I swear each time I get on one of those "5-minute let's bake something really healthy kicks" it always turns out to be a butter-laden cookie with sugar and add in's, with only one healthy ingredient involved.
I try, I do, to bake more healthy, crunchy-granola things, but I get distracted when I open the
cupboard to see what items I am craving need to use up.
My brain wanders off thinking 'hey I think I can make a healthy cookie with cinnamon chips!'.
Maybe this is called "baker's attention deficit disorder'?
So here is my "what should be a healthy cookie" aka cinnamon-oatmeal cookies, which btw have oatmeal in there, so we're kind of covered.
Cinnamon and oatmeal in a cookie, you really can't go wrong with that flavor combo.
These are crispy, buttery cookies with a hint of cinnamon.
They would be perfect for ice cream sandwiches filled with a cinnamon ice cream.
cinnamon-oatmeal cookies
recipe from vanillasugarblog.com
based on my salty pumpkin-oatmeal cookie recipe
print recipe
2 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temp (20 TB)
1 cup light brown sugar, NOT packed
1/2 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup bread flour
1 ½ cups cake flour
1 ts baking powder
1 ts baking soda
1 ts sea salt
3 dashes of cinnamon
1 ½ cups of rolled oats (not quick cooking!)
1/2 cup of cinnamon chips (they are strong so I didn't use a lot)
cook notes:
I used a medium ice cream scoop for the dough balls, you can use a smaller one,
just watch the baking times as they might bake up faster if you make them smaller.
Once the dough is mixed, it really needs to chill and set up.
Normally I do not like the taste of cinnamon chips on their own,
but mixed into a cookie dough they taste really good.
As always I like to remind everyone that I don’t have a mixer, so everything I mix is by hand;
if you have one lucky you!
In a medium bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients including the oats.
In a larger bowl, cream the butter and both sugars; add in the eggs, and mix.
Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix till just combined--don't overmix.
Next, by hand, add in the cinnamon chips.
Cover dough well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours or overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line up two baking sheets with parchment paper or whatever method you use for baking cookies.
Using a medium ice cream scoop, scoop out and place on cookie sheet about an two inches apart.
Bake for about 13-15 minutes.
Rotate pans halfway through baking.
You'll know they are done when the bottoms are almost crisp/set up and the tops have a gentle crisp to them. It's really easy to overbake them, so definitely check at the 13-minute mark.
Makes about 25-30 cookies
3/17/14
cinnamon-oatmeal cookies
3/14/14
friday links
Happy Friday!
It's Pi day. Did you make a pie?
Do you want to make a pie?
Let me entice you with a few of my favorites....
Raspberry-cheddar hand pies. The pie crust is very easy and adaptable to pie or hand pies or pop
tarts!
Or maybe a savory beef & cheddar hand pies?
A list of pies wouldn't be complete without a blueberry pie in there.
This one is blueberry-toasted coconut pie.
Salty caramel-apple pie
Someone was trying to help me eat my lunch.
He got really close.
Pretty cool to see them this close.
Here on cape cod, after we shovel out the snow, we shovel out the sand.
This flag has made it through the winter.
Last winter, the flag left early, and last winter was not as long and rough as this one, so I'm
curious how this flag has made it this long.
These harbors have been quiet; hard to think that a couple months from now all this
'ghost-town'-ness will be busy again.
I almost went in. When I took this shot, it was a freak-weather kind of day with 53 degrees out
and sunny. But the ocean temp is 34-36 degrees!
This is how I want my cupboards to look (photo from latest King Arthur Flour catalog)
Around the Web:
why you should book a massage
what does healthy really mean?
is Vit. C heat-sensitive?
18 healthy brown bag lunches
versatile homemade baking mix
should I ever take up knitting, this is what I will make: arctic wrap (gorgeous!)
mummified remains (6+ years) of a woman missing found in garage
smashed garbanzo bean breakfast quesadillas
DIY craft: paper plate basket
crappy engagement photos (hilarious!)
cup-o-noodles man is shoveling snow (great pic)
best time to take creatine
yoga for back pain: interview with instructor
what's the difference: steel cut oats, rolled oats & quick oats
magnesium: the missing link to better health
how to learn better at any age
is your kitchen making you sick or fat?
new tick-borne disease found
raw chocolate-coated caramel YOLO balls
coconut muffins made with coconut oil
peach + marzipan hand pies
the dark psychology of being a good comedian
which foods are the most flammable?
(touching article) ' to the man who judged me on the westfield track'
what are prebiotics? How important are they compared to probiotics?
tips & hints for natural hair care
hidden dangers in personal care products
snacks, supplements & scents to help you sleep
14 terrible pies in celebration of pi day
who owns the moon?
salted caramel peanut pie
does sunshine help lower blood pressure?
25 hilarious tweets of people posting their problems
DIY lunchbox using a milk jug
7 little mistakes that steal your happiness
the sunlight you don't see but your cat does
on march 11, the world wide web turned 25
bay leaf pound cake
the quiet greatness of eudora welty
scrabble contest seeks new words
what does the term 'successful writer' mean to you?
creativity & madness: on writing through the drugs
7 secrets how creative people stay innovative
cronut creator has now made 'milk & cookie' cookie
'stuff being thrown at my head' by kaija straumanis
Have a wonderful weekend!
3/10/14
2-ingredient cookie
The 2-ingredient cookie.
Have you heard of it?
Have you tried it?
I did.
And my results?
It needs more ingredients.
Who doesn't love a fast and easy cookie recipe?
