovered this deliciously easy recipe online!

  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

  

  Ingredients:

  • 2/3 c raw cashews
  • 1/3 c oats
  • 2 Tbsp Agave
  • 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
  • 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/4 c Chocolate Chips

  Directions:

  Blend the oats and cashews until they make a flour like substance. Then add the agave, maple syrup, and vanilla. Blend it again. When the dough starts to ball up and bang around your blender, you have the right consistency. Then add the chocolate chips and stir by hand. This makes a small batch, so I call it a personal batch. You may choose to share ;).

  

  I made these twice. Once with my blender, and once with a food processor. The photos I have are from the food processor which didn’t make the bites as smooth. I also stirred the batter by hand because the food processor was small, this also made for a lack of smoothness. When I used the blender I used honey instead of agave (which isn’t vegan for some of you) and this made the balls smoother, but STICKY! Either way this recipe is quick and delicious!

  

  The white chocolate bites were for a non vegan. She loved them ;). To get a better idea of what these looked like when I used my blender, this photo is from the source of the recipe.

  

  So good.

  Alright..lets keep this party going! To see more from this potluck, you can either go forward or back from my page. Click forward to see a few more desserts, and click back to see more desserts, entrees, soups, breads, and more! Happy noshing!

  

  

  

  | 61 Comments Tagged Cookies, Vegan, Virtual Vegan Potluck

• It’s Official

  Posted at 8:21 AM by Brittany, on October 4, 2012

  As I finish out my last week at TJ’s, I have been lucky enough to be around for some of my favorite seasonal items to return. Nothing says fall like honeycrisp apples. It’s official, fall is here.

  

  Last year these apples sold for 99cents each..99cents!! That is unreal. I remember one time going to a different grocery store and paying around $3.00 for ONE!! This year, TJ’s is selling these apples for $1.19. I wish they were still 99cents..but it def beats $3.00! Even more important than these apples..are cookies. Cookies cookies cookies.

  

  I am obsessed with these cookies. Not only do I love Joe Joe’s..but anything Halloween related gets my adrenalin glands swelling with excitement. My inner 5yr old oozes for cookies with pumpkin faces. I may or may not have a box of these stashed in my locker to quell my hunger at 4am. I have worked 4am-1 all week, and then go to class tue-thurs. I will be ready for casual mornings.

  I have been doing a lot of snogging with my main man these days. Snog/study time is what I call it. I start out reading like a good student, but then become easily distracted by black fur and long whiskers.

  

  He’s so dark you can’t even tell he’s there.

  My best friend is moving about three tenths of a mile away from me this week. She used to live in the same neighborhood, but moved away when we graduated high school. I am so jazzed to have her in walking distance again for the days I become swarmed with boredom and need to laugh at funny videos online.

  

  Q: Please tell you me you go bat shit cray over honeycrisps too..?

  

  | 32 Comments Tagged Cookies, Fall, Halloween, TJ's, Trader Joes

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