Even I loved the list of ingredients that read: ripe bananas and rolled oats*.
(*And hey, since I get asked this all the time: rolled oats are the same as old fashioned oats).
So smitten with the list in fact that I didn't listen to my gut when it said "this will suck...there is
no sugar in there...".
Yeah it wasn't good--at all. Tasted like mashed, wet cardboard.
So the first batch went to the round file, and the second batch got an uplift by adding in a little peanut butter, pecans and chocolate. Much better.
Literally you can add in anything--AND I suggest you do.
Chocolate helps--a lot. And my addition of peanut butter helped too.
Where did this recipe come from?
I think it started on Oprah or O Magazine a couple years ago?
I saw it for the first time here at Foodlets.com
2-ingredient cookies
print recipe
cookie base:
2 very ripe bananas
1 cup old-fashioned oats
add in's:
dried cranberries, walnuts, pecans, peanut butter, raisins, etc..
(about 1/4 cup of each)
cook notes:
if you are adding in peanut butter, add in an additional 1 TB of oats for every 1/4 cup
of peanut butter. The cookies do not spread at all while baking, they actually keep the exact same
shape they had in dough form, so you might want to push the cookies down into a uniform circle.
I added in a pinch of salt to the dough if I added chocolate chips.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mash the bananas well. Add in the oats and stir.
Then add in your add in's, mix again.
I covered the bowl and place in fridge to firm up.
Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out balls onto parchment lined baking sheet, about an inch apart. Cookies don't spread at all, so you need to gently push the dough balls down a bit to get them round. Bake for about 11-15 minutes. Hard to know when they are done, but look for set dough.
3/7/14
friday links
Happy Friday!
Is it still winter?
I'm really tired of all this cold and snow.
Here on the cape it's still cold, 32 degrees today, and they say a warm up of 45 degrees is coming tomorrow.
Where is my warm up of 85 degrees?
You know after one of the coldest winters on record for new england, I've grown more
appreciative of "hazy, hot and humid".
No complaints on that term anymore.
Seriously.
Ocean temp about 34-36 degrees.
Shrimp tacos from Chatham Fish & Lobster in Chatham.
The best around.
Someone isn't happy with winter.
Loving the trail mix bar at Whole Foods.
I make a new batch each week and this ensures no stops at bakeries for cupcakes!
The chicken noodle soup at Panera Bread is pretty good.
Needs more chicken though.
Story of my life.
Most D/L recipe of the week: coconut cream truffles. And....
The salted nutella bars still dominate as the most D/L for the past 4 months.
Around the web:
homemade nutter butters
DIY crayons (using your cupcake tin) fabulous!
roasted veg tacos w/ avocado cream & feta (already printed!)
feeling burned out?
DIY dryer sheet replacements!
what's new & beneficial about garlic?
world's oldest person celebrates 116th birthday! her secret?
cream puffs (made so easy by Julie)
need help falling asleep?
how to culture vegetables
40 worst book covers! (adults only!)
pretzel crusted mac & cheese
40 regrets you don't want to have in 40 years (very touching)
the best exercise there is, hands down
how to cream butter & sugar without a mixer
the importance of macronutrients
how to put the brakes on anxiety attacks
out of body experiences: work of the mind or ?
most genetically modified crops
sticky whiskey toffee pudding
ice cream cleanse!
great guide for indoor plants
7 foods that will work wonders on your digestion
spinach cupcakes
cooking perfect bacon
foods that create happiness
vaccine holds promise for ovarian cancer
want to write? procrastinating? this should help
DIY magnetic pin holder (brilliant!)
sleeping your way slim
use your soda stream to make wine?
best sources of biotin
14 pressure cooker recipes: a better take on fast foods
praline noisette
tools to help you shift from feeling fearful to free
Oreo's new flavor: marshmallow crispy!
selfie of an F-16 pilot
screwed at sea survival quiz
homemade fish sticks
book review of the new book: The South Asian Health Solution
pork-ginger shrimp toasts!
California lawmaker to propose ban on orca's in captivity (Finally!)
Have a wonderful weekend!
3/3/14
peanut butter-oatmeal cookies (flourless, GF, 1-bowl easy)
I have to say, most gluten free, flourless peanut butter cookies are so much better tasting then those with flour. Something about that creamy, rich, dense texture that I just love.
If you choose a really good peanut butter (I love baking with the whole foods organic chunky), not an oily one you can create a really good satisfying peanut butter cookie.
With that said, I've wanted to create a semi breakfast version slash healthier peanut butter cookie that I would feel less guilty about.
So I added in a bit of rolled oats, took out some sugar and add topped it all off with some sea salt.
These cookies can be gluten free if your rolled oats are processed in a facility that is gluten free--yes there are gluten free oats out there--I found mine at Whole Foods.
Hands down, this is the best flourless cookie I've made.
They are so rich, so dense, and flavorful. Not 100% healthy because of the sugar, but you can experiment around and use a sugar substitute if you wish.
The cookies are super delicate after baking.
Let them chill on the cookie sheet before removing.
They harden up a bit with a nice wonderful crisp outside.
So good!
Use a chunky peanut for a hint of texture.
See the bottom and tops did crisp up a bit.
I promise you these will be your favorite peanut butter cookie AND it's all one bowl easy.
cook notes:
I swear by the organic chunky whole foods brand peanut butter. It's just the right amount of
creaminess and thickness for making all kinds of cookies & muffins.
Please make sure to chill the dough or the cookies will spread a bit. If you can't chill the dough, then
leave cookie dough balls in ball form--don't press/flatten.